Chain Store Age - July 2009

Carrefour Expands Data Warehouse

Levallois-Perret, France-based Carrefour, which is credited with having the largest customer behavior database in France, is expanding the repository’s functionality to its marketing department.

Carrefour continually converges massive data volumes from 1,230 stores into its Active Enterprise Data Warehouse, from Miamisburg, Ohio-based Teradata, and is taking steps to expand this information to its marketing department. To provide this accessibility, Carrefour and Teradata worked together to increase the repository’s information capacity and then programmed EDW to process data in near real time.

The new enterprise intelligence platform, which went live within six months, supports more detailed analysis of data regarding consumer behavior and purchasing. It also provides better management of the chain’s marketing campaigns.

For example, Carrefour’s brand marketers need to manage data points for more than 60,000 customer categories and more than 14 million households. The new EDW will also provide an enterprise view of shopper activity in each store, and Carrefour plans to use the technology to localize promotions to shoppers at each of its hypermarkets and supermarkets.

“We want to target every customer in a precise and relevant fashion during our marketing operations,” said Gérard Castrie, marketing and communication director, Carrefour France. “This includes not over-communicating with them, and measuring a significant return on investment.”

Looking ahead, the chain expects to have 70 users continuously submitting complex requests for these tasks. The platform will be able to deliver responses within minutes, according to a company statement.

Canton, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms is upgrading its data network to a hybrid satellite system.

The 500-store chain was using a very small aperture terminal network, a two-way ground station that uses a dish antenna, usually less than 3 meters in length, to support data, voice and video communications.

By partnering with McLean, Va.-based satellite network provider Spacenet, Cumberland is transitioning to a hybrid VSAT and digital subscriber line/cable/evo-lution-data optimized system. The SkyEdge VSAT platform improves performance for Web-based and back-office applications, including credit-/debit-card authorization, point-of-sale polling, human resources software and inventory tracking.

“The upgraded satellite and hybrid network provides a simplified single platform solution, faster speeds for Web-based applications, automatic and reliable network backup, and near 99.9% network availability, ultimately helping us better serve our customers at each location,” said Cumberland Farms VP information technology John Carroll.

Cumberland Farms Speeds Data Communication

Roots Canada is streamlining the communication of daily operations across its chain with the help of a new execution management solution.

The StoreOps Center from Opterus, Toronto, is a Web-based application that communicates tasks yet to be completed and issues yet to be resolved, as well as other general store communications. The software also includes electronic forms and document library modules designed to reduce the distribution of paper-based information and streamline store efficiencies.

“Employees must feel comfortable letting the head office know of any store issues that need to be addressed, and the corporate office needs to be abreast of employees’ needs and to promptly follow up on their requests,” said Jarar Kazmi, executive director, retail operations, Roots.

The solution will be used across all of Roots’ 120 stores.

Roots Adds Task-Management Application

Roots Canada streamlined store efficiencies.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is currently upgrading aging point-of-sale scanners.

By leveraging its existing relationship with DigiPoS, Burlington, Ontario, AAFES is adding Datalogic 2300HS units to its DigiPoS Retail Blade POS systems. The scanners, which support horizontal scanning, are tailored for medium and high volume at POS. The scanners’ software-decoding algorithms are designed to improve first-pass read rates of damaged, wrinkled and poorly printed bar codes — and will improve productivity at the front end.

DigiPoS will collect and recycle all old scanners for the retailer. The technology vendor ensures that all recycled materials will comply with environmental mandates to reduce electronic scrap and hazardous equipment, according to a company statement.

Since initially signing a $25 million contract with DigiPoS in 2007, AAFES has installed several thousand Retail Blade POS units and back-office servers.