Third Annual Retail Systems 2001 Achievement Awards Recognize Office Depot for E-Commerce Innovation
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Jun 26, 2001 -- Office Depot, Inc., (NYSE:ODP), the world`s largest seller of office products, today, announced that it has received the E-Commerce Innovation award from Retail Systems Alert(R) advisory board members, and i2 Technologies, the sponsoring company. The E-Commerce Innovation award is presented to a pure-play, clicks-and-mortar retailer, or multi-channel retailer that has developed industry-leading Web B2C systems and practices that improve the shopping experience.
The award was given to Office Depot for its success in extending its online product catalog and Web functionality to the phone by using telephony technology powered by NetByTel.
Bill Seltzer, Chief Information Officer for Office Depot was presented with the award at the Third Annual Retail Systems 2001 Achievement Awards held on June 25, 2001. The event took place during an invitation only ceremony held in conjunction with Retail Systems 2001 Conference & Exposition, America`s Leading Retail IT Show. Award recipients were also announced during the opening day ceremonies of Retail Systems 2001, held June 25-28 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
The Retail Systems 2001 Achievement Awards, sponsored by i2 Technologies, honor outstanding examples of systems and interactive applications that have resulted in more effective customer service and improved business processes. They recognize individuals and companies whose efforts and company-wide dedication to information technology have raised standards throughout the industry.
"We are so pleased to be honored with this award and recognized by industry peers for our innovative use of voice commerce portal technology delivered through our alliance with NetByTel. The technology has enabled us to leverage our sophisticated back-end e-commerce infrastructure including our merchandising, warehouse and distribution operations, while providing a strong ROI. But best of all, we`re able to provide superior customer service, by offering customers a convenient way to shop from Office Depot," said Bill Seltzer, Chief Information Officer for Office Depot.
Award winners were selected by the Retail Systems Alert(R) advisory board members, and i2 Technologies, the sponsoring company. The advisory board members that voted for award winners include representatives from the following companies: Best Buy Co., Burlington Coat Factory, CSK Auto Inc., CVS, Garden Ridge, Hannaford Bros. Co., Kenneth Morris Group, LakeWest Group, Quality Stores, Inc., Retail Systems & Services, The Home Depot, Uniform Code Council, Walmart Stores, Inc., and Staples.
The Retail Systems 2001 Achievement Awards are organized by MoonWatch Media(SM) (formerly Retail Systems Alert Group), a global business-to-business media company that has followed the advancements of technology applications within the retail, e-commerce, and supply chain industries for more than 10 years. The group provides analysis and insight about a broad spectrum of issues and trends through publications, conferences and expositions, Internet services, special reports, and customized research. MoonWatch Media is also the organizer of Retail Systems 2001 Conference & Exposition.
About i2:
i2 is creating real value for its global e-business customers through its i2 TradeMatrix Solutions(TM), content, and marketplace platform. i2 TradeMatrix allows businesses to create both private and public marketplaces, while improving the efficiencies of all participants. i2 provides a wide variety of collaborative e-business services for both the early stages and next generation of e-business adoption, with each service supported by decision optimization, transaction management and content management solutions. Founded in 1988, i2`s mission is to deliver $75 billion in value to its customers by 2005. i2 is headquartered in Dallas, has more than 5,700 employees and maintains offices worldwide.
About Office Depot:
As of March 31, 2001, Office Depot operated 824 office supply superstores in the United States and Canada, in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 25 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and seven regional call centers. Furthermore, the Company had operations in 16 countries outside of the United States and Canada, including 23 office supply stores in France and seven in Japan that are owned and operated by the Company; and 97 additional office supply stores under joint venture and licensing agreements operating under the Office Depot (R) name in five foreign countries. The Company also operates an award-winning U.S. Office Depot(R) brand Internet 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, and it operates http://www.officedepot.co.jp in Japan and http://www.officedepot.fr in France as well as Viking(R) brand Web sites at http://www.vikingop.com in the United States, http://www.viking-direct.co.uk in the United Kingdom, http://www.viking.de in Germany, http://www.vikingdirect.nl in The Netherlands, http://www.vikingop.it in Italy, http://www.vikingop.com.au in Australia, http://www.vikingop.co.jp in Japan and http://www.vikingdirect.fr in France. Office Depot`s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Office Depot is an Official Sponsor of the U.S. 2002 Olympic Team.
About NetByTel:
NetByTel(TM) makes the World Wide Web wider than ever with voice commerce solutions that connect online e-commerce systems and telephones using speech recognition as the interface. The NetByTel Voice Commerce Platform(TM) gives click and mortar companies the ability to offer quality self-service to millions of customers and employees who use their voice to conduct Web-based transactions, such as product ordering and customer service inquires, freeing up personnel and lowering inbound customer call costs. NetByTel`s plug-and-play Voice Commerce Modules take advantage of current e-commerce infrastructure, making implementation fast, easy and cost-effective. NetByTel`s solutions have won several awards, including the 2001 Call Center and CRM Solutions Best Speech Product, PC Magazine`s 2001 Innovation in Infrastructure as well as Frost and Sullivan`s 2001 Business Development Strategy Award for Voice Commerce. NetByTel partners with world-class organizations such as SpeechWorks (Nasdaq:SPWX), Vicinity (Nasdaq:VCNT), Ecometry (Nasdaq:ECOM) and Dialogic. For more information about NetByTel, visit the company`s Web site at http://www.netbytel.com.
CONTACT:
Office Depot, Delray Beach
Lauren E. Garvey, 561/438-2895
lgarvey@officedepot.com
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