CommercialWare Launches Java Powered Cross-Channel Retail Solution.

CWSerenade Unites the Power of Java Technology with the Depth and Breadth of CommercialWare Expertise

NATICK, Mass. -- CommercialWare, Inc., the leading provider of cross-channel commerce solutions for retailers, today announced CWSerenade, a next-generation, Java-based solution that delivers cross-channel order management, customer service and fulfillment functionality enabling retailers and direct marketers to transact and support their customers at all points-of-touch from one integrated solution.

"Many retailers are moving toward open-source technologies and with that in mind, CommercialWare developed CWSerenade with all of the best practices and knowledge we've gained over the years working closely with our customers and partners," said Jane Cannon, chief operating officer at CommercialWare. "With the delivery of CWSerenade, CommercialWare and Datavantage applications now share a common platform, allowing us to deliver CWSerenade, Xstore, Relate Retail CRM, Analytics and Enterprise Java Merchandising all on the same infrastructure."

CWSerenade is a feature-rich solution with seven comprehensive modules to address the cross-channel retailer's need for order management, fulfillment, customer service, warehousing/inventory control, merchandising, marketing and finance. These modules share a common database that provides real-time visibility to all customer and inventory information through the entire transaction lifecycle. It allows the retailer to collect and manage transaction details from all channels in real-time so information is accessible to deliver a channel transparent experience for the customer.

"One way we differentiate ourselves is through customer service and being responsive to our customer's needs," said William Craig, president, The Mercantile Group, a retailer and distributor of hockey equipment and apparel. "With CWSerenade, we are able to manage our orders and streamline distribution, specifically monitoring inventory quantities and maintaining an order trail for accurate billing and auditing."

"We wanted to replace our existing system to increase reliability and provide for scalability and growth," said Adam Loef, CEO, American Botanical Pharmacy, a worldwide direct to consumer marketer of herbal formula and natural healing supplements. "We selected CWSerenade for real-time visibility into our inventory and customer activity across online, call center and mail order transactions, which enables us to efficiently pick, pack and ship all of our merchandise to consumers while providing our customers with a delightful experience."

CWSerenade, the evolution of CWDirect, provides an integrated suite of modules that manage the entire retail transaction lifecycle--from informing and attracting customers, to merchandising, fulfillment and customer service. Current CWDirect customers have an easy migration path to CWSerenade because of similar database structures, interfaces and existing business logic. The advantage of using Java lies in its tremendous flexibility, allowing retailers to deploy CWSerenade in their choice of environments thus ensuring compatibility and reducing total cost of ownership. In a tiered environment, the database, application server and operating system are easily configurable to meet a retailer's particular needs.

"As a leading provider of interactive web commerce solutions delivering high end, high touch websites for major retail brands, we offer CWSerenade to those clients who need order management as a complement to the design and transaction expertise we provide," said David Fry, president and chief executive officer of Fry, Inc. "We pride ourselves on the excellent service we provide to customers, and CWSerenade is a solution that allows us to extend a similar level of service to them."

As an n-tier Java EE solution, CWSerenade is database, application server and operating system independent. The application can be deployed in the retailer's environment of choice and is currently being supported on a SQL database with JBOSS as the application server, on a DB2 database with IBM Websphere[R] as the application server, or running on an IBM i5 with an integrated DB2/Websphere[R] as a delivery option.

"Java and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) enable businesses to become more agile and flexible in response to changing business environments," said Judith Hurwitz, president and CEO of Hurwitz & Associates, an analyst, research and strategy firm in Waltham, Massachusetts. "For the retail industry, the competition, change, and increasing consumer expectations demand an open and agile infrastructure to respond to these market dynamics. Datavantage and CommercialWare are focused on the customer benefit achieved by embracing SOA and industry standards."

About CommercialWare

CommercialWare, a division of Datavantage, develops cross-channel commerce infrastructure solutions that allow retailers and direct marketers to optimize transactions from all customer touch points. CommercialWare's comprehensive portfolio of products seamlessly links all aspects of the transaction lifecycle through point-of-sale, back-office, order management, fulfillment, customer service, collaboration, and analytics applications. The organization offers a confluence of multi-channel solutions that power many of the leading retail brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Party Land, Chico's, J.Jill, Ritz Camera, Jos. A. Bank and Patagonia. For more information on CommercialWare visit www.commercialware.com.

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