Epicor® Retail Enterprise Store Central Addresses Multi-Channel Retail Transaction Requirements
A Unique Multi-channel Transaction Adapter Supports POS and Delivery of a Seamless Customer Shopping Experience across all Channels
Epicor Software Corporation (NASDAQ: EPIC), a leading provider of enterprise business software solutions to the midmarket and Global 1000 companies, today introduced Epicor Retail Enterprise Store Central, providing powerful functionality to address the complex transaction requirements of today's multi-channel retail enterprise.
Through a unique multi-channel transaction adapter, Enterprise Store Central simplifies retailers' daunting task of enabling the full spectrum of POS and enterprise sales functions across stores and channels, so retailers can more effectively manage transactions and customer engagement. Serving as a single integration point for transaction "basket" logic, the adapter integrates data from all channels -- blending the e-commerce and brick-and-mortar experience like never before for simplified shopping and streamlined information management.
This approach solves a common issue. Until now, retailers doing business in store and online had to choose -- a POS system that's strong in retail transactions, or one that was well equipped to handle Web transactions and all that entails, such as the sending notifications to online shoppers when a product is shipped and/or calculate shipping charges. Many retailers soon found the only answer was to deploy separate POS platforms -- one for in-store and another for Web/online, doubling the management overhead and preventing retailers from providing a unified customer experience.
"Point of Sale systems should be an enabler to today's multi-channel retail enterprise, not hinder their progress," said Randy Tofteland, executive vice president, retail software for Epicor. "When a consumer wants to return an item in store that they originally purchased online, they don't care that the transaction engines behind those two channels are different -- each with limitations. They want a seamless shopping experience across that brand. Epicor Retail Enterprise Store Central and the powerful Epicor Retail Store 6.3 Point of Sale solution enable streamlined POS transactions across all channels -- eliminating headaches for both retailers and consumers."
Enterprise Store Central relies on powerful Microsoft technology components to provide the requisite transaction scalability, and support data reporting and analysis. The latter enables retailers to transmit data in real time to ensure accurate inventory information and pricing information across all channels. Addressing the need for up-to-the-minute sales transaction data, a transaction "trickle" feature provides real-time feeds to sales audit programs, central feeds to Epicor Retail Enterprise Selling and central, real-time electronic journals. An enterprise-level SQL Server Analysis Services-based tool provides pre-audited data for near real-time reporting and the ability to dynamically analyze data and export into Microsoft Excel, so retailers can track transaction trends to guide decision making.
Enterprise Store Central also simplifies configuration, administration, and monitoring of POS devices. A store administration interface supports centralized configuration management and provides visibility into "who" needs "what" configured. Central monitoring functionality helps retailers ensure the health of their POS hardware, via alert and log enhancements and integration to IBM's RMA/Director monitoring solution.
Enterprise Store Central also provides the engine for digital receipts. Retail associates can now be prompted to offer customers traditional paper receipts, digital receipts, or both. Providing convenience for both the retailer and shopper, digital receipts can be easily tracked, stored and provide cost savings by reducing the reliance on expensive consumables such as ink and receipt paper. Returns are simplified as the electronic transaction can be stored, searched for and easily retrieved -- either from the register or via the customer's email files.
For more information about Epicor's retail POS software and Enterprise Store Central visit the Company's Web site at http://www.epicor.com/Solutions/Pages/Point-of-Sale.aspx.
SOURCE: Epicor Software Corporation