DUBLIN, CA — (Marketwired) — 09/27/13 — When the world-s leading digital and multichannel retailers meet up this week to explore what-s next in retail at NRF-s , they-ll witness what may be the next “killer app” for retailers struggling to deliver a connected, seamless brand experience to consumers across all channels — including web, local storefronts and mobile shopping to call centers and social media interactions.
The newest addition to the award-winning retail technology portfolio from , a global leader in for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organizations, Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce is a fully integrated suite of applications designed to support consumers with a consistent brand experience across all available channels, and provides retailers with the means to unifying information and application silos to simplify retail enterprise management.
“Customers don-t shop channels, they shop brands,” said Noel Goggin, senior vice president and general manager, Epicor Retail solutions business. “Omni-channel retailing isn-t just about offering multiple shopping options (channels) for customers to access your brand; it-s about leveraging multiple means (channels) to support the customer experience. True cross-channel convergence is about making all retail channels operate in coordination and collaboration with each other; it-s about managing transactions and customer engagement across all channels to support delivery of a uniform, inspiring brand experience to consumers.”
But this omni-channel “nirvana” is often difficult to achieve for many reasons. For one, when retailers began moving from one to multiple channels — each with different customer and operational requirements — they generally had no choice but to deploy different technology systems to address them. With these different channels operating as separate, autonomous entities, it becomes difficult to provide customer-centric merchandising and a consistent shopping experience across these channels, and instead they are left with inefficiency and lack of operational visibility.
“The proliferation of emerging touchpoints further complicates the already difficult challenge that eBusiness professionals face in executing a multichannel strategy, and many struggle internally with antiquated visions of customer engagement with their channels,” writes Forrester Research, Inc. VP and Principal Analyst Martin Gill in a recent report: “Welcome to The Era of Agile Commerce.” According to the report, 56%of the respondents to Forrester-s Q4 2012 eBusiness and Channel Strategy Professional Online Survey said they strongly or very strongly agreed that their companies support a vision for a consistent cross-channel experience. Meanwhile, only 23% believe they can execute a consistent cross-channel sales and service experience, representing a significant gap between multichannel vision and execution.(1)
“Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce is a solution to the omni-channel challenge,” said Goggin. “It provides every application needed to offer the kind of omni-channel shopping experience consumers expect today — and reduces management headaches for retailers by maintaining a consistent source of customer, inventory and order data on the back-end. Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce addresses retailers- desires to connect with customers via their preferred channel and continue that consistent brand experience as their journey crosses each channel.”
Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce Suite includes the following modules: eCommerce, powered by Magento, Omni-Channel Connector, Enterprise Selling, Warehouse Management and Customer Order Fulfillment. At the heart of the Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce suite is the Omni-channel Connector, which unifies order calculation, promotions, products, pricing, inventory lookup, customer databases and more, to deliver a more consistent shopping experience to the channel-agnostic consumer, reduce retailer infrastructure, technology footprint, and costs. This offers consumers the freedom to order and receive products however they prefer (i.e., placing an order online and picking up at the store, receiving tracking information via their mobile phone, etc.). This cross-commerce engine facilitates retailers- selling opportunities while offering consumers a simple yet sophisticated brand experience.
To learn more about the Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce suite, visit Epicor at booth #910 at the Shop.org summit in Chicago from September 30 to October 2 at the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place.
(1) Forrester Research, “Welcome to the Era of Agile Commerce” by Martin Gill (July 19, 2013)
Epicor provides advanced solutions for retailers seeking to streamline processes, integrate channels, leverage intelligence and inspire customers, to maximize profitability. The Epicor Retail end-to-end suite is designed to meet the evolving merchandise and service expectations of today-s connected, cross-channel shoppers, and the business requirements of the most demanding soft goods, hard goods and specialty retail environments in a variety of industries including apparel, footwear, discount, general merchandise, automotive aftermarket, lumber and building materials, nursery, and pharmacy. Thousands of leading companies — from Aeropostale, Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance and Build-A-Bear Workshop, to General Nutrition Centers and True Value Company — trust Epicor to help them remain current, competitive, and consistently strong.
Epicor Software Corporation is a global leader delivering inspired business software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail and services industries. With over 40 years of experience serving small, midmarket and larger enterprises, Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries. Epicor enterprise resource planning (ERP), retail management software, supply chain management (SCM), and human capital management (HCM) enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve profitability. With a history of innovation, industry expertise and passion for excellence, Epicor provides the single point of accountability that local, regional and global businesses demand. The Company-s headquarters are located in Dublin, California, with offices and affiliates worldwide. For more information, visit .
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Epicor and the Epicor logo are trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Epicor Software Corporation.
Contact:
Lisa Preuss
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
Epicor Software Corporation
+1 949 585 4235
Erin Lutz
Lutz PR (on behalf of Epicor)
+1 949 293 1055
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