Apparel retailer Glik's selects Epicor SaaS to support further expansion of retail operations

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Apparel retailer Glik's selects Epicor SaaS to support further expansion of retail operations.

Glik's has selected the Epicors Retail Software as a Service (SaaS) solution to provide its Midwest US retail locations with software and hosting infrastructure and services to help drive improved efficiencies and processes throughout its retail operations. For more than a century, Glik's has been delivering great service and suburban fashion to shoppers across the Midwest. What began in 1897 with Joseph Glik selling merchandise from his horse-drawn wagon has transformed into a successful, family-owned apparel business with 53 locations throughout Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota.

The Epicor Retail SaaS solution, which delivers Epicor's acclaimed and integrated Store, Merchandising, Planning, Audit & Operations Management and CRM modules, was chosen to support the company's ongoing expansion, which averages four to six new store openings each year. To further drive efficiencies, Glik's is also leveraging electronic data interchange (EDI) services via Epicor alliance partner TIE Kinetix, providing Epicor SaaS clients with an array of integrated on demand tools and services to allow clients to automate the way business documents are exchanged throughout the supply chain. This much-improved electronic document processing capability helps lower Glik's overall operating expenses, accelerate time-to-market, and make for predictable operations costs. Glik's also benefits from the latest business-to-business technologies, optimised processes, and standardisation methodologies that advance the way companies electronically connect with their vendors.

"We've relied on Epicor legacy systems since 1993 to keep our business on track and ahead of the curve, and although we did take the opportunity to conduct a formal review of market solutions before making our decision, we were delighted to find Epicor is still the ideal solution for us," said Jeff Glik, CEO and president, Glik's.

"To support our growth, we needed to update and expand IT systems, but didn't have the right IT structure in place, nor did we want to build one," said Darryl Gerstenecker, CIO/CFO, Glik's. "Epicor's SaaS solutions offer a tremendous value proposition for small- to medium-sized retailers. We now have an end-to-end integrated solution being managed by a team of retail software experts -- giving us best-of-breed capabilities and technology 'muscle' used by large retailers."

"Our team has access to everything from help desk to infrastructure to application support -- all being managed through Epicor's team of experts who eat, sleep and breathe retail technology," said Mary Pavlik, director of Information Systems, Glik's.

With minimal up-front cost and turnkey service and support, the Epicor Retail SaaS delivery model provides retailers with access to Epicor's award-winning suite of solutions for the specialty retail marketplace while reducing the dependency on onsite retail IT infrastructure. The "pay as you go" SaaS pricing model eliminates the need to amortise the cost of traditional software licenses, resulting in significant total cost of ownership advantages. The Epicor Retail SaaS solution includes the associated implementation and integration services, support and maintenance, as well as ongoing updates and upgrades, giving retailers the freedom and flexibility to focus IT resources on other parts of the business. With a proven four-month project timeline from project kick off to live, the Epicor Retail SaaS solution offers considerable time-to-market benefits.

For a fixed fee plus a one-time start-up charge, the SaaS offering delivers Epicor's best-in-class Store, Merchandising, Planning, Audit & Operations Management, and CRM solutions via reliable, high-speed networks. Epicor hosts the software on secure, redundant servers, supplies and installs all hardware, software and infrastructure, and provides round-the-clock data security, backups and complete system maintenance -- all at a fraction of the cost of an on-premise software licensing and implementation model. The SaaS offering also includes ongoing updates to the latest Epicor Retail software releases, making it the last migration a retailer should ever need.

Today, many of the world's leading retailers utilise Epicor Retail solutions and services to become more profitable, productive and competitive. Epicor's solutions leverage proven Microsoft .NET technology to improve business operations and meet the evolving merchandise and service expectations of today's cross-channel shoppers. Epicor delivers comprehensive retail management solutions to enterprises in all tiers -- from regional chains to multichannel global brands. Retail customers include hundreds of marquee names, from Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, and Ann Taylor to Zales and Zumiez. Epicor employs more than 800 employees in retail-focused operations.

About Epicor Software Corporation
Epicor Software delivers business software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality and services industries. With 20,000 customers in over 150 countries, Epicor provides integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM) and enterprise retail software solutions that enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve profitability. Founded in 1984, Epicor takes pride in more than 25 years of technology innovation delivering business solutions that provide the scalability and flexibility businesses need to build competitive advantage. Epicor provides a comprehensive range of services with a single point of accountability that promotes rapid return on investment and low total cost of ownership, whether operating business on a local, regional or global scale. The Company's worldwide headquarters are located in Irvine, California with offices and affiliates a round the world. For more information, visit www.epicor.com

Epicor is a registered trademark of Epicor Software Corporation. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Epicor Software Corporation.