High Marks for ROI, Customer Satisfaction, Quality of Service, Overall Performance

Once again ECRS has achieved impressive results in the RIS News  Retail Software LeaderBoard study, which ranks the top Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) serving the retail industry. This year ECRS received six No. 1 rankings , which is an all-time LeaderBoard record that puts ECRS at the very top of the charts among global ISVs for a number of mission-critical areas.

Putting Things in Perspective

The LeaderBoard 2005 reviewed the top 91 software vendors in the retail industry and organized their scores into twelve categories. ECRS placed in the Top 10 in ten of the twelve total categories. The only two categories in which ECRS didn't make the Top 10 list were "Revenue Factor," which simply reflects each company's overall annual revenue, and "Retail Concentration," a category in which only companies deeply involved with supply chain logistics can score well. While RIS News organizes and publishes the LeaderBoard each year, the actual scoring is provided exclusively by real-world retailers.

No. 1 in Return on Investment
(up from No. 2 in 2004)

ECRS moved to No. 1 in the Return on Investment (ROI) category for one of our six top scores in the LeaderBoard 2005 . This impressive score for ROI points to our industry-wide visibility as an ISV with superior automation solutions for the most critical areas of the retail enterprise. The success of the ECRS Total Retail Convergence strategy is evidenced by this ROI category score. When IT project managers weigh the cost of ECRS solutions against the financial benefits achieved through their implementation, ECRS comes out at the top.

No. 1 in Customer Satisfaction & Recognition
(up from No. 8 in 2004)

Depending on an ISV's marketing budget, it can gain significant exposure through strategic advertising and PR campaigns. However, the majority of retailers are savvy consumers, so they understand the difference between exposure and "Satisfaction and Recognition." They understand that the latter is achieved over time by delivering best-of-breed solutions that work as promised, and by taking care of existing customers with a "whatever-it-takes" attitude. Over the years ECRS has gained deeply rooted respect within the retail automation industry by providing systems that perform as advertised, and by maintaining positive customer relationships through honesty, integrity, and hard work. ECRS's No. 1 ranking in Satisfaction and Recognition is a quantifiable reflection of our commitment to customers throughout the industry.

No. 1 in Quality of Service
(up from No. 9 in 2004)

ECRS is known throughout the retail automation industry as a company that takes care of our customers far beyond the installation and upgrade phases of our client relationships. In fact, most of our customers consider their connection with ECRS as more of a partnership than a vendor-client arrangement. Rapid response time, quick and efficient resolutions, and professional and knowledgeable interactions have always characterized the ECRS customer-centric approach to service. Our No. 1 ranking in Quality of Service is testament to our unwavering commitment to customers, and to our willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty in the area of post-installation services.

No. 1 in Ease of Installation
(up from No. 10 in 2004)

Ease of Installation is a major contributor to a customer's confidence in both the solution and the ISV who provides it. When retailers implement new automation solutions, they want a product that is as plug-and-play as possible. When a solution proves to be truly complete out-of-the-box, retailers save money, reduce labor, and increase employee satisfaction and longevity. As part of our overall retail convergence strategy, ECRS streamlines the installation process by creating complete turnkey solutions that continually exceed retailers' expectations in the area of Ease of Installation. Our No. 1 score in this category reflects an achievement we've worked long and hard to perfect.

No. 1 in Overall Performance and
No. 1 in Strategic Value

While Overall Performance is a broad concept category that measures how well a vendor has delivered a useful functionality, Strategic Value offers a more granular look at whether customers feel that the software is worth the investment. ECRS scored No. 1 for delivering a top notch solution that performs well relative to its cost. In the report RIS News indicates that the high scores in these categories suggests respondents are particularly satisfied with the value ECRS offers.

No. 3 in Total Cost of Ownership/Operation
(up from No. 6 in 2004)

"Second only to ROI, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a bottom-line metric that goes right to the heart of virtually every IT project," according to Joe Skorupa, Editor-in-Chief at RIS News . In contrast to ROI which focuses on the turnaround time for recouping the initial investment, TCO analyzes the costs associated with keeping a system functioning over the course of its entire life cycle. In doing so, TCO can reveal cost-associated characteristics of a system that often become apparent only after several years of operation, such as hardware longevity, software stability, system supportability, and ISV servicing provisions. With our tireless commitment to bringing together top-quality software, hardware, and services to create best-of-breed solutions ECRS continues to out-pace the competition. No one does retail convergence like ECRS.

No. 6 in Ease of Integration

When a retailer thinks about upgrading their current enterprise automation solution, one of their first priorities is to find a system that will integrate with existing business processes and technologies quickly and cleanly. The ability to minimize disruption when deploying new solutions has been, and will probably always be, a leading consideration for retail decision makers. ECRS has once again ranked among the top 10 in the Ease of Integration category. Exhaustive research, intelligent design, and rigorous premarket testing have long been trademarks at ECRS. By beginning with the end in mind, ECRS has created a framework of retail products that integrate easily with just about any existing retail business model.

No. 6 in Administration and Maintenance
(up from No. 7 in 2004)

After a retailer installs a new system and has fully trained cashiers and management, Administration and Maintenance becomes the primary responsibility of the retailer's internal IT department and/or POS manager. Although these people typically possess high levels of technical proficiency, retailers nevertheless have higher expectations of solution providers. They demand that ISVs deliver automation systems that are designed for intuitive administration and maintenance, and they expect to be provided with effective and user-friendly "workflow and troubleshooting tools." By consistently delivering systems to retailers that meet and exceed these requirements, ECRS placed among the best this year in the Administration and Maintenance category.

No. 5 in Quality of Support
No. 9 in Ease of Upgrading

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Results for 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005