Honolulu Cookie Company Implements CORESense to Manage its eCommerce Operations

CORESense, a provider of all-in-one, cloud-based retail management & eCommerce software solutions, has announced that Honolulu Cookie Company has successfully implemented CORESense's Ecommerce Enterprise Solution to mange its growing eCommerce business, including their online storefront, www.honolulucookie.com.

Founded in 1998, Honolulu Cookie Company is dedicated to spreading the spirit of Aloha around the world with gourmet cookies made in Hawaii.  With a wide variety of cookies and packaging to choose from, Honolulu Cookie Company’s customers can currently purchase items online or in one of their shops. By leveraging the flexible design capabilities of the CORESense eCommerce software solution, Honolulu Cookie is serving up a search- and user-friendly shopping experience across desktop and mobile devices. 

“We needed a next generation eCommerce platform that would not only deliver a great shopping experience but also enable us to deliver great service after the sale,” said Jaynel Panquites, Ecommerce Manager, Honolulu Cookie Company. “We selected CORESense because they were able to deliver a robust Website combined with the end-to-end operations management capabilities needed to streamline our operations, enabling us to deliver great customer service. Having everything managed by one Web-accessible system provides us with the real-time view of our business we need to proactively respond to customers and profitably grow our business.”

Widdowson Group Selects MNP for Fulfillment Improvements

Widdowson Group, a mainstream logistics provider with extensive warehousing and a fleet of over 120 vehicles, headquartered in Leicester, UK, has chosen its WMS solution from MNP-Media Ltd. to manage its fulfillment services for Internet retailers.

Established over a century ago, Widdowson Group offers a range of storage, distribution, transportation and value-added services, mainly to the retail and wholesale industries. The company has recently increased its scope to offer logistics services to Internet retailers and realized its WMS was not designed for high volumes of small orders picked in eaches.

Widdowson Group turned to MNP, an experienced provider of supply chain solutions specializing in efulfilment, to provide a WMS solution optimized for this kind of operation.

“We chose MNP because of their expertise in Web order management, e-fulfillment and parcel carrier
integration. They really understood the differences between traditional pallet or case picking and the
processes required for managing Web orders. They were able to demonstrate high competence in this area and we are very pleased to partner with MNP to provide improved service to our clients together with a reduced cost base,” said Paul Caygill, Head of IT for Widdowson Group.

Pierre D’Arbost, Managing Director of MNP added “Widdowson Group is a very highly regarded logistics provider and we are delighted to be able to help them expand their operations into large scale fulfilment of web based orders.”

Perry Ellis Rolls Out Starmount Mobile POS

Starmount has announced that Perry Ellis has completed rollout of its mobile POS and mobile selling software to approximately 60 stores. 

The retailer reports that its top stores conducted 16.4% of all transactions on mobile devices during the busy holiday season. Moreover, Perry Ellis saw an average increase of 14% in the size of transactions conducted on mobile devices, compared to normal POS registers — underscoring the value of using mobile devices to engage with customers on the store floor.

Island Pacific Providing Mobile POS for Shoe & Accessories Brand

The Dune Group is one of the most influential global players in fashion footwear and accessories. Multichannel OMS provider Island Pacific has been in close collaboration with this leading retailer to introduce mobility solutions to store staff, which have created significant sales increases and improved inventory management.

The result has been doubly satisfying. The Dune Group is fulfilling customer demand with greater precision – always a major goal of any solution –  plus, the solution has been recognized by the judges of the prestigious BT Retail Week Technology Awards 2014 and shortlisted in the Multichannel Service of the Year category. Winners will be announced on June 11.

Colorado Puts Burden of Proof on Ecomm Merchants re Nexus

According to The Denver Business Journal, "Organizations like the Colorado Retail Council have supported HB 1269 because retailers are tired of being undercut by online sites like Amazon.com that don’t have to pay local taxes or fund the physical staffing and infrastructure costs needed to maintain a store.

"But state officials acknowledged during a committee hearing that the connections outlined in the bill would not require Amazon to pay taxes unless it undertook an action like opening a warehouse or distribution facility in Colorado.

"... so, House Republicans focused instead on another clause in the bill — one that creates a presumption that an online retailer has a nexus requiring it to remit taxes and to have to prove otherwise to Colorado. That provision, they said, would lead state officials to harass smaller companies that won’t have the resources to fight back rather than go after giant corporations whose legal departments can bat away such a presumption."

I have posted a blog entry on the challenges of managing International eCommerce on the Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce Solutions site (note: Pitney Bowes is a client)

All Systems Go? A Checklist for the Transition from Domestic to International Ecommerce

- See more at: http://blogs.pb.com/ecommerce/2014/04/15/systems-go-checklist-transition-domestic-international-ecommerce/#sthash.mviNBaug.TIi8xpCw.dpuf

Marks and Spencer: This is a leading company?

M&S has a top-drawer reputation in retailing in the UK. After expanding to Ireland, M&S now has 300 stores in some 40 countries all over the world.

But in my opinion, their reputation is way-overblown, particularly in terms of multichannel integration. The problem is less channel integration than the way M&S is organized as a company, with different "types" of stores (typically based on size and merchandise mix). Although virtually all M&S locations are supermarkets and department stores, some do more of one than the other.

And therein lies the rub. An item purchased in one store "type" cannot be returned at a different store type, and sometimes the "type" is not displayed in the signage.

Resolving this issue should be relatively easy, but M&S can't be bothered. They seem to be doing well enough without making the effort, but as for being a leading multichannel merchant? Not in my book!