Company News • 10.06.2015
Comprehensive automated management of retail services
SPAR Group announces seamless global retail service operations system
SPAR Group has announced the launch of its SPARtrac Global Retail Service Operations System.
The enhanced system, culminating years of research, development and testing, has been designed to provide retailers and manufacturers the most comprehensive set of tools for more efficiently managing retail services including general merchandising, demonstrations, promotional events, sales assist, audits and assembly.
Panos Mastrogiannis, SPAR Group's Chief Information Officer, commented, "Our global, Fortune 1000 Clients are actively seeking more efficient customized solutions to manage increasingly complex merchandising and compliance needs across their global retail locations. SPARtrac seamlessly manages everything from job initiation to reporting while also providing unlimited data collection capabilities in real-time, worldwide. We routinely collect more than 1000 data points in a single store visit. Competitive systems only collect a fraction of that amount."
By providing more operational visibility and control, SPARtrac provides a clearer picture of what is happening on the sales floor and speeds up reaction times to maximize product movement, while optimizing field efficiencies at the same time. The combination of more visibility, speed, control, accuracy and efficiency in moving product through the store leads to more sales and profits.
A few specific key benefits include:
- More than 170 applications for automated management and visibility of everything from personnel and workflow management to data collection and reporting to issue tracking and resolution. Most competitor systems manage only a handful of applications
- Unlimited data point collection. Most collect only a few
- Uninterrupted data collection with no connectivity needed. With most others, merchandisers need to find data connection to collect store data, slowing the work down considerably
- Multi-lingual capabilities that seamlessly connect multiple countries around the world, thus improving the visibility and management of international operations
- Adaptive technology: SPARtrac integrates with client systems, is customizable to solve specific client needs, and incorporates the latest technologies and tools from across the globe, including image recognition software for more efficient auditing
- Workflow management and data reporting by country, district, retailer, state, store, fixture, UPC, merchandiser and more
- Six Sigma reliability levels with 24/7/365 tech support worldwide
The SPARtrac Global Retail Service Operations System is fully operational now for use by all SPAR Clients. Its launch coincides with a re-launch of SPAR's website, which includes a portal for clients to log into the SPARtrac system and access real-time data to aid in making critical business decisions quickly.
The new dashboard allows Clients to quickly see topline results and identify trends with graph and chart summaries, view an execution heat map to see where store visits are scheduled, completed and pictures have been taken, access the SPAReyes Photo/Video Manager, track issues, and drill down to specific data of interest to them with a quick click. Clients can also access all data wherever they are using the system's SPAR On The Go mobile app.
Both the new SPARtrac Global Retail Service Operations System and the message throughout the new website reinforce SPAR's focus on the end result of what it helps its clients do: Get more out of the store. SVP Marketing Dave Musiel stated, "The primary focus of many of our competitors is on selling product into the store. At SPAR, we maximize our Clients' results by thinking differently. It's not about how much product gets in the store. It's about how much gets out. Our job, and the job of our technology, is to optimize the sell-through as quickly, efficiently and informatively as possible."
Source: SPAR Group
