With SAP Behind the Scenes, Ten Thousand Villages Focuses on Building a Better Life for Artisans
Ten Thousand Villages operates a network of retail stores in North America, and a Web site that offers a sustainable marketplace for handmade products from developing nations. As one of the world's largest fair trade organizations, the company strives to improve the livelihood of tens of thousands of disadvantaged artisans in 38 countries. Product sales help pay for food, education, healthcare and housing for artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.
The need for improved data security prompted Ten Thousand Villages, an SAP customer since 2002, to upgrade to the latest version of SAP POS. The application encrypts customer data for storage in the company's database and transaction files, which is essential in helping Ten Thousand Villages maintain compliance with the data security standards of the credit card industry. SAP POS not only protects customer data, it also improves the processing speed of sale transactions, enhancing the overall shopper experience.
"SAP offers a flexible and reliable point-of-sale solution that will grow with us to protect our customers' information and address our changing business needs," said J. Leonard Wolf, information technology director, Ten Thousand Villages. "Our staff and volunteers are passionate about our products and the people-driven mission behind them. With SAP software in place, they can spend their time welcoming customers and selling products that support our artisans instead of worrying about store operations."
Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Maintains Excellence in Service and Efficiency at Its Stores
The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board manages alcoholic beverage distribution, licensing, enforcement and education in the state of Alabama. Operating a chain of 170 retail stores, the board sells the majority of liquor purchased by consumers in Alabama.
To modernize store operations and meet the Payment Card Industry Security Standards requirements, the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board replaced its outdated systems with the latest version of SAP POS. The new SAP system allowed the board to improve customer service at its retail stores by reducing checkout transaction time and increasing staff productivity.
"Efficient and courteous service in our retail stores is our number one priority," said Emory Folmar, administrator, Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. "SAP helps our store operations run more smoothly so our employees can focus on delivering a shopping experience that offers the service, selection and pricing that our customers want."
SAP and Dalcom Consulting Partner to Make Retail Customers Successful
SAP partner Dalcom Consulting Inc, was responsible for the sale and installation of the solution at both Ten Thousand Villages and the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. As a leading technology integration company, Dalcom helps retail businesses find ways to improve efficiencies and take advantage of new technology to increase sales. Dalcom's team specializes in turnkey systems for the retail market, featuring SAP POS software running on IBMSurePOS(TM) and NCR RealPOS(TM) point-of-sale solution platforms.
The SAP® for Retail solution portfolio helps retailers of all sizes drive a better return on their investment. Offering an end-to-end set of solutions supporting merchandise lifecycle, corporate operations, shopper insight, supply chain and shopper experience, SAP software helps retailers run a clear enterprise by providing the insight necessary to understand their shoppers, as well as the flexibility and efficiency required to execute in a cost-effective, sustainable manner.
"In today's challenging business environment, retail companies are choosing business solutions provided by SAP and our ecosystem of partners to help them better understand their shoppers so they can meet their needs," said Bob McFarland, senior vice president and general manager, United States Retail Organization, SAP America. "SAP empowers retailers to act quickly and decisively while addressing the business issues they face today as well as the future."
About SAP(r) for Retail
SAP(r) for Retail is a solution portfolio for end-to-end retail management that allows retailers to base operations around common insight into the business. The solutions cover merchandise lifecycle management and planning, supply chain, store operations, shopper experience, and core finance and human resources capabilities for grocery, hardlines, and softlines retailers. SAP for Retail helps retailers to better understand their business, anticipate their business needs, and inspire their shoppers, employees, and shareholders by delivering results. Additional information is available at http://www.sap.com/retail.
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