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Discover how Epicor Propello makes every day easier for retailers
The potential of connected retail is significant: with so much choice, the shopping and buying experiences customers have can make or break a retail business. Fortunately, retailers today can combine their attention to personalization and detail with the insights derived from extensive customer data—empowering you to give your buyers exactly what they need, when they need it.
With the right data-driven solutions deployed in the cloud, your business can simplify everyday operations so you can make important decisions anywhere, at any time. You can help ensure your inventory ebbs and flows with the natural variation in seasonal demand, while allowing your workforce to spend more time with customers instead of on time-consuming manual tasks.
Epicor Propello is a native cloud retail management system (RMS) with a thoughtfully designed modern, easy-to-use interface. From lower total cost of ownership to faster deployment with automatic updates, Propello and its pure web application allows clear visibility into vital inventory information and customer details, while mobile Point-of-Sale (POS) means you and your workforce can stay connected, from the outdoor lots to the checkout spots.
Steven Prendergast, an owner at Lakewood Ace Hardware, knows this firsthand. To help make sure the store, his first retail venture, would be set up for success, Prendergast needed an RMS that would make things easier for all employees. He found his answer with Propello; he especially appreciated how smoothly this solution could be folded into the existing Ace Hardware assets.
“Propello took the guesswork out of aligning with Ace Hardware’s product terminology and processes,” he says. “The platform’s tight integration with the Ace Hardware product catalog, Ace Rewards, and back-end workflows, such as purchase orders, allowed us to deliver a convenient, personal customer experience from day one.”
Wes Snedden, Donated Goods Regional Manager, found the real value of Propello’s purchasing capabilities when he used it to meet an important need of his business, Goodwill Industries of Northern Wisconsin & Upper Michigan.
When the organization needed to purchase essential items like socks that cannot be donated, Snedden looked to Propello as an efficient solution to help overcome this sourcing challenge. “Our previous system was very clunky, and we couldn’t start our new goods purchasing program,” he explains. “Now, with Epicor Propello, we can purchase new merchandise, inventory it, set up price points, and keep financials on it. We can even make transfers from our central warehouse to all our stores. With our last system, we couldn’t do that.”
With the new goods program, Goodwill is able to round out its product offering to customers.
As Goodwill’s experience bears out, inventory is at the heart of retail operations, and Propello helps you derive the most value from what’s on your shelves:
Tobinson Hardware saw the value of Propello as an inventory management tool firsthand, especially in its smooth integration with third-party applications. Owner Carolyn Tobinson explains that they were able to integrate with Mango, a system developed by an Ace retailer to support cycle counting—allowing Tobinson Hardware to seamlessly compare physical stock with existing inventory records.
Along with integration of existing systems, onboarding new and existing staff to a new RMS should also be simple. Luke Venable, President of Forest Lake Greenhouses, describes the dramatic shift in work flows and productivity that occurred when he migrated to Propello to help with things like inventory and pricing at his busy, seasonally-driven business.
At the time he made the change, four experienced cashiers were the source of all pricing information, as many items were unmarked; these cashiers simply memorized the prices. When new employees came onboard, they often didn’t have the time to spend familiarizing themselves with this information before facing the high-demand, seasonal crowds. Propello eliminated this large hurdle, taking the pricing information out of the staff’s heads and migrating it into data in the cloud.
The results were notable. “With Epicor Propello, new staff is productive faster than we ever thought possible,” Venable says. “Instead of working registers, our most knowledgeable people are now on the sales floor, answering customers’ questions and driving sales. That is huge for our business.” It has also opened up additional staffing opportunities for Forest Lake Greenhouses during its busy season, he adds. “We are no longer limited to four cashiers; we have eight or nine employees who can use the system, giving us tremendous flexibility.”
Streamlining of staff training, quicker onboarding, comparative inventory information, and seamless integration with existing applications—Propello has helped retailers achieve all of these goals. Best of all, the ultimate beneficiaries of these innovations are the customers—and isn’t that what successful retail operations are all about?
At Epicor, we walk the talk. Let us help you today.
Learn how Epicor Propello can make every day easier for your business.
