Sanderson Wins IBM Innovation Award

Sanderson RBS, the publicly owned UK provider of retail software and services, has won a prestigious IBM Award for Innovation.

The European Award, which was presented at IBM’s annual retail summit in The Hague, recognzses the pivotal role Sanderson has played in implementing the innovative new Enactor solution at a major UK specialty retailer.

Enactor is a next generation retail management solution from the design team behind Retail-J, the store system deployed by many of the UK’s top retailers. Encompassing EPoS, Back Office, Head Office, Warehousing, Loyalty and CRM, it uses unique process-based design tools. This means that retailers can configure the system to match their business processes and respond rapidly to changing business requirements, to deliver greater efficiencies throughout the retail operation.

IBM was particularly impressed with the quick roll-out time of the solution, just four months from contract exchange to the installation being completed, and this was key to Sanderson winning the accolade.

David Mahoney, Managing Director, Sanderson RBS concludes: "It's a real honor to receive another award from IBM in recognition of our contribution to innovation in retail technology. The Enactor solution will change the way retailers think about technology, as it gives them the ability to design a solution which matches their business processes, rather than changing those processes to match the solution’s parameters. We're very excited about Enactor and are proud to have received the IBM award in recognition of our efforts."

Sanderson RBS. Sanderson Group plc acquired Retail-J reseller, RBS, in September last year and rebranded sd Sanderson RBS Limited

Commenting on the new name, David O’Byrne, Group Managing Director said: “The acquisition of RBS reinforced our position as a leading provider of multi-channel retail systems, with RBS’s extensive knowledge of the retail market, large customer base and excellent service offerings complementing the existing capabilities of Sanderson. The change of name ensures that our full range of products and services can be marketed under the well-known Sanderson brand..”

ISIS to Launch in Austin in 2012

Isis, the mobile commerce joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, has announced Austin, Texas is among the initial launch markets for the Isis mobile commerce program.

“We are delighted to announce that Austin will be an initial Isis launch market for the Isis mobile commerce program,” said Michael Abbott, chief executive officer at Isis. “Austin is home to progressive and tech savvy consumers and merchants – a key demographic for Isis’ mobile commerce program. The city’s culture of innovation, thriving business community and early adopters make it an ideal launch market for Isis.”

Starting in the first half of 2012, Austin consumers will be able to use Isis-enabled mobile phones to make point-of-sale purchases and redeem offers at participating merchant locations throughout the city. Isis is working closely with local merchants and the Austin Chamber of Commerce to spur wide scale consumer adoption and merchant support across Austin.

Isis will bring mobile commerce to consumers and merchants by allowing them to use mobile phones to make point-of-purchase sales through the use of near-field communication (NFC) technology.

The Isis system will evolve to offer customers across the U.S. a highly secure and convenient way to pay, redeem offers and store merchant loyalty cards, all with the tap of a phone. Earlier this year, Isis announced Salt Lake City as an initial launch market in the first half of 2012.

About Isis
The joint venture is between AT&T Mobility LLC, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless and is based in New York City. The venture is chartered with building ISIS™, a national mobile commerce venture that will fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save. The Isis mobile commerce network will be available to all merchants, banks, payment networks and mobile carriers.

Republic Goes Mobile

Republic, a U.K. men’s and women’s multi-branded fashion retailer, announced the launch of a mobile-optimized website that creates a rich and unique shopping experience for consumers whether they are at home, on the go or in a Republic store.

Through the Venda Mobile Platform, powered by Digby, Republic is introducing mobile as a strategic channel that complements its eCommerce site and more than 110 retail stores across the U.K. Republic’s mobile shopping experience will allow customers to search, browse and buy products in as little as sixty seconds when they visit www.republic.co.uk from popular mobile devices such as iPhone/iPod Touch, BlackBerry and Android.

eBay Completes Acquisition of GSI

eBay has finalized its acquisition of GSI Commerce and named Chris Saridakis as the unit's president. Saridakis, previously head of GSI division Global Marketing Services, joined GSI in May 2010. Before that, he worked at Gannett for two years as chief digital officer.

eBay also announced that it had completed its divestiture of GSI’s licensed sports merchandise business and 70% of its interest in the ShopRunner e-commerce delivery program and Rue La La. GSI founder and former CEO Michael Rubin will run those two businesses.

Retailers - and Shoppers - High on Tablet Apps

The New York Times reports that retailers like Sears and Ralph Lauren, along with eCommerce focused companies like Amazon, Gilt, QVC, HSN, Net-a-Porter, and eBay have all introduced tablet apps and see a strong future in tablet shopping even though tablets made up only about 4.4 percent of the computer marketplace in 2010 (noting that Morgan Stanley projects that they will account for about 20 percent of the market within two years). The article notes that while anyone can put up a reasonably good Website, it takes deeper pockets to do a good tablet app, which helps established companies stand out from the cybercrowd. They are also better positioned to make the apps entertaining. And if, as one merchant was quoted, "“People are decompressing after work, maybe had a few cocktails...that’s beautiful, we like that, it’s good for shopping.”