Blue Bell, PA -- Unisys Corporation announced that Dairy Mart, a major Midwestern convenience store chain, has chosen Unisys Information Services Group as the systems integrator in the implementation of its Retail Automation Project, a data collection and management system. The new system will be installed at Dairy Mart's company-owned and limited-franchise facilities. This $4.8-million engagement represents the first phase of a two-stage total store automation project to install a company-wide, full-service call center and automated point-of-sale operation. Phase 1 is expected to be completed by August 1998. By automating its store data collection, Dairy Mart hopes to increase the timeliness and accuracy of store information sent to the home office. The company anticipates the new system will provide improved control of its "shrink" (inventory losses), higher gross margins, and effective price change management with more accurate vendor/retail pricing. Dairy Mart also expects the automated data collection process to increase productivity and reduce store managerial paperwork, allowing more accurate and timely reporting, improved customer service and increased sales. As systems integrator, Unisys will provide integrated installation, educational and technical support, as well as project management for the implementation of the Resource Management System (RMS), a store-level packaged solution from PDI (Professional Datasolutions, Inc.). This PC-based system will interface with newly installed point-of-sale devices. At closing, all financial and inventory data will be transferred to the PDI/RMS system and uploaded to the PDI/RMS corporate management system. Unisys will also supply a custom 24-hour help desk system with remote analysis capabilities. Once this system is deployed, if a store experiences a PDI/RMS or point-of-sale problem, employees can contact a customer service agent who will log on to that particular store's terminal screen, identify the trouble spot, determine whether the problem is software- or hardware-related, and take corrective measures.
Unisys to Integrate Dairy Mart Retail Automation Project
October 24, 1997