Staples deploys multi-channel merchandise planner
With growth in web and catalog sales growing at faster rates than store sales, Staples Inc. is increasing its success as a multi-channel retailer. But such diversified growth also creates the challenge of planning goods for each sales channel. And to better handle its multi-channel activity, it`s deploying a web-based multi-channel merchandise planning system.
Staples is deploying Evant Merchandising Planning software from Evant Inc. The software is built on a Java-based platform and is designed to support a range of merchandise and related financial planning activities. "Evant`s solution is designed to handle financial planning and item planning across multiple business channels," said Staples CIO Paul Gaffney. He added that Staples chose the Evant system also for its scalable architecture that can expand to accommodate Staples` future growth.
Staples, with about $11 billion in annual sales, operates more than 14,000 stores, a catalog, web site and contract sales. In its third-quarter ended Nov. 2, it said online sales amounted to 15% of overall Q3 sales of $430 million, up from 11.8% of $311 million a year earlier.
Its Evant Merchandising Planner will run on its existing IBM p-series eServers. Evant says its merchandising planner offers four-dimensional planning -- by channel, time, product and performance measure -- and is capable of simultaneously planning thousands of products across multiple channels.
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