Rick Remick, CEO The experience that a customer has at a retail outlet directly impacts the consumer’s perception of the brand. Retailers are responsible for a brand’s in-store performance. In order to thwart competition, most retailers are moving beyond the traditional merchandising methods toward a technological approach when promoting a brand. Rick Remick, CEO of Integrated Merchandising Systems (IMS) observes, “CIOs are looking for technological solutions that deliver tangible supply chain cost savings and implement merchandising programs for field teams.” IMS is a global provider of merchandising supply chain materials such as displays, fixtures, collateral, and Point-of-Sale (POS) materials. They also specialize in the development of custom technological solutions for clients to better serve their customers.
IMS works closely with its clients throughout their day-to-day activities, to identify and develop proprietary technological solutions that are easy to use, highly customizable, and solve real business challenges. A recent example of the company’s customizable technological implementations is the enhanced eAuction tool designed by IMS’ in house IT staff. This web-based tool drives competitive bidding or reverse auction for projects, capturing information and bid results on a project and item level. This system drives the procurement and production of goods based on approved specifications and quantities developed in partnership with IMS’ clients. The company then has the ability to take this information and report it to the granular level.
Customizing and reporting on their solution as per the clients’ requirements, IMS gives utmost importance to offering flexibility to its customers. To this end, Remick states, “the most important part of our technology is that it is customizable to client’s needs and can be fully integrated into their processes, providing full transparency into transactions.”
The company provides fully integrated merchandising supply chain solutions for improved operations, including automated workflow, eAuction, customized ordering sites, forecasting or demand planning, store profiling, reporting, and billing integration.
The most important part of our technology is that it is customizable to our individual clients needs and fully integrated into their processes
Apart from the operational services it provides strategic sourcing and production management, which includes print or POS material, direct mail, displays and racks, and branded merchandise; and logistics operations; integrated technology and creative development are also part of what IMS does. Doug Carlson, EVP General Manager cites, “As an Omnicom Group Company, IMS partners with several of the world’s best research, branding, and design agencies consolidating creative ideas to client’s brands and marketing teams.”
Additionally, IMS’ advancements in forecasting and demand planning technology reduces waste and controls field spending levels through budgeting and spend approval workflows. The addition of integrated print-on-demand processes allows clients’ field teams to customize their POS and branded merchandising materials while they are ordering inventoried items from an online shopping cart. The company leverages an open source model that drives the strategic sourcing and production of POS or merchandising materials for category leaders.
In order to provide fully integrated process technology across all merchandising functions, IMS has a multi-pronged approach to driving technology innovation for clients. IMS invests year-over-year in upgrading its IT infrastructure to efficiently execute the merchandising supply chain transactions. The company’s infrastructure is often complemented by its IT professionals who know the company’s objectives as well as its clients’ ever-increasing demands. Calling them a dynamic company Carlson concludes saying, “Our Company will continue to invest in our integrated IT solutions that enable the disciplined sourcing, fulfillment and transportation processes of client merchandising materials.”
