Online Sales Order Management Solution Reports Record Usage

CenterStone Technologies sees retailer logins rise; orders placed online more than double

CenterStone Technologies sees retailer logins rise; orders placed online more than double

Denver — March 1, 2005 — Solution provider CenterStone Technologies is touting the use of the company's online sales order management software application, saying the number of retailer logins to the application jumped 54 percent, to 57,400, in 2004, compared to 37,400 a year ago.

Denver-based CenterStone provides Web-based sales order management applications designed to give retail dealers and sales reps the ability to create proposals, view online catalogs and product availability and to place preseason, reorders and retail employee orders with their vendors.

The solution can help make vendors more competitive, CenterStone said, by providing increased inventory turns at retail, reduced customer service costs and greater speed to market, improving relationships with their customers, the retail dealer.

CenterStone said its vendor customers received a record number of orders placed online last year. In 2004, 35,600 orders were placed online through the company's system, a 135 percent increase over the 15,100 orders placed last year. In addition, the record number translates into a 113 percent increase in the dollar value of those orders. In 2004, $190.4 million worth of wholesale orders were processed through CenterStone, compared to $89.2 million in 2003.

"The significant increase in usage demonstrates a need among specialty retailers for this type of service," said Tom Detmer, president and CEO of CenterStone. "Clearly these retailers are experiencing a greater level of comfort in using online ordering systems. That is evidenced not only by the increase in logins, but by the record number of orders being placed."

Brandon Binkley, owner of CenterStone customer Bink's Outfitters in Murfreesboro, Tenn., said that in the past, communicating with vendors via telephone or e-mail could be a drag on efficiency. "The whole waiting game is so nonproductive," he said. "Now I can order products without ever having to wait for someone to get back to me."

Binkley said that the technology has had a significant impact on his company's business. "It allows me to reorder whenever I need to and lets me see live inventory so I can make calculated orders based on inventory levels," he explained. "That ability positively affects the profit levels of the company. In fact, we have increased our orders by as much as 48 percent with vendors who offer CenterStone's technology versus the ones who do not because it is a very simple process that makes life easier. I wish more vendors would use CenterStone."

Currently more than 8,000 retailers have access to the CenterStone system. Research by the solution provider found the top reasons retailers log in are to check inventory, reduce the time needed to complete order, prevent phone tag, place special orders for customers, improve order accuracy and receive quick order acknowledgement.

"Not only are retailers becoming more comfortable with our system, they see it as a significant improvement in the ease of doing business with their suppliers," Detmer added. "As a result, they are spending more money with the manufacturers who offer CenterStone Technologies solutions."

Among the brands currently making CenterStone Technologies solutions available to their retail customers and sales reps are The North Face, Pearl Izumi, Marmot Mountain, Mountain Hardwear and Helly Hansen.

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