[January 14, 2013]

Rollin' Oats Wins Progressive Grocer Tech Award for Implementation of ECRS Retail Automation

Florida-based natural grocery retailer Rollin' Oats Market & Café has been named Progressive Grocer's Tech Award winner for Store Operations. Rollin' Oats was chosen for this honor based on its success and industry leadership in executing ECR Software Corporation's (ECRS) point-of-sale, inventory auto replenishment, and supplier integration system across its multiple store locations.

Rollin' Oats Market & Cafe Wins PG Tech Award (Photo: Business Wire)

Taking on the challenge of overcoming traditional thinking in grocery inventory processes, Mike Asher, Chief Operating Officer of Rollin' Oats, began implementing advanced features including recently introduced CATAPULT ™ auto-reorder with DemandFILL™ and ECRS Gateway (News - Alert) LogicSync™ technologies over the past year. Across the enterprise, return on investment (ROI) was met soon after implementation with dramatic results such as an eight percent increase in profit growth (20% overall; 8% directly associated with system implementation), automated Gateway connections with 85 suppliers, and time savings of 20-30+ hours per week, which they have rededicated to customer service and merchandising activities.

"The biggest challenge we faced was getting employees on board," said Asher. "We have a lot of experienced buyers that were used t outdated methods of ordering (walking the aisles with clipboards, antiquated hand held order machines, relying on sales reps to place orders, etc). Once they saw the way the systems work and how much time savings there is, they embraced the change and have seen the growth."

DemandFILL, one of four replenishment methods in CATAPULT, uses multiple ordering factors combined with proprietary business logic to generate the best order possible. This suggested order generation technology reduces costly inventory management mishaps such as ordering the wrong product, overstock, and out-of-stocks. When used with ECRS Gateway, CATAPULT automatically transmits the approved purchase order to any supplier and receives fulfillment information, such as price updates and shipped quantities, back through the system. All order information can be tracked through a web-based dashboard showing each step in the order fulfillment process.

Asher further explained, "Sales have definitely increased through the utilization of auto replenishment and ECRS Gateway. We were experiencing 12% growth prior to the implementation and now consistently achieve close to 20%. Profits have significantly increased since we spend more time seeking deals and promotions (buying better) and more importantly enjoying face time selling to our customers."

"Any technology that frees up store associates' time is a great asset to have," said Joseph Tarnowski, senior editor for Progressive Grocer and editor-in-chief of Progressive Grocer Independent. "Especially for independent grocers like Rollin' Oats, where strong customer engagement is a key differentiator. More time spent with shoppers means more sales."

This is the second consecutive year an ECRS customer has been selected for this prestigious industry award. Last year, independent grocery chain Star Super Markets won for their integration of ECRS' Catapult and the QS1 prescription systems used within the in-store pharmacies.

Progressive Grocer will present Tech Awards during National Retail Federation's Annual Trade Show and Convention. Awards will be presented in the Stagnito Media Booth # C336 at 12:00 PM EST on Monday, January 14, 2013.

Visit ECRS in Booth #2261 during NRF 2013 for complete system demonstrations and ROI analysis. To pre-schedule an appointment time, please visit www.ecrsoft.com/nrf2013/. For more information about the complete ECRS retail enterprise management suite, go to www.ecrs.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130114005338/en/

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