Associated Grocers Moves to Intactix Space Management Solutions and Web-enabled planograms.Business Editors & High Tech Writers IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2000 Associated Grocers Associated Grocers is a retailers' cooperative that distributes full lines of groceries and general merchandise. Originally founded in 1934, it also provides retail services to independent groceries in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. , Inc., a veteran of computer-aided merchandising for over nine years, has moved into web-enabled space and category management software provided by Intactix International; and, after less than a year up and running with the software, the company's space management organization is reporting a productivity increase of approximately 300 percent for its planogramming staff. AG now provides multiple retailers in the Western US and Pacific Rim Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important and interconnected economic region. with the advanced planogram automation and analysis delivered from multiple Intactix solutions and uses the Web to distribute its planograms internationally (www.agseattle.com). AG and Intactix finalized the implementation of Intactix's computer-aided merchandising solutions for use within its space management organization in 1999. This includes planogramming and analysis software, InterCept(TM), file conversion application InterSpace interspace /in·ter·space/ (in´ter-spas) a space between similar structures. in·ter·space n. A space between two things; an interval. (TM), and image storage/display application InterVision(TM). AG and Intactix have also implemented Intactix's automation tool AutoPilot(TM), which speeds the technology approach for those who routinely have many space management tasks and processes to execute. "We have taken exactly the step we need to move forward with our space and category management initiatives for this new data-driven era," said Associated Grocers' Stuart Cohn. "By using InterCept planograms as a communications tool to our retailers and category partners-- and by setting up relational databases and automating them with AutoPilot--we have already seen a 300 percent productivity increase for our planogramming staff. We are also eliminating the `paper shuffle' and saving a great deal of time by distributing our planograms as PDF files through our Web Site." Associated Grocers is a retailer-owned co-operative which provides food, general merchandise, and retail services to independent grocers throughout Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Pacific Rim. AG's 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space services more than 300 of the most sophisticated and aggressive independent retailers in the nation. It is one of the largest and most progressive grocery distribution centers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , providing its own store brands to a broad spectrum of retailers. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Cohn, the smaller file sizes that result in converting InterCept planogram files to Adobe PDF files have made web-based planogram distribution both easier and more manageable for the retailers and category partners AG supports: "We started creating Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) The de facto standard for document publishing from Adobe. On the Web, there are countless brochures, data sheets, white papers and technical manuals in the PDF format. planogram files in 1998 using a different software," said Cohn. "And we experienced some complications. The electronic footprints of the PDF planogram files are still a bit big, but they are 70 percent smaller than they were before. This year, we plan to optimize this file translation process further, decreasing the original planogram file size by another 90 percent. And once these are compressed into an executable zip format for email distribution, that should bring the file sizes down even more. This will increase our retailers' and category partners' access and overall use of our planograms, which are maintained on a monthly basis." According to Cohn, AG plans to migrate to Intactix's 32-bit space management solution, pro/space(TM) as soon as all of the relevant scripting tools are in place: "This could increase our productivity to an even greater degree and allow us to more easily cluster our planograms," he said. About the software InterCept is the most commonly used Space Management system in the world. It offers users Windows-based, digital tools for collecting, auditing, maintaining and analyzing all data required to produce planograms (the graphical representations of optimized fixture and product combinations). It provides company headquarters with the features it needs to handle everything from planogram construction, to image management, complex category analysis and reporting. And, it integrates tightly with other Intactix products, allowing both assortment and space to be optimized centrally by retailers. AutoPilot automates many space management processes, combines many of them into one script, each of which carries out one or more critical processes. The application also allows access to external timing applications so scripts can run even when users are not at the computer terminal. It guarantees data integrity across the entire space management data set including product, planogram, performance, and floor plan data, and it offers users features like a drag-and-drop script interface and an intuitive command and function language, which makes scripting easy. "Associated Grocers and its retailers are delivering solutions that are tailored to today's consumer," said Intactix President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Kevin Stadler Kevin Stadler (born February 5, 1980) is an American golfer. Stadler was born in Reno, Nevada. He is the son of former Masters champion and 13-time winner on the PGA Tour Craig Stadler. . "Enabling these retail-focused wholesalers to produce planograms that are specific to regional clusters of stores is one of many waves that is moving through today's consumer-focused, category management trend. And, with the advanced, space-planning analysis functionality and web-enabled planogram distribution options AG now has, they are poised to maximize consumer satisfaction. This is because, among other reasons, the Intactix solutions they now use are uniquely crafted to enhance cluster and store-specific planogram productivity." More about the software InterCept and InterVision offer users world-class, Windows-based software tools for creating, editing, analyzing, and distributing all data required to produce planograms. Combining the functions of these two software products, users can display and manipulate planograms using product images in a variety of image formats. Combining InterCept with InterSpace, the industry-standard planogram data translation tool, gives users the power and flexibility to exchange files among any of the leading retail space management software packages. Pro/space was designed to integrate with the existing and future Intactix suite of merchandising solutions; it is a software application for analyzing fixture space and performance data of products. It enables creation and maintenance of multiple planogram projects, delivering cross planogram analysis. It expands merchandising activities with multidimensional positioning capabilities and 3-D visualization and delivers innovative fixture types (curved rods, polygonal pol·y·gon n. A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments. po·lyg  o·nal adj. shelves and more) to meet real world needs. The software's architecture supports advanced 3-D graphics, project planogram clusters, and relational database integration among other features. It provides new productivity possibilities and unrivaled integration capacity due to its state-of-the-art automation architecture. AutoPilot, InterCept, Inter/Space, InterVision, and pro/space are trademarks of Intactix International. Background Founded in 1990, Intactix is the world's leading provider of space management software and merchandising solutions with a product range that includes the new 32-bit flagship product A primary product of a company, which is typically why the company was founded and/or what made it well known. For example, MS-DOS, Windows and the Microsoft Office suite have been flagship products of Microsoft. CorelDRAW is a flagship product of Corel Corporation. pro/space(TM), InterCept and InterRange(TM) among others. With global headquarters just outside of Dallas in Irving, Texas Irving (pronounced 'er-ving') is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 191,615; the 2006 estimate was 201,927 according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and 196,084 according to , and sales and development offices in major cities around the world, Intactix provides merchandising productivity software to over 3000 retailers and manufacturers worldwide, including six of the world's top ten retailers. A partial list of these users includes: American Stores American Stores was the name of a United States chain of supermarkets. It was formed in 1917 when Acme Markets merged with four other Philadelphia area grocery chains into American Stores. American Stores would grow to 1,700 stores in 40 states with $15 billion in sales. Company; ASDA ASDA American Student Dental Association ASDA Australian Sports Drug Agency ASDA American Sleep Disorders Association ASDA American Stamp Dealers Association ASDA Australian Screen Directors' Association ASDA Accelerate-Stop Distance Available ; A&P Canada; Bristol-Myers Squibb Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), colloquially referred to as BMS, is a pharmaceutical corporation, formed by a 1989 merger between pharmaceutical companies Bristol-Myers Company, founded in 1887 by William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers in Clinton, NY (both were Company; Canadian Tire Canadian Tire (TSX: CTC, CTC.A) is one of Canada's 35 largest publicly traded companies and operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing (hardgoods, apparel and petroleum) and services (financial and automotive). ; Coca-Cola Company; ConAgra, Inc.; Dayton Hudson Corporation; H.E. Butt Grocery; Kellogg Company For other uses, see Kellogg. Kellogg Company (often referred to as simply Kellogg or Kellogg's) is an American multinational producer of breakfast foods, snack foods, cookies, and crackers, with corporate headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. ; Kmart Corporation; Kraft Canada, Inc.; Overwaitea Food Group Overwaitea Foods is a regional chain of supermarkets located in British Columbia, Canada. All are owned by the Jim Pattison Group. On March 8, 1915, Robert C. Kidd purchased a store at 746 Columbia Street in New Westminster, British Columbia. ; Metro; Procter & Gamble, Inc.; RadioShack; Safeway UK; Sainsbury's; Sears, Roebuck and Company Sears, Roebuck and Company U.S. merchandising company, historically one of the world's largest retailers. It was founded in 1893 by Richard W. Sears (1863–1914) and Alvah C. Roebuck (1864–1948). ; Tesco Lotus Tesco Lotus is a hypermarket chain in Thailand and China. In Thailand, the stores are operated by Ek-Chai Distribution System Co., Ltd. Established in 1998, Tesco Lotus was a joint venture of the Charoen Pokphand Group and Tesco, the British giant supermarket chain. Supercenter; and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. |
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