2006 InfoWorld 100 Awards: Retail

BoekhandelsGroep Nederland (BGN) www.bgn.nl
Item Level RFID Retail System
Project Lead: Jan Vink, CIO
Project Description: When BGN opened its new Selexyz bookstore on April 25, it dubbed it a "smart store," as it was the first in the chain to implement item-level RFID tagging. BGN used the following solutions: Progress Apama Event Stream Processing, which tracks each book from the warehouse, reconciles the shipping notice with the books received, and locates each book in the store. Customers can use Progress Easy Ask, a natural-language search engine available at the store's kiosks, to look up books. BGN used OpenEdge as the development platform for the Selexyz Atlas project, and it manages front- and back-office applications. The store's inventory is automatically updated, special orders are sent to a special location for pickup, and any discrepancies are flagged. An e-mail or SMS is automatically sent notifying customers the order has arrived.

Free IT resource Hear how top CIOs turn change into a competitive advantage. Sponsored by HP Free IT resource Try Sun servers, workstations and storage products free for 60-days. Sponsored by Sun Microsystems 2006 InfoWorld 100 Winners » Top 10 Finalists » Winners by Industry Sector DOWNLOAD PDF 2006 InfoWorld 100 Awards (Registration required)

Hasbro www.hasbro.com
Business Process Management for Supply Chain
Project Lead: Dave Adams, Business Integration Manager
Project Description: Before Hasbro adopted Lombardi Teamworks as its BPM solution -- known as the e-Connect project -- almost all of the processes for determining an order and its supplier were paper-based and manually intensive. Hasbro used SAP to manage all transactions, but it wasn't managing the RFQ process. Hasbro now receives orders electronically from its customers directly into the SAP system. Individual quotes are separated, and RFQs sent to the vendors who can supply the items. Each RFQ is sent to a vendor via e-mail and includes Internet links to a Hasbro Web form through which the vendor responds with a quote for fulfillment. All vendor quotes received are aggregated, sorted, and queued for selection based on price and delivery so that the optimal sourcing contract(s) can be identified. At any time, the business user can see the status of the quote on a single screen instead of mulling through hundreds of faxes.

Marks & Spencer www.marksandspencer.com
RFID Tagging Trial
Project Lead: James Stafford, RFID Manager
Project Description: Deployed BT's Auto-ID platform. This has been customized to suit M&S' needs and is integrated with its other IT systems. Auto-ID is used to help machines identify physical objects -- items passing through various stages of an extended supply chain -- and provide information about them through automatic data capture. The system has increased efficiency, reduced data-entry errors, and freed staff to perform more value-added functions.

Volvo Cars Belgium www.volvocars.be
SOA-Enabled Dealer Management System
Project Lead: Christoph Cordier, Customer Service Director for Volvo Cars Belgium
Project Description: With XDMS Dealer Management System from XPower Automative System, car dealers are now able to track a car through its entire lifecycle using the car's VIN (vehicle identification number). The system keeps records on the car's maintenance history, warranty repairs, service appointments, technician time, parts, and customer invoices. It also handles back-office functions such as monthly reporting for the vehicle manufacturer. The SOA (service-oriented architecture) uses OpenEdge from Progress Software. Volvo placed an ESB on top of the application allowing it to reuse existing applications. With the new system, dealers can access the company's Global Car Configurator to order new cars and Vehicle Information and Diagnostics for After-Sale, which is linked directly to the car's onboard computer that diagnoses maintenance issues. The dealers also have access to information in real time. Conversely, when dealers make updates to orders they are automatically updated in the global system.

2006 INFOWORLD 100 WINNERS
Top 10 Finalists
Computing/Tech                                          Distribution/Supply Chain
Education                                                      Financial Services
Government                                                  Health Care
Insurance                                                      Manufacturing
Media/Multimedia                                        Pharmaceuticals
Retail                                                              Services
Sports                                                             Telecommunications
Transportation                                              Unspecified