BROOMALL, Pa. -- Swiss Farms has selected Microsoft Corp.'s Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail to support its launch of a corporate and franchise system and to integrate its point-of-sale (POS) data with backoffice operations. Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail links POS terminals with the Microsoft Dynamics AX comprehensive business-management solution.
Working with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Columbus IT, a partner in the development of Microsoft Dynamics AX, Swiss Farms selected Microsoft's solution. Swiss Farms becomes the first Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail customer [image-nocss] in the United States.
Broomall, Pa.-based Swiss Farms, established in 1968, is a drive-through convenience grocery store retailer that currently operates 13 stores in the Philadelphia area. It said that it is about to launch a franchise operation that is expected to add 100 franchisees within five years. (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage.)
Swiss Farms' expansion was inhibited previously by the POS software that it had been using on disparate computer systems with a lack of integration and functionality, Microsoft said.
"We needed to be able to scale more rapidly as we begin our franchising efforts, and it was important to be able to integrate our sales points with backoffice financials," said Swiss Farms president Paul Friel. "Our previous technology didn't offer these capabilities and lacked functionality for tracking franchise sales, customer loyalty, inventory or web ordering. With Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, we gained every one of these features and more."
He added, "With Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, we will be able to maintain a single database that incorporates sales and customer information from all stores. We'll also be able to better control and centralize pricing at the point-of-sale terminals. This solution will suggest the size and quantity of items we should order, based on sales trends mined from the database, and recommend how goods should be distributed among stores."
Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail is expected to offer Swiss Farms the following benefits as well:
Low total cost of ownership through a single integrated system that replaces several standalone systems, each of which had required maintenance and upgrading. Online ordering capability. End-to-end integration of customer and sales data. Full retail capabilities, from powerful price management to point-based customer loyalty programs and automatically generated end-of-day statements. Business intelligence at both the store and corporate levels, enabling much more precise planning than before. The ability to launch franchise stores and gather financial data from them into a single database through a system that scales with the company's expansion. "Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail is about to transform the nation's retail sector, integrating point-of-sale locations with back-end operations to provide a new level of business intelligence," said David Willis, corporate vice president for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft's U.S. Dynamics business. "It will enable companies like Swiss Farms to expand rapidly, through franchising and capital stores, with the ability to analyze and control inventory and customer sales for every outlet."
Swiss Farms is in the process of re-inventing itself and its brand. The company recently opened a new prototype store and is making investments in technology and design, preparing to expand aggressively in the northeast. In 2009 Swiss launched a franchise operation that is expected to add 100 franchisees within five years.
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of ERP and CRM applications that enable business decision-makers to quickly respond to market shifts, take advantage of new trends, increase their competitive edge and drive business success. Microsoft Dynamics solutions are delivered through a world-class network of partners who provide specialized services and additional innovation to help customers excel in their industry.
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