At this week's National Retail Federation Annual Convention & Expo, Microsoft Corp. unveiled Microsoft Dynamics for retail, a fully integrated end-to-end business management solution for specialty retail chains. An additional benefit is the consistent user interface across the system that works like and with familiar Microsoft software, such as the Microsoft Office system.

    Among the current distribution partners for the solution are Microsoft Gold Certified Partners Columbus IT and POSitive Technology, implementation partners for the Dallas Cowboys. The Microsoft Dynamics for retail solution is available in English today. Localized versions will be released in late 2008. Not only do the players perform impressively on the field, the team is a business and merchandising powerhouse, with interests that include 35 retail outlets, a medical magnetic resonance imaging center, and oil and gas companies.

    The new solution offers a powerful way to generate accurate, timely data, enhance employee productivity and customer service, streamline supply chain processes and operations, and drive down costs across their organization. The Dallas Cowboys are in the vanguard of customers signing up for the Microsoft Dynamics for retail solution.

    The Microsoft Dynamics for retail solution offers the value of strong customer service at the point of sale, powerful headquarters management of the retail chain, and seamless integration to the supply chain, warehouse and beyond - all in a flexible, scalable package. It delivers critical business intelligence, such as real-time exchange of inventory, and sales and financial data between headquarters and stores, which enables retailers to maximize operational efficiencies, increase profitability and fuel growth.

    "Retailers are asking us to deliver comprehensive Microsoft Dynamics solutions that will improve their business, and we believe that this new solution will meet the diverse needs of specialty retailers," staed Jeff McKee, director of Microsoft Dynamics industry product management at Microsoft. "The Microsoft Dynamics for retail solution delivers ease of implementation, a reduced IT management footprint, a familiar, consistent user experience, and tight integration with existing Microsoft applications. These are the features that retailers today are calling for, and because the solutions are from Microsoft, retailers have the assurance that they're investing in a solution that not only meets their needs today, but will into the future."

The Microsoft Dynamics for retail solution enables retailers to accomplish the following:
    - Use reliable, real-time data to drive more effective strategies
    - Base pricing, promotional, purchasing and merchandising decisions on hard facts rather than gut instinct
    - Seamlessly share information across the supply chain with trading partners and vendors
    - Maximize cross-selling and up-selling opportunities by putting rich customer data in the hands of sales staff for increased productivity and improved customer service
    - Drill down into centralized sales data by product, store, sales associate, supplier and region to glean insights into customer purchasing patterns and stay ahead of the competition
    - Calibrate inventory levels with customer demand to reduce waste and stay on top of what's hot and what's not, quickly replenishing best-sellers and cutting losses on slow-moving items
    - Use a finer-grained understanding of their business to gain an upper hand in negotiations with suppliers