Deliver Superior Customer Service And Realize Substantial Labor Savings With JDA Portfolio Workforce Management

Retailers have long known that satisfying customers requires getting the right product to the right place at the right price and time. Leading outdoor lifestyle retailer Gander Mountain takes this philosophy one step further. Whether its customer is fishing for walleyes in Minnesota, bow-hunting for buck in Michigan or hunting dove in Texas, Gander Mountain strives to ensure that the right store associate with the right knowledge and experience is available to serve that customer at the right place and time. To help deliver this superior level of service at its 105 stores in 22 states, Gander Mountain implemented Portfolio Workforce Management™ (PWM) software, a fully integrated solution from JDA Software.

According to Ron Reitmeier, Gander Mountain's manager of store operations, labor management and new stores, the retailer employs about 75 full- and part-time associates in each store to serve its customer base of fishing, hunting and outdoor enthusiasts. Since its customers' shopping needs are extremely localized and change with every season, Gander Mountain looked to new technology to help ensure that its "We Live Outdoors" culture is evidenced by every employee that a customer encounters. With 2005 sales of $804.5 million, the retailer also wanted to achieve cost savings and other efficiencies by migrating from disparate applications to an enterprise labor management solution.

"We have realized substantial labor savings and efficiency gains with PWM," said Reitmeier. "Since PWM supports managing timesheets by predefined exceptions, our operations specialists no longer have to check every timesheet in detail. We are now able to redeploy our operations specialists' time to other tasks to better serve our associates and customers. In addition, by having one central database, we are able to access store reports and monitor compliance of company scheduling and time and attendance best practices from our corporate office."