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An Outsourcing Twist ... more
A New Upside to Markdowns ... more
Who’s Who at KWI? ... more
Using Coupons Makes Good Cents ... more
Short Cuts – Fast, Helpful Hints ... more
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Leading Indian Apparel Firm Madura Garments
Outsources Retail Systems to KWIIt's no secret that in recent years many companies have chosen to outsource their IT services in order to control operating costs, particularly in the United States. Well, in an interesting case of reverse outsourcing, Madura Garments, India's leading branded apparel and retail company, last month signed KWI to be its managed services provider.
Madura Garments is a division of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., the India-based conglomerate of global powerhouse Aditya Burla Group. Aditya Burla Group is a $28 billion corporation with more than 100,000 employees operating in 20 different countries worldwide. A virtual Fortune 500 company, they rank at or near the top of a diverse set of industries ranging from the global manufacture of metals, textiles, cement and fertilizer to domestic cellular telephony and life insurance.
In 2007, Madura Garments was the winner of several of India's prestigious 2007 CMAI awards for excellence in apparels, including "Most Admired Company of the Year Award" and "Best Clothing Company of the Year Award - Domestic." The company holds the license for brands like Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solley and Peter Englund. Madura also plays a significant role as a preferred global supplier for international brands, such as Tommy Hilfiger. Its retail chains include Planet Fashion and Trouser Town.
According to Gary Brill, VP of Business Development for KWI, Madura executives conducted an extensive search to find just the right partner that could meet their retail technology needs and found KWI to be the perfect fit. “We were chosen because of our experience in dealing with couture brand retailers,” he says. “We’re providing Madura with point-of-sale and merchandising systems as well as in-store customer relationship with full integration to their other systems, including financials and warehousing.”
Madura will be using KWI's standard suite of technology solutions, thus demonstrating how the power and flexibility of our web-based back office architecture combined with NSB's Coalition software are well-suited for today's
global retail markets. The addition of Madura Garments to our growing portfolio of international clients in Asia, Canada and Europe further reinforces KWI's position as a leader in retail managed services, globally as well as domestically.
For more information, please contact Gary Brill at: [email protected] or (516) 621-2400, ext. 325.
KWI Releases Updated Version
of its Markdown ApplicationIn a business world that is ever-changing and complex, we at KWI are always looking for ways to streamline processes and improve efficiency. Therefore, KWI is pleased to announce next month's release of an updated version of the Create New Markdown application.
This release was designed specifically towards improving how your company manages and executes markdowns, with new features and more efficient processing.
The list of enhancements includes the following:
�● New Selection Criteria that will allow you to markdown based on worst or slowest sellers. Selection Criteria includes Sell Thru, Margin, Weeks in Store, Price Point and Weeks of Supply, in addition to all of the existing hierarchy selections.
�● The ability to view the value of the markdowns while working within the application.
�● New Markdown Selection Report, which will give you the ability, based on selection criteria, to define your best and slowest sellers.
Additionally, the new version features extensive metric columns that provide insight into both sales history and inventory position, including:
�● Units Sold WTD�● Units Sold up to a Rolling 4 Weeks�● Period to Date Units Sold�● On Order�● In Transit�● Initial Mark Up Percent�● Current Mark Up Percent�● Weeks of Supply
These metrics have the ability to be sorted whichever way best suits your business needs. They will allow to gain greater insight into your product supply
and inventory and, ultimately, make smarter business decisions.
In keeping with KWI's ongoing commitment to helping your business run more effectively, we're happy to provide this exciting release just in time for the upcoming holiday season.
For more information, please contact Jodi Solotoff, VP of Client Relations, at: [email protected] or (516) 621-2400, ext. 310.
Meet Our Implementation Manager!Name: Gary Stein
Position: Implementation Manager
Joined the KWI team: March 2008
Credentials: I have worked for both big and small companies in IT. I have extensive management experience, working as a Project Manager for IBM and
Nature’s Bounty, Inc., as well as a Project Manager and Executive VP for Blitz Systems, Inc., and Core Software Solutions, Inc., both IT consulting and service firms.
Most interested in – at work: Making sure customers’ needs are taken care of and that they are happy with our efforts
Most interested in – at play: Sports and traveling
Most memorable work experience: Running all facets of a client’s IT department as well as completing a project to incorporate their network into the parent company’s environment during an 18-month engagement.
Most memorable personal experience: Touring through a jungle in Thailand on an elephant.
Favorite movie: The Godfather
Meet Additional Members of the Client Services Team!
Name: Teresa Rosato
Position: Client Services Representative
Joined the KWI team: May 2007
Credentials: 16 years of experience in the retail field, including merchandising, ordering, inventory and planning. I have worked for major retailers, such as Federated
Department Stores and, most recently, Limited Brands, where I spent 9 years.
Most interested in – at work: Utilizing my experience to solve problems for clients
Most interested in – at play: Cooking & tending to my vegetable garden and using the “fruits” of my labor in recipes
Most memorable work experience: Many years ago, while working as a store manager, I made a huge breakthrough with a problematic associate. I really listened to her, and she became a leader among her peers and went on to be promoted to management.
Most memorable personal experience: Hiking the rain forest in South America, purchasing my house.
Favorite movie: Office Space
Favorite book: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Most prized possession: My garden
Personal motto: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.” Name: Patty Wisniewski
Position: Client Services Representative
Joined the KWI team: March 2008
Credentials: Joined KWI from an extensive specialty retailer background. Spent the last 9 years with Limited Brands holding many different management roles.
Most interested in – at work: Learning something new every day from the amazing talent at KWI
Most interested in – at play: Spending time with my family, traveling, gardening
Most memorable work experience: Winning a ticket to sit front row at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Most memorable personal experience: Planning my wedding & purchasing our home.
Most prized possession: My golden retriever Munson
Personal motto: “Life is too short; live each day to the fullest!”
KWI Introduces Coupon Functionality
Who doesn’t like saving money?
Particularly in this economy, with gas prices being what they are and airlines charging for everything from baggage to food, your customers appreciate the opportunity to take advantage of a “percentage off” campaign.
And with coupons being a promotional vehicle that every client can utilize, KWI is excited to offer a coupon
functionality that offers retailers an additional edge within an already competitive marketplace. Coupons not only aid sales, but ultimately can drive a greater average ticket.
KWI offers 3 types of coupon options:
�● % off Total Purchase. For example, if customers purchase between $0 and $49, they can receive 10 percent off, or if they purchase between $50 and $100, they get 15 percent off, etc.
�● $$ off Total Purchase. Similarly, customers who purchase between $50 and $100 may receive $5 off; purchases made between $100 and $150, get $15 off, etc.
�● BOGO, or “Buy One Get One...” Here, customers can either buy a product and get the same product free or, depending upon the promotion, get that product at half price.
What’s more, any of these offers can be honored with or without a coupon, and they can all be based on threshold dollar amounts. Also, you have the ability to specify a particular level of hierarchy, as well as vendor, style or UPC, or to run for all.
Remember, as we head into a highly promotionally priced season, coupons are a great way to boost sales of otherwise slow-selling items, while thanking loyal customers and encouraging them to continue shopping.
For more information, please contact Jodi Solotoff, VP of Client Relations, at:
This Month’s Short Cuts
Time-saving tips and ideas that are right on the money – from the staff of KWI.
1. CRM Tip of the Month … from Jubin Thomas, CRM Services Manager
The 411 on NCOA
Did you know that not all NCOA (national change of address) processing is created equal? Of course, if you’re not even doing NCOA processing on your database, that’s a whole other issue, but if you are, you may be sending out
your database and spending those precious marketing budget dollars with the hope that you are capturing ALL customer moves when, in fact, you are not.
It is important to make sure that the NCOA processing is capturing moves that go back at least 48 months. Many NCOA processors offer an 18-month processing range, often as a default, but while the cost difference between an 18-month and a 48-month is zero dollars for most retailers, the difference in capturing moves is significant.
Recently, we tested that difference for a client with a 2-million-plus record database and found we captured 21 percent more with the 48-month processing than we did with the 18-month processing. A total of 21 percent may not seem like a big deal, but in terms of your company’s customer reach, that’s a pretty significant percentage.
For more information on NCOA processing, please contact KWI-CRM at: [email protected] or call (516) 621-2400, ext. 367.
2. LP Tip of the Month … from William Ramos, Director of Investigations
A Penny for Your Thefts?
POS workstations are a key tool in everyday business for retailers. Unfortunately, they are also a key part of internal theft. Workstations should be monitored for the warning signs of employee theft. These include:
�● Coins consistently being left outside the cash drawer. These are sometimes used by dishonest employees to track their own cash theft through fraudulent cash voids (e.g., penny = $1; nickel = $5). Paper clips or similar items are sometimes used as well.
�● Cash or coins placed in incorrect slots in the register drawer. �● Purses, backpacks, etc., at the POS workstation that shouldn’t be there.�● Frequent cash shortages and overages.
In addition to knowing these signs, prevention is key. Be sure to create and enforce POS policies and procedures; conduct frequent, random POS audits; make sure you understand the audit programs and POS exception reports made available to you.
For more information, please contact William Ramos at: [email protected] or call (516) 403-2413. Electronic Check, Please
Do you accept electronic checks? More and more merchants do.
Electronic check processing converts customers’ paper checks into electronic payments from their bank account. In other words, when a customer gives a paper check to your store cashier, the check is run through an electronic system that captures his or her bank account information and the amount of the check. That information, rather than the check itself, is electronically sent to the customer’s bank or other financial institution, and the funds are transferred into the merchant’s account. This method of payment processing is especially effective for businesses that have thousands of transactions per month.
There are several benefits to using electronic checks:
�● Merchants have less of a chance of accepting a bad check, due to various check verification or check guarantee processes.
�● The elimination of trips to the bank to deposit checks.�● You can offer your customer an additional payment method.�● It takes less time for funds to be deposited in a bank account.
These days, customers are looking for fast, convenient checkouts. Offering electronic check conversions not only eases the process for them, but for you and your staff as well.
For more information regarding Electronic Check Services, please contact David Drucker, President, KWI Merchant Services, at: [email protected] or (516) 621-2400, ext. 720.
