Infor Gives Retailers Easier, More Flexible Global Workforce Task Management
Company Adds New Advanced Functionality to Infor WFM Workbrain through Partnership with WorkPlace Systems, Introduces Modular Framework Enabling Retailers to Adopt at their Own Pace
Infor recently announced general availability of a new retail task management add-on for users of Infor WFM Workbrain. Infor will be demonstrating the new functionality at booth #2337 at the National Retail Federation conference beginning today in New York City.
Infor WFM Workbrain is the most widely deployed workforce management (WFM) solution in retail today, designed to help retailers simplify global workforce policy implementation, maximize workforce efficiency and ultimately achieve higher sales-per-labor-hour.
"The retail industry has been and continues to be a top priority for Infor, and we take the needs of our more than 2000 retail customers very seriously," said Sandra Rousseau, director, Solutions Marketing, Workforce Management, Infor. "Those customers have made it clear that task management is at the top of their 2010 IT to-do lists, but they need solutions that adjust to the way they do business, not the other way around. By using a modular framework and partnering, we are bringing advanced task management capabilities to market faster than otherwise possible, with the most flexibility we've ever offered in the Workbrain suite."
The new task management capabilities enable streamlined task-related communication and data exchange among retail locations and corporate and/or regional headquarters. The functionality enables faster creation and deployment of in-store tasks, with built-in efficiency mechanisms such as timers and feedback solicitation, helping ensure execution consistency.
The task management module is powered by technologies from WorkPlace Systems, an Infor partner. The module can be purchased and installed separately, giving retailers the flexibility to add only the capabilities they need when they need them, with less disruption to their established business processes.
Task management has emerged as a top priority for global retailers seeking to improve the overall in-store customer experience, while lowering costs through improved labor productivity.
"Task management is one of several drivers shaping the retail time and labor management market, which is inclusive of time and attendance, labor scheduling, and store task management," says Gale Daikoku, retail research director with Gartner Inc. "Many leading retailers are already using commercially available task management solutions to greatly improve store level execution. When integrated with other technologies and processes, task management can optimize and transform the retail workforce."
The Infor WFM Workbrain Task Management module is designed to reduce the inherent complexity of completing tasks, such as countrywide or even international in-store merchandising campaign rollouts, enabling improved project visibility and management and also reducing and controlling total time and cost. The feature set is split into two specific functions, Store Communications and Store Execution.
The Store Communications function provides a direct data link between headquarters and each retail location, allowing for real-time sharing of information, requests and product updates between dispersed sites. Bulletins and other communications can be targeted by role and pushed down quickly to the relevant audience. Additionally, information can be requested or "pulled" by store personnel from headquarters.
The Store Execution function is a powerful tool for managing the implementation of projects and tasks, tracking and reporting their status, and balancing work-load across each location to prevent conflict. This fundamentally simplifies and synchronizes task planning. A project can be broken into component tasks and in-built workflow controls the distribution, time-keeping and also any escalations when tasks are not completed according to the established timelines. In-store personnel can be requested to provide feedback on tasks to signal compliance and also improve the planning phase for the next time a similar task is required.
The Task Management module shares the same technology architecture as the rest of the Workbrain solution, thereby allowing easy integration at a reduced technical overhead. It is available now to all current or prospective Infor WFM Workbrain customers. For more information, visit www.infor.com/workbrain.
About Infor Retail Solutions
Infor currently provides solutions to over 2000 retail customers, including all 20 of the top 20 retailers worldwide, as defined by the National Retail Federation. Infor provides retailers with a set of tightly integrated enterprise applications that address the complete spectrum of their global operational requirements, including enterprise asset management (EAM), customer relationship management (CRM), financial management systems (FMS), human capital management (HCM), supply chain management (SCM), and work force management (WFM).
Infor's Manifesto: At Infor, we work with a core belief. We believe in the customer. We believe that the customer is seeking a better, more collaborative relationship with its business software provider. And a new breed of business software: created for evolution, not revolution. Software that's simple to buy, easy to deploy and convenient to manage. Our 70,000 customers in more than 100 countries and 8000+ employees stand with us. We look forward to your sharing in the results of our belief. There is a better way. For additional information, visit www.infor.com.
SOURCE: Infor