New Merchandise Management System for Datavantage

Cleveland, Ohio, December 19, 2006 — Datavantage Corporation, parent company of CommercialWare and a leading provider of retail technology for the specialty and general merchandise retail industry, today announced Datavantage Enterprise MMS (Merchandise Management System), a Java-based corporate office information system to optimize retail data flow throughout both retail and direct organizations to enhance sales, inventory turns and price and promotions management, thereby increasing margins, and reducing out-of-stocks and administrative costs.

For example, the solution allows merchants to manage their assortments and make better, more timely decisions by viewing data by piece, collection or down to the store or book level, sorted by size and color, providing real time visibility into business operations.

The Java-based solution is built on technology from SIS Info_Mercio, a Mexico-based innovator in merchandise management systems, which has more than 20 customers (with over 3,500 stores) in the highly competitive Mexican retail environment, including VIPS (a division of Wal-Mart Mexico), Smart & Final Mexico, Calimax and Comex.

The three core features of Datavantage Enterprise MMS are inventory, purchase order and price management. Both push and pull inventory allocation is supported to track the movement of goods from the warehouse to a retail location. Managing orders for both new and replenishment requisitions is made easier with tools like on-demand sales and inventory data in the purchase order process functions. Pricing can vary by channel, store or zone, and complex pricing sets can be administered through Enterprise MMS.

Developed in a J2EE environment, Datavantage Enterprise MMS offers many deployment choices on multiple operating systems, databases and application server platforms.

Miles Kimball Selects Junction MCR

Lincolnshire, IL - December 19, 2006 - Junction Solutions today announced Miles Kimball Company, a recognized leader in the consumer catalog industry, has selected JunctionMCR to replace its current Ecometry retail enterprise software system.

Established in 1935, Miles Kimball Company is a recognized leader in the consumer catalog industry. Owned by Blyth, Inc. a $1.5B provider of home decor and home fragrance products, Miles Kimball Company consists of five catalog titles and mails about 120 million catalogs annually including:

. Miles Kimball -- unique assortment of distinctive, hard-to-find merchandise
. Miles Kimball Cards -- unique and personalized Christmas cards
. Walter Drake -- functional and unique value-oriented general merchandise
. Easy Comfort -- value-priced health and personal care items for seniors
. Exposures -- products for preserving and displaying life’s remembrances
. Home Marketplace -- functional, clever gadgets and tools for the home

The company needed a new solution to better manage its warehouse management, order management, merchandising and marketing processes. They chose JunctionMCR, which addresses the unique challenges of measuring marketing effectiveness, customer service, and streamlining order fulfillment while providing control and integration of processes, systems and channels. With JunctionMCR, the entire stream from catalog campaigns to order entry, through shipping and returns can be analyzed and improved for greater efficiency and high-touch customer service.

Tackling Gift Card Fraud

eWeek has some enlightening insights that separate myth from reality in the realm of gift card fraud. If you are a multi-channel merchant and offer gift cards, you should make sure you've got your bases covered. See link.

Direct Response - New Release

Release v2.1.46 of Direct Response from DirctEDJE, a browser-based order management and fulfillment system, has improved error-checking functions, workforce tracking, Ecommerce interfaces, and inventory management capabilities.