Case Studies- Retailing
The Challenge:
As retailers become more successful, they are often challenged with taking timely action to evolve their business processes to match growth and revenue requirements or to minimize operational deficiencies to reduce costs and improve competitiveness. Business process re-engineering has taken on new heights in the industry, from modernizing inventory control with bar code or radio frequency identification processes, moving from paper to thermal imaging for new technology in cash registers, all the way through to customer relationship management tools at the point of sale. As these developments are implemented, they can often trigger unique paper or label based challenges that require an experienced service provider to consult on the problem, and to develop equally unique and innovative solutions to each client's particular problem.
Solutions and Results:
The DATA Group of Companies was Canadian Tire Corporation's supplier of labels, thermal ribbons, and printer services for many years before the company expanded the scope of our relationship under an exclusive agreement, developed to help the company reduce their costs of a broader scope of paper-based processes. Canadian Tire is a growing network of interrelated businesses, each one leveraging the core capabilities and privileged assets of the others. Canadian Tire continuously strives to meet the needs of its customers for total value by offering a unique package of location, price, service and assortment. The 45,000 employees of Canadian Tire, its Associate Dealers, franchisees and agents all contribute to the Corporation's objective to deliver top-quartile total return to shareholders among North American retailers.
DATA has assisted Canadian Tire in modernizing their point of sale rolls, improving Shelf Talker in-house delivery systems, reduced forms and label application overheads, and provided the company with streamlined print collateral on a national basis. Within the first year, DATA was able to deliver excellent performance results, including 5% better than expected overall savings than those projected, in conjunction with strong levels of customer satisfaction.
Home Hardware Stores Limited is Canada's largest hardware retail network, with over 1000 independent hardware, building supply, and furniture stores operating across Canada. In 2003, the company expanded the relationship with The DATA Group of Companies to provide a full bundled solution to Home Hardware Dealers nationally, including labels, printers, ribbons and service; including diagnostics, parts, maintenance, and rapid response repair services. This initiative now offers Home Hardware Dealers a nationally supported in-store label supply and printing system that is cost effective, reliable, and ensures a consistent corporate image on Point of Sale labels wherever they are used.
This initiative now offers Home Hardware Dealers a nationally supported in-store label supply and printing system that is cost effective, reliable, and ensures a consistent corporate image on Point of Sale labels wherever they are used.
TCG International Inc. specializes in the North American automotive glass products business, and operates a number of subsidiaries to distribute and service its products. The DATA Group of Companies provides a corporate print management service to the company, including Autostock International. Autostock distributes automotive replacement glass for all makes and models of domestic and import vehicles to independent automotive glass stores and to Autostock International's corporate and franchise retail locations.
As the largest automotive glass distributor in Canada, and one of the larger, growing distributors in the US, the company is managing to outdistance its competitors through innovative communications and marketing initiatives, using DATA's print, mail and fulfillment services. According to the Winter 2004 edition of the Clear Winner Dealer Magazine, Autostock created a variety of promotions that dramatically increased sales of key products in 2004 of almost 70%, and corresponding revenues by 220%. During a March promotion last year, unit sales increased by 260% in the US and 453% in Canada, with web-site-only sales increased by a whopping 1667%. The company is now working with DATA to embark on a paperless delivery method for statements and marketing materials using permission-based e-mail process that will no doubt add to the success of the marketing campaigns, and lower print and delivery overheads as well.