Microsoft Showcases Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail R2

A new solution for retailers, offering a “connected retail experience”.

Microsoft today announced the upcoming release of Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail R2 at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference. The next iteration of Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail was made generally available in August 2010, and will be available in more than 50 countries from 1 February 2011.

Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail offers mid-size and enterprise retailers Point-of-Sale, store and supply chain management, merchandising and financial capabilities to deliver business productivity and customer service in a single, integrated solution.

“With the rise of social media and digitally empowered consumers, retailers are being challenged to operate faster and smarter across their organisations to achieve deeper customer loyalty and maintain a competitive edge,” says Lindsay Zwart, Dynamics Lead for Microsoft New Zealand.

“Microsoft is providing retailers with the software solutions they need to remain agile in this environment, create a connected retail experience and become dynamic businesses.”

Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail R2 includes the following enhancements:
· Insight – Retail Role Centers mean key data can be surfaced quickly and easily, helping people make more informed decisions and improve productivity
· Loyalty – Expanded scenarios and centralised management out-of-the-box help retailers enhance the customer experience
· Simplicity – New interfaces for assortment and item management speed workflows and help drive productivity
· Global availability – New localisations and translations further support the needs of multi-national and growing organisations

Retailers around the world have chosen to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, including Bailey Banks & Biddle, China Horizon, Icon Live, J&R Electronics, New Look and Combined Rural Traders (CRT) here in New Zealand.

“CRT has selected AX for Retail to capitalise on the investment we have already made in implementing Dynamics AX 2009 as our enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution,” says Roger Rennie, Chief Information Officer for CRT.

“While the functionality and ‘look and feel’ of the Point-of-Sale client is certainly attractive, it is the usability for our customer-facing store staff that was a critical factor in our decision. Providing a solution that is easy to use will free up staff to deliver enhanced customer service and increased sales opportunities. This usability, coupled with very tight integration to the rest of the AX solution, made it a logical solution for us.”

Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail provides Microsoft’s channel partners with an opportunity to deliver customer-specific configuration and implementation services.

Retailers interested in learning more about Microsoft Dynamics solutions for the retail industry can visit http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/retailsolutions.

About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of simple to learn and use ERP and CRM solutions that work with your existing technology and scale as you grow to give you long-term value. By using software and online services that work the way people and organisations work, businesses are better able to make informed decisions and adapt to rapid change. Microsoft Dynamics helps your people be more productive and your investments in existing systems last longer, while enabling your business to derive the insights necessary to respond quickly and have a competitive edge in an ever-changing world of business.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.