Family Christian Reports Strong Performance with JDA`s Next Generation Store System; First Pilot of Java-Based Portfolio POS Stands the Test of Busy Holiday Season
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--Jan. 8, 2004--JDA(R) Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq:JDAS) announced that Family Christian Stores, the leading specialty retailer dedicated solely to the $4.3 billion Christian retailing market, successfully completed the first phase of its implementation of JDA`s next generation point-of-sale system, Portfolio POS(TM) (PPOS(TM)) and Portfolio Store Portal(TM) at the back office. With more than 325 locations in 39 states, the retailer officially called the pilot a success after confirming that JDA`s new Java-based PPOS could deliver strong functional performance, scalability and stability at its nine Chicago-area stores during its busiest period beginning mid-November through the end of December.
According to Jef Fite, senior vice president and CIO of Family Christian Stores, his goal for the pilot was to monitor how PPOS performed and how store associates handled the new software along with a new Wide Area Network and in-house credit card authorization without disrupting business during their busiest time of the year. The JDA and Family Christian Stores team were able to get the pilot running and sustained with less support than originally planned and were rewarded by realizing immediate benefits.
Explained Fite, "Our store managers trained seasonal associates in less time -- sometimes only 20-30 minutes -- on the new software. Since PPOS provides better visibility to customer information at the register along with an intuitive user interface, our pilot stores were able to speed up transactions even while dealing with the spike in processing sales, returns, promotional offers and coupons."
JDA and Family Christian Prove Broad Range of Functionality
The fact that Family Christian Stores is not a typical cash-and-carry retailer made them the perfect partner for JDA`s first implementation of PPOS.
"Family Christian Stores is a highly promotional retailer with diverse operations and a great deal of customer interaction, special order management and complex promotions. Their environment enabled us to exercise and prove a broad range of PPOS` functionality," explained Scott Hines, JDA`s chief technology officer and senior vice president. "Family Christian Stores is an outstanding partner that worked with us to overcome the typical bumps that occur with any beta implementation. The team shared our passion for extensive QA testing and had an inspiring `can-do` attitude that you don`t usually see in early adopters."
That upbeat attitude also carried over to store operations. While some pilots can fuel apprehension throughout a chain, that certainly was not the case at Family Christian Stores.
"Our Chicago stores are thrilled, and the managers are talking positively about it. As a result, other store managers are calling our help desk and asking when they are going to get the new system installed. That buzz is exactly what you want to accomplish in the first phase of an implementation," added Fite.
Investing in Next Generation Technology to Support Growth Plans
A JDA client since 1994, Family Christian Stores relied on the original Distributed Store System software integrated with Merchandise Management System (MMS(R)) for more than a decade during which the retailer`s revenues and store count tripled. With President and CEO Dave Browne joining Family Christian Stores about one year ago and driving strategic changes, Fite had the backing to conduct a significant IT overhaul. He conducted a software evaluation and selection process that included reviewing third-party packages before again settling on JDA.
"Our decision to move to JDA`s next generation store systems architecture was largely influenced by the long-term value and return on investment that we expect to achieve, along with JDA`s willingness to work with us to meet our requirements in the software as well as during the implementation stage," stated Fite. "The other key rationale was to position Family Christian Stores for future growth with a flexible platform that enables us to more easily integrate with other applications and technology at the store level to improve our customers` experience as well as integrate seamlessly with MMS at corporate."
Added Fite, "In getting on board with PPOS, we knew that this new software was something that JDA was really going to focus on going forward and we wanted to be on the front end of its product lifecycle."
Family Christian Stores is now in phase two of the project that entails prioritizing a set of "bells and whistles" enhancements that JDA is adding to PPOS to benefit Family Christian Stores as well as all future users. Once this new version of software is delivered in the second quarter of 2004, the retailer plans to roll it out to as many as 10-20 stores a week. In addition to implementing new software at the store level and investing in new hardware, the retailer also plans to upgrade to the newest version of MMS that will be released in 2004 and implement components of JDA Affinity(TM) for advanced customer relationship management.
About Portfolio POS
Part of the award-winning Portfolio Store Systems(TM), Portfolio POS (PPOS) is the industry`s only Java-based store solution that effectively combines a next-generation architecture with years of POS expertise from working with hundreds of retailers worldwide. PPOS offers broad functionality and flexibility along with extreme scalability and reliability. Plus retailers will gain enhanced ability to plug in other applications at store level to guarantee a show-stopping experience for valued customers. See these PPOS functions in action at NRF: J2EE technology; real-time enterprisewide inventory visibility; powerful pricing engine; high-speed payment card authorization; thin-client back-of-store operations; robust product and customer lookup; JMS-based store-to-host communications; XML data interchange formats and sharp, user-friendly GUI.
About JDA Software Group Inc.
With nearly 4,600 retail, manufacturing and wholesale clients in 60 countries, JDA Software Group Inc. is a global leader in delivering integrated software and professional services for the retail demand chain. By capitalizing on its market position and financial strength, JDA commits significant resources to advancing JDA Portfolio, its suite of merchandising, POS, analytic and collaborative solutions that improve revenues, efficiency and customer focus. Founded in 1985, JDA is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., and employs more than 1,300 associates operating from 33 offices in major cities throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more details, visit www.jda.com, call 800-479-RETAIL (7382) or e-mail info@jda.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include any implications that other retailers will elect to license Portfolio POS, the statement that retailers will offer customers a show-stopping experience using Portfolio POS, as well as any implication that all users will enjoy the competitive advantages and other benefits expected from using the JDA solutions experienced by Family Christian Stores. Future events may involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, uncertainties concerning whether the enhancements can be successfully developed or implemented, whether other users will be interested in licensing PPOS, whether clients can successfully use our solutions to their advantage, whether clients will be able to use the products to gain the anticipated results and other risks detailed from time to time in the "Risk Factors" section of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of these and other risks, actual results may differ materially from those predicted. We undertake no obligation to update information in this release.
"JDA," "JDA Affinity," "JDA Portfolio," "Merchandise Management System," "MMS," "Portfolio POS," "Portfolio Store Portal" and "Portfolio Store Systems" are trademarks or registered trademarks of JDA Software Group Inc. Any trade, product or service name referenced in this document using the name "JDA" is a trademark and/or property of JDA Software Group Inc.
Contacts
The Berlin Group
Lawrence Delaney Jr., 714-734-5000 (Investor Relations)
larry@berlingroup.com
or
JDA Software Group Inc., Scottsdale
Maureen Tuskai, 480-308-3233 (Public Relations)
m.tuskai@jda.com
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