Office Depot Launches Enterprise-Wide Store Development System
Web-based Management System and Exclusivity Enables Retailer To Open Stores Faster and More Efficiently
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – October 8, 2002 – Office Depot, Inc., the world’s largest seller of office products, will soon be opening new stores more quickly than ever, thanks to the successful launch and implementation of its Web-based store development system. Office Depot has the exclusive implementation rights for this new Web-based tool in the office supply retail industry.
Office Depot is utilizing e-Builder’s Retail Development Manager, the leading store development management system. The Company is leveraging the platform to streamline its entire program, from site selection, to lease negotiation, design, construction and facility operation. The system reduces the time it takes to develop or remodel Office Depot retail stores.
Commenting on the new system, Jerry Colley, Office Depot’s President of North American Retail Stores said, “Real estate site selections are critical to the success of our Retail Stores Division. By implementing a web-based tool that allows us to not only track progress and accountability of our real estate projects, but having real-time access to important information provides us a real competitive advantage as we continue expanding our retail stores network.”
“Office Depot’s development cycle can be up to two years and with the assistance of e-Builder, they are now able to speed up that process,” said Jon Antevy, CEO and co-founder of e-Builder. “With so many groups of people involved in the projects both inside and outside of Office Depot, the opportunity to reduce the development time is enormous. Office Depot is leading the way in the retail market as more and more managers choose Web-based management systems to improve profit margins and increase productivity.”
About Office Depot™
No one sells more office products to more customers in more countries through more channels than Office Depot. As the largest seller of office products around the world, the Company operates under the Office DepotÒ, Viking Office ProductsÒ, Viking DirectÒ and 4Sure.comÒ brand names. As of June 29, 2002, Office Depot operated 853 office supply superstores in the United States and Canada, in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 24 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers. Furthermore, the Company sells products and services in 19 countries outside of the United States and Canada, including 32 office supply stores in France and 12 in Japan that are owned and operated by the Company; and 110 additional office supply stores under joint venture and licensing agreements operating under the Office Depot name in five foreign countries.
The Company operates an award-winning U.S. Office Depot brand Web site at http://www.officedepot.com where customers can access Office Depot`s low competitive prices seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, as well as a new Web site that targets the school supply market at http://www.school.com. The Company also operates eighteen additional Web sites, under the Office Depot and Viking Office Products names, in the U.S. and eleven countries including: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Japan, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
About e-Builder™
The award-winning e-Builder, Inc., founded in 1995 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, develops Web-based applications to streamline, automate, and control the construction development process. e-Builder products are designed specifically for owners, contractors, design professionals and other participants in the development process. The company’s open architecture supports the integration of systems with desktops and other legacy applications.
e-Builder is sold worldwide direct and through its preferred partner network. Customers include America Online, Office Depot, Publix Supermarkets, HCA Healthcare, Boeing, Miami-Dade Public Schools, Beers Construction, PCL Constructors, Tishman Construction, Skanska USA, and others. Visit the e-Builder Web site at http://www.e-builder.net. For more information, contact Michael Brown at 800-580-9322 x105.
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