The Insider's Guide to Business and IT Agility
08/10/2004
Circuit City Stores and IBM say they’re launching “a technology transformation” of Circuit City's more than 600 stores, designed to update Circuit City's point-of-sale (POS) systems and other in-store technology to where it is one of the most advanced in the retail industry.
The two companies gave this explanation:
"This new technology initiative, a vital part of our store revitalization effort, will move our store systems from customized, proprietary systems to a system based on open standards," said Michael Jones, chief information officer of Circuit City. "Our current POS systems, which contain a feature set designed in the mid-1980s, are overly complex and restrict our business expansion. The new systems will allow us to adopt leading practices and improve store systems integration while optimizing store infrastructure costs."
The transformation includes new IBM SurePOS 300 POS systems and secure wireless handheld POS systems based on the IBM Store Integration Framework and the open-source Linux operating system. Circuit City also will use IBM Business Consulting Services to help plan the transformation.
"When a retailer can combine the latest technology with a superior business vision and new processes, as Circuit City is doing, then they can increase flexibility and efficiency, as well as transform their store operations and the in-store shopping experience," said Steve Valentine, Retail Consulting Executive of IBM. "The world's best retailers are leveraging this powerful new technology and will be able to create new levels of business efficiency, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Circuit City is on the leading edge of this new trend."
The systems include POS software applications from 360Commerce and an integration engine from Yantra. 360Commerce brings an industry-leading POS application with a consistent and comprehensive solution that will easily support Circuit City's complex selling environment. Its Java-based application suite includes POS, Back Office, Central Office and Workforce Management. Yantra offers a powerful process engine and application suite, complementing Circuit City's core POS application. The Yantra applications will be used to create enterprise services for order management and to support Circuit City's Express Pickup order fulfillment, store inventory control, product repair processing and product delivery and installation. Both 360Commerce and Yantra are IBM Business Partners.
These in-store systems will be coupled with new data warehousing capabilities, based on IBM eServer pSeries hardware and IBM DB2 database software. The new data warehousing capabilities will improve internal processes, streamline applications, and allow Circuit City to better view and analyze data from all parts of the company, including POS and Circuitcity.com, empowering the company to create a better customer experience.
By employing the IBM Retail Environment for SUSE Linux at the point of sale, Circuit City will have the flexibility and reliability of open standards, enabling Circuit City to adapt quickly to changes in the retail marketplace and to cost-effectively institute future upgrades to the platform. The IBM Store Integration Framework allows for customized combinations of IBM middleware solutions with specialized applications from IBM's network of independent software vendors and industry-specific services to allow a retailer to be more responsive to business opportunities and customer demands. The rollout to all stores is scheduled to start in March 2005 and is expected to be completed by the end of February 2006. Circuit City expects that the POS changes will not result in any material write-offs, nor will it materially affect planned spending on store systems.
ROUNDTABLE: Stretch Your Budget with smart SOA Governance-A Look at Successful Case Studies
ROUNDTABLE: Open Source Market Update
Insurance: Explore how SOA & BPM are driving down expenses and improving ROI
ebizQ is very interested in what you have to say. To contribute an article, an opinion, or to become a blogger, please contact Peter Schooff.
June 3, 2009
One of the most compelling trends in the enterprise business technology space over the past year has been the emergence of cloud computing. In ebizQ’s upcoming Qcamp virtual un-conference, leading industry experts and practitioners will explore the role of service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) in supporting cloud-computing initiatives. Additionally, the new skills that developers and IT managers need for successful cloud development will be discussed.Register
Date: Aug 26, 2009
Time: 12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
Date: Sep 30, 2009
Time: 12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
Date:Aug 26, 2009
Time:12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
Date:Sep 30, 2009
Time:12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
JBoss customers believe JBoss is dedicated to delivering increased savings with faster, more accurate, and more valuable support services. They see...
Download Now
In part two of Joe McKendrick's recent podcast with Miko Matsumura, chief strategist for Software AG, they talk about how SOA and IT systems need to change and grow and adapt with the organization around it.
Listen Now
Phil Wainewright interviews David Vap, VP of products at RightNow Technologies, and finds out how sharing best practices can help businesses understand how best to engage with online communities.
Listen Now
Scott Hebner, Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for IBM Rational, discusses a topic on the top of every company's mind today: getting the most from IT investments.
Listen Now
In BI, this tough economy and the increasing role of Web 2.0 and MDM are certainly topics on people's minds today. WiseAnalytics' Lyndsay Wise addresses each of them in this informative podcast.
Listen Now
Deepak Singh, President and CTO of Adeptia, joins ebizQ's Dennis Byron in a podcast that gets its hand around the trend of industry-specific BPM.
Listen Now
From Dennis Byron: For BPM to fit at the top of the stack, it can't merely support workflow or integration. It needs to integrate the BI aspects of the stack, too. Learn More
In the insurance industry, companies have accepted that systems, strategies and data all developed in silos are making it difficult for them to grow and adjust to today’s market demands. The obstacles imposed by siloed approaches are painfully obvious to companies as they try to gain a better understanding of their customers and meet the growing constraints imposed by compliance and regulatory requirements. Leveraging industry standards with full data integration is one was to tackle this challenge. Learn More
From Dennis Byron: Is it better to choose one strain of BPM over another? The answer is unique to your organization. Learn More
Can decision management really deliver costs savings, agility and happy customers on a consistent basis? Learn More
From Dennis Byron: BPM products optimized for case management might be the products that bridge the extremes in my view of the BPM spectrum. Learn More
Integrating BPM and CEP gives you intelligent business processes that can react to rapidly changing business conditions with continuous visibility. Learn More
Insurers need to think about creating "true linkage," which means linking business strategy to process to IT investments and thereby setting the foundation for true change. Learn More
To be effective, business intelligence technology must work behind the scenes to deliver relevant information when, where, and how it's needed. Learn More
A lot of people are talking about Enterprise 2.0 as being the business application of Web 2.0 technology. However, there's still some debate on exactly what this technology entails, how it applies to today's business models, and which components bring true value. Some use the term Enterprise 2.0 exclusively to describe the use of social networking technologies in the enterprise, while others use it to describe a web economy platform, or the technological framework behind such a platform. Still others say that Enterprise 2.0 is all of these things. Learn More
Smart event processing can help your company run smarter and faster. This comprehensive guide helps you research the basics of complex event processing (CEP) and learn how to get started on the right foot with your CEP project using EDA, RFID, SOA, SCADA and other relevant technologies. Learn More
To Michael: To select what has to be improved (e.g. automated), a...
Hi Johan,
thank you for such prompt response.
I...
Phil,
It appears that Google is looking at the world...
I believe work has been done in this area privately for some time....
I wonder if BPM has become more popular because many solutions...
We are looking for a FileNET admin/developer in Houston, TX. The...
As we see more companies consider the cloud we should be...
Scott,
I agree that process management is good way for...
|
|
|
|
Print this article
Email this article
Talk Back!
Write to Editor
