Best Buy has selected Axida's Hdi

Best Buy, a leading consumer electronics retailer, has selected Axida’s HDi home delivery software to support the company’s goal of providing customer service excellence to customers wherever they are. The Axida HDi software integrates with the retailer's business software system, SAP, and ensures flexible, reliable and successful first-time home deliveries.

Axida HDi is a proven software package which has been tailored to Best Buy's specific requirements by Axida, in association with Best Buy's logistics partner Wincanton.

The software facilitates the full end-to-end home delivery process by providing accurate and achievable delivery schedules to customers and Best Buy’s in-store team, the Blueshirts. As well as delivery date and time selection, the software offers other benefits, including multi-channel order capture, comprehensive order management and day of delivery tracking.

The system also provides delivery debriefing in batch or online mode using wireless hand-held computers, workflow management for handling order exceptions and driving remedial action, contact management, and management reports.

Stuart Lacey, Supply Chain Director at Best Buy UK said: "With three stores now open in the UK, we are in the process of moving our business to the next stage of its growth phase, with further stores and an online store opening in the Autumn. It’s vital that we work with partners, like Axida, to help us deliver the best possible service to our customers – and further strengthen the message that Best Buy is a new kind of technology store."

Wayne Holgate, Director of Axida commented: "We are delighted that an innovative and customer-focused retailer such as Best Buy has selected Axida HDi to help optimise the company’s home delivery process. Our software will place Best Buy in a leading position for home delivery service excellence within the consumer electronics retailing market. We are confident that Axida HDi will help deliver complete customer satisfaction for Best Buy."

Best Buy has stores in Thurrock (Essex), Hedge End (Southampton) and Merry Hill (West Midlands). These will be followed by Aintree near Liverpool, Derby and Croydon later in the year and Bristol and Nottingham in 2011. The stores showcase audio and visual equipment, computing technology, entertainment devices, appliances, mobiles, music, movies, games, and the connections including fixed and mobile broadband content and services to really enable customers to get the most out of their technology.

Home delivery failure costs soar to £1 billion

Home delivery failures are costing around £1 billion a year according to the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) report “Valuing Home Delivery”. The report says the cost of delivery failure is almost a three-way split among carriers/logistics providers, consumers and retailers. The inefficiencies add £1.45 in total costs for each transaction. The compounded cost to the retailer is much higher – as much as £9.54 for each failed delivery. Lost business, however, is a staggering £77.82. Carriers lose over £6 for each undeliverable consignment. Consumers are paying the lions’ share of the total bill of £22.68. These costs are even higher for failed deliveries of larger, bulkier items requiring specialist delivery such as furniture and electrical goods. Other interesting findings from the IMRG report highlight the importance of delivery success to the consumer. Forty-three per cent say that delivery experience influences their choice of retailer. Also, poor delivery performance has resulted in nearly 40 per cent of consumers from using a certain retailer. “These statistics should signal a call to action for retailers, carriers and logistics providers. Efficient and effective home deliveries make customers happy and help build brand loyalty. Axida HDi provides a comprehensive solution that puts retailers and their transport partners in control of the entire home delivery process. The software also communicates with the customer, sending them a text message or email to confirm that their delivery is due, which ensures that they are at home to receive their goods,” says Wayne Holgate, Director, Axida. “Our advanced software ensures first-time home delivery success by managing the complete delivery lifecycle. It prevents failure by providing full visibility from order to point of delivery. This clear picture of events boosts all-round efficiency and improves customer service, which is essential for successful deliveries. Importantly for the retailer and the carrier, Axida HDi balances service efficiency with the cost of delivery,” he adds.

Axida underpins the IMRG IDIS Gold Standard

Axida underpins the IMRG Gold Standard for online retailer’s home deliveries

Online retailers can achieve the coveted IDIS (Internet Delivery Is Safe) Gold Standard for home deliveries helped by Axida’s delivery management software. The Axida HDi software will contribute substantially to enabling companies to meet the strict rules of the Standard. The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) is responsible for the IDIS Gold Standard for e-retailers. The Standard sets a benchmark for the achievement of 100 per cent first-time delivery success. It indicates those e-retailers who meet the Standard can offer exceptionally high standards of order fulfilment and home delivery.

With Axida HDi, online stores and their home delivery suppliers are able to offer customers the opportunity to select accurate delivery windows at point-of-sale, which increases first-time delivery success rates. The software enables rapid response to customer questions about their delivery and helps to resolve issues before they become problems. Tracking deliveries throughout the delivery cycle, operators get real-time visibility of their resources and can monitor progress. Importantly, Axida HDi enables business to control and balance service and costs.

Axida is an active member of the IMRG and is a founder sponsor of the IDIS Gold Standard. Wayne Holgate, Axida Director, comments: “We are pleased to support the IDIS Gold Standard and IMRG. The Standard sets a benchmark for best practice and is a significant step forward in home delivery service. By using Axida HDi e-retailers and their home delivery suppliers can provide the best levels of service to the online shopper. In addition, there are significant environmental benefits to gain through better use of delivery fleet resources.”

Axida HDi software sits at the centre of an e-retailer’s home delivery operation, orchestrating the entire process from purchase to delivery to produce accurate and achievable schedules. The solution offers a range of delivery times taking into account availability of product and service, allowing the customer to select the one most convenient for them. Customers can track progress of their orders while retailers can set up prompts to call, or automatically send SMS messages, to advise customers of when deliveries will arrive.

Axida named Cool Vendor by leading analyst firm

Vendors selected for the Cool Vendor report are innovative, impactful and intriguing

Kingston upon Hull, UK, 20 April 2010, Axida, a leading provider of intelligent home delivery solutions, today announced that it has been included in the list of five Cool Vendors in the Cool Vendors in Supply Chain Management, 2010 report by Gartner, Inc 1. The report analyzes Axida’s advanced home delivery software - Axida HDi which is used by major retailers and third party logistics companies (3PL).

Axida HDi manages complex home deliveries where the product, service or proposition requires the customer to be present at the time of delivery. The system allows retailers to offer specific delivery time slots to their customers so that they can arrange to be at home to receive their goods.

Companies using Axida HDi include retail clients Ikea, Laura Ashley and Wickes and 3PLs like CEVA Logistics (which provides a dedicated service to Tesco and shared service to a number of retailers, including Sainsbury’s and Habitat) and Wincanton (which provides dedicated services to M&S and Best Buy).

We believe Axida’s inclusion in the Cool Vendor report by Gartner validates our position as an innovator in the home delivery solutions market. Axida HDi software leads the way in managing the entire home delivery process by orchestrating the supply chain from supplier or retailer to consumer, enabling our clients to improve business performance and service, said Wayne Holgate, Director of Axida.

By using Axida HDi, our clients are increasing customer satisfaction with a significantly higher percentage of successful first-time deliveries within the promised time window. In addition, our clients are benefiting from an increased number of drops per route, which reduces the cost of delivery. The combination of these improvements results in a lower carbon footprint through better use of resources. In short, we put our clients in control of the balance between service and costs, he added.

1 Gartner Cool Vendors in Supply Chain Management, 2010 by Cool Vendors in Supply Chain Management, 2010 C. Dwight Klappich, Tim Payne, Tim Zimmerman, Chad Eschinger, 12 April 2010.

CONTACTS:

Axida: Wayne Holgate or Vicky Whitfield, Axida Limited, +44 (0) 1482 783630

Email: w.holgate@axida.com, v.whitfield@axida.com

PR Agency: Iestyn Armstrong-Smith, +44 (0)1352 720749, E-mail: iestyn@market-it.co.uk or Robert Peel, +44 (0)1666 823306

COOL VENDOR DISCLAIMER

ABOUT GARTNER’S COOL VENDOR SELECTION PROCESS

Gartner's listing does not constitute an exhaustive list of vendors in any given technology area, but rather is designed to highlight interesting, new and innovative vendors, products and services. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness of a particular purpose.

Gartner defines a cool vendor as a company that offers technologies or solutions that are: innovative, enable users to do things they couldn't do before; impactful, have, or will have, business impact (not just technology for the sake of technology); intriguing, have caught Gartner's interest or curiosity in approximately the past six months.

ABOUT AXIDA

Established in 1995, Axida is the UK’s leader in Home Delivery software (HDi), working with leading retailers and third party logistics companies. Axida specialises in solutions to manage complex home deliveries where the product, service or proposition requires the customer to be present at the time of delivery. Clients include Wickes, Laura Ashley and Ikea. Tesco furniture and bed deliveries are managed using HDi through a dedicated service from CEVA Logistics, who also use the solution to facilitate a multi-client shared service to such organisations as J Sainsbury and Habitat. Axida HDi is used by Wincanton to provide a comprehensive home delivery solution for Marks & Spencer.

CEVA awarded a home delivery contract by Multiyork

CEVA Logistics, one of the world’s leading supply chain companies, has been awarded a three-year contract to provide a white glove two-person home delivery service to Multiyork, manufacturer and retailer of high quality upholstery and cabinet furniture. This service is underpinned by the Axida Hdi software.

CEVA will now be responsible for the daily transfer of manufactured items to a dedicated 2,990 sq m warehouse at Mendlesham, Suffolk. CEVA then contacts customers to arrange a convenient delivery date using CEVA’s National Customer Call Centre in Manchester. The projected 16,000 home deliveries per annum will be performed by a combination of CEVA’s shared user home delivery network, CEVA Home and six core delivery vehicles to provide a seamless customer offering.

CEVA Home has been successfully using the Axida Hdi solution to manage their operation for nearly four years. Hdi controls the Home Delivery process from end to end, managing all orders through to completion. The configurability of the Axida software allows CEVA to add clients easily, maximising revenue opportunities and minimising cost. Multiyork is the tenth client that CEVA have added to the operation in the last year.

A number of key factors encouraged Multiyork to select CEVA, including high quality delivery processes, overall customer contact and service and CEVA’s long standing relationships with other high quality furniture retailers. They were also impressed with the involvement and commitment by CEVA’s senior management to deliver a professional home delivery service.

CEVA’s white glove delivery service includes placing the furniture items in the customer’s room of choice, assembly if required, and the removal and recycling of any packaging from the customer’s home.

Axida awarded Microsoft Gold Partner status

Axida has retained its Microsoft Gold Partner status for 7 consecutive years. Axida have gained Microsoft competencies in Data Management Solutions, ISV/Software Solutions and Custom Development Solutions. In order to retain the Gold Partner status Axida demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proved our ability to meet and exceed customer’s needs. Axida also have ensured that all developers have been trained to the MCSD.NET standards. Additionally customer references and a client satisfaction survey have been obtained. “Microsoft Gold Certified Partners are our elite business partners. They have the knowledge, skills and commitment to help you implement technology solutions that match your exact business needs.”

Wincanton wins three M&S contracts

Sep 4, 2009 Marks & Spencer has awarded three five-year contracts to Wincanton, to run critical areas of the M&S supply chain. The contracts are expected to generate around £275 million in turnover for the Group. Under the new contracts, Wincanton will manage M&S's home delivery network for furniture and large products as well as the distribution of general merchandise in the South of England. The contracts also extend the current agreement for the national management of shop fittings and store equipment. The Wincanton home delivery solution is powered by Axida HDi. ... Source article

Wickes go live with Axida HDi.

Axida HDi delivering for Wickes - Wickes has recently implemented Axida Hdi to support the management of their customer home deliveries.

The complexity of the Wickes operation requires a broad range of functionality which will enable Wickes to provide a more efficient customer service oriented operation. Axida Hdi uses the built in workflow module to orchestrate all activities associated with managing Wickes Home Deliveries including: prompting all customer contacts, performing automated customer contacts via SMS or letter generation; driving pick activity, managing de-brief information from delivery drivers and managing all exceptions raised during the process. "We have taken great care to ensure that the initial implementation of Hdi is as smooth as possible for our staff and customers. The system is settling in very well and provides a great platform to continue to grow our kitchen and bathroom sales" commented Tim Matthews Wickes Director of Retail Development and Customer Services.

Wickes stores are designed to appeal to tradesmen who undertake general repairs, maintenance and improvement projects for households and small businesses and to serious DIY customers who carry out more complete DIY projects. These customers are more demanding in terms of service, quality and price. The Company meets these expectations by offering a focussed range of high quality, primarily own brand, competitively priced home improvement products, such as timber, building materials, tools and decorative materials. In addition, Wickes stores offer a range of kitchens and bathrooms, which are sold through in-store showrooms.

Westbridge Furniture goes live with CEVA

Aug 5, 2009 CEVA Logistics has been awarded a contract to provide direct home delivery services for Westbridge Furniture Designs. Westbridge designs and manufactures upholstery products for UK retailers, including a recent new client, Sainsbury's, who requested that the manufacturer provide a Direct Home Delivery (DHD) Service to its customers throughout the UK and Ireland. Under the contract, CEVA will collect upholstery from Westbridge's manufacturing plant in North Wales and transport the furniture to CEVA's distribution centre in Manchester, where CEVA will contact the customer to arrange a convenient delivery time. All deliveries will be made via CEVA's home delivery network. The white glove service includes placement in the customer's chosen room and the removal of packaging. CEVA Home Delivery Network powered by Axida HDi. ... Source article

BeanBagBazaar win prestigeous awards

April 2009, The heat winners of the 2008 NE Business Awards were formally announced in a ceremony at the Gosforth Park Hotel on the 19th March, with Cramlington-based retailer Bean Bag Bazaar clinching first place in the Internet & ICT category. Cramlington based retailer, Bean Bag Bazaar, received the 2008 NE Business Award for best use of Internet and ICT at the recent Tyneside and Northumberland heats. The event, held at the Gosforth Park Marriott Hotel on 19th March is the precursor to the North East finals which are to be held on 30th April 2009 at Harwick Hall. Bean Bag Bazaar, which started as a small home-based business selling Bean Bags on Ebay, has recently undergone a successful expansion and has relocated to a large factory on the Easter Park industrial estate in Cramlington. Mark Dolder, owner of Bean Bag Bazaar said "To win this award is fantastic. It provides recognition for the hard work we've put into the business and in particular the Internet marketing strategy we have implemented." Bean Bag Bazaar work closely with ecommerce specialists Axida – who manage their various online stores, and Acopic, an internet marketing consultancy located in Corbridge, Northumberland. Neil Turner, Director at Acopic commented "The award comes as no surprise. Although Bean Bag Bazaar isn’t a household name, they are a great example of a small company utilizing the internet to its full potential. They not only compete with, but outperform leading retailers in several highly competitive markets. I wish them all the best in the regional final." The 2009 NE Business Awards is sponsored by the Newcastle Journal and the Evening Gazette, and is hosted in association with Business Link North East. The awards aims to highlight success stories across the North East and to raise the profile of North East based businesses.

Leisureshack choose Axida Webshop

December 2008, Leisureshack were attracted to the Axida Webshop solution due to Axida's proven track record in both providing website software and also hosting sites with large volumes and heavy load. Additionally Axida's transaction based pricing model means that both Leisureshack and Axida share the same goals for increased turnover on the site. During the setup of the site Axida assisted in setting up content for Leisureshack making the implementation time short. Robin Parker, Managing Director of Leisureshack commented "We are amazed at how fast the site came together, we categorise the products in a manner that is simple for the customer but is complex to administer. Axida have dealt with the complexity very quickly". Find out more about Leisureshack’s product range by visiting www.leisureshack.co.uk

Bazaar Group launch new site

Following the success of www.beanbagbazaar.co.uk the Bazaar Group have launched a new website offering high quality low priced pet beds. www.purelypetbeds.com is a must for all pet owners.

The site launched in April uses Axida's integrated Web Shop solution to maintain the website, manage the stock and provide a range of management information.

Jayne Dolder, the inspiration behind Purely Pet Beds is offering a fantastic range of pet beds, useful for the home, garden, on the move in the car, caravan, or mobile home. "We wanted to offer a range of great quality products at competitive prices. Once we sourced the products it was important that we got the site up and running quickly".

Once the design was finalised the site was available for Bazaar Group to populate within days.

The Axida e-commerce Development Manager, Martin Parker, commented. "We have put a lot of investment into our site creation functionality; using one of our comprehensive range of site styles we can now have a full e-commerce site ready for product population within a day".

The Bazaar Group are now looking at additional product areas to extend their portfolio Jayne added "since we implemented the Axida Web Shop Solution the massive improvements in productivity have given us the time concentrate on growing our business portfolio"

IKEA doubles delivery rate with track and trace

November 2007, IKEA Distribution Services, the sole distributor for the homeware and furniture retailer in the UK, is benefiting from speedier and more accurate fulfilment that has raised levels of customer service with electronic track and trace systems. ... more info

Axida helps deliver Wickes home delivery

Nov 30th 2006, Axida, a specialist in multi-channel fulfilment software, has won a major contract from Wickes for a software package designed to manage its home deliveries in the UK.

The six-figure contract was awarded to Axida following a rigorous selection procedure where potential suppliers were evaluated against a number of criteria. "Functionality was top of the list but we also considered value for money, the individual suppliers cultural fit both with Wickes and in the industry overall and lastly the whole issue of integration" comments Paul Westgarth, director of customer service for Wickes.

The Axida's HDi system will go live mid-next year replacing an in-house developed system and be integrated with front-end software from Pivotal. It will give full visibility and control of home deliveries from the initial data capture through to final order fulfilment with the aims of improving customer service standards and delivering operational efficiencies. This followed a detailed examination of the project's return on investment.

"Wickes has one of the strongest reputations for customer care in this sector so we're delighted to be given the opportunity to work with them. It shows that improving customer service and driving business efficiencies aren't mutually exclusive" adds Wayne Holgate, Axida's commercial director.

"Our goal is to make realising our customers' dream kitchen, bathroom or conservatory as simple and painless as possible for each customer and, through the use of integrated state of the art systems technology, as efficient as possible for Wickes. That way we all benefit. The Axida software is the glue to bind the processes together. Working with Axida and our other key suppliers, in an integrated fashion we hope to define best practice for home delivery across the UK" concludes Westgarth.

About Wickes

Wickes stores are designed to appeal to serious DIY customers, who carry out more complex projects, and tradesmen, who undertake general repairs, maintenance and improvement projects for households. These customers are more demanding in terms of service, quality and price. Wickes now has a portfolio of 169 standard and eight Extra stores, with a total net selling space of approximately 5.8 million square feet.

About Axida

Axida, a leading provider of home delivery solutions, was formed in 1995 by founders Len Robinson and Wayne Holgate. Its mission is to improve the home delivery experience for retailers and consumers. Axida software underpins deliveries for a number of the UK's leading companies, including CEVA logistics (formerly TNT logistics), Habitat, Laura Ashley and IKEA.

Axida is a founder sponsor of the Delivery Trust scheme for Internet shopping recently launched by IMRG, the e-retail industry body. The Scheme includes an 'Internet delivery is safe' Trust Mark and an associated IMRG Delivery Charter.

E Retail Home Delivery Trust Scheme

Breaking News - E Retail industry creates Home Delivery Trust Scheme

A new HOME DELIVERY TRUST SCHEME FOR INTERNET SHOPPING is launched by e-retail industry body IMRG, in the keynote address by James Roper, CEO, IMRG, at the UK EXPRESS DELIVERY CONFERENCE, NEC, Birmingham.

The scheme includes an 'INTERNET DELIVERY IS SAFE' Trust Mark and an associated IMRG DELIVERY CHARTER©.The IMRG Delivery Charter represents a set of recommendations, guidelines and requirements on and to stakeholders - Consumers, Merchants and Transporters - as to the core characteristics of effective stakeholder protection in the delivery of e-retailing products and services. The associated Internet Delivery Trust Mark can be displayed by organisations that sign up to the charter, demonstrating their intent to enhance the home delivery experience for all concerned.

The internet age has brought convenience, speed and choice to shoppers, yet consumers routinely have to settle for a "take it or leave it" approach to delivery services with vague delivery promises. Uncertain delivery times and sketchy delivery information deter millions of people from shopping online. This is costing the industry significant loss of orders and incurring huge avoidable operating costs. However, fulfilment is set to become one of the main merchant differentiators, since few others exist.

"Online shopping delivery works well most of the time, as is evidenced by UK consumers buying £1.5 billion of goods on the internet in May 2005, 36% more than they did last year," said Roper. "But home delivery remains the Achilles' Heel of online shopping. When a delivery does go wrong, it can cause considerable stress, inconvenience and cost for all of the stakeholders involved - the Consumer, the Merchant and the Transporter. The IMRG Delivery Charter is a major industry initiative to unite all stakeholders behind the task of addressing issues and solving problems associated with home delivery to their mutual benefit. The Charter will establish minimum commitments whilst facilitating clear communication between stakeholders."

The UK's 24 million online shoppers will spend £19 billion via the internet and other interactive channels in 2005. Some 400 million parcels will be delivered to them, attracting transportation and packing costs of around £4 billion. Already 7% of all UK retail, online shopping will approach 9% of retail sales by the end of this year. The sector is set to treble in value by 2010, by which time it will generate over a billion home deliveries each year.

Because most e-retail deliveries are too large to fit through a letterbox, first time deliveries of non-letterbox items are likely to fail in more than 20% of cases, resulting in packages being returned to the transporter's depot for redelivery on a separate occasion, or collection by the consumer.

A new IMRG research report by Snow Valley - 'E-RETAIL DELIVERY IN THE UK' - published today, highlights the causes of the delivery service problems and inconsistencies that online shoppers encounter. Of 100 prominent online retailers' sites reviewed:

80% did not enable the customer to provide delivery instructions;
46% offered no delivery time options;
75% did not let customer choose a delivery date or offer Saturday delivery;
26% made the customer register / log-in before delivery cost was shown;
54% did not make clear if a signature would be required.

The IMRG Delivery Charter is being developed as a subset and extension of the ISIS (Internet Shopping Is Safe) Code of Practice for e-Commerce. The first ISIS Code (then known as the IMRG Code) was introduced in 1997. Since then, IMRG Members have proactively taken the lead in developing self-regulatory mechanisms to assist in providing consistent, manageable, effective and fair protection for e-retail stakeholders inside the broader legislative context. The ISIS Trust Scheme was expanded in 2000 as a merchant accreditation scheme; ISIS-accredited merchants now account for two thirds of UK e-retail sales:http://www.InternetShoppingIsSafe.co.uk

Internet Shopping Is Safe

The key purpose of the IMRG Delivery Charter is to provide an easy to implement and monitored framework and a standard set of commitments for online shopping delivery stakeholders. It's standards establish a minimum set of guidelines whilst encouraging stakeholders to retain or implement provisions that generate additional services and trading protection for their stakeholders.

The IMRG Delivery Forum which steers the Charter development work was set up in June 2004 to address e-retail fulfilment issues. It is currently comprised of these leading merchants, transporters and facilitators: ANC, ARCADIA, AXIDA, BT DIRECT / BT RETAIL, CJ BOOKS, COLLECTPOINT, COMET, DABS.COM, DHL, HOME DELIVERY NETWORK (BUSINESS EXPRESS / REALITY), IFORCE, ITIM, KELKOO, LYNX, METAPACK, PARCELFORCE, PARCELNET, REDCATS, ROYAL MAIL, SCREWFIX, SEEK.NET, THREETHINK, ZENDOR.

"E-trading stakeholder protection is indispensable in building confidence and establishing a more balanced relationship and understanding between the trading parties," commented Colum Joyce, formerly Head of Global e-Business Strategy, DHL, who is leading the IMRG Delivery Charter development programme. "The electronic marketplace requires an integrated approach to stakeholder protection as part of a transparent and predictable legal and self-regulatory framework for electronic commerce. Inconsistent and inappropriate stakeholder policies impede the growth of electronic commerce, and as such, stakeholder protection issues are addressed most effectively through consultation, coordination, agreement, monitoring and self-regulation."

"The net commercial benefit of improving delivery is potentially very significant," said Andrew Starkey, lead analyst for the IMRG Delivery Charter development programme, whose previous roles included Divisional Director, Royal Mail, and Sales and Marketing Director, Collectpoint. "Our research to date indicates that up to 50% of merchants' distribution budgets could be recovered from avoided costs and increased revenues by simply using enhanced solutions that already exist and by better explaining delivery options to their customers."

As the IMRG Delivery Charter development programme moves forward, sub-charters for Consumers, Merchants and Transporters will be developed that describe their specific roles and responsibilities, together with a range of resources that help businesses plan, develop, optimise and promote their delivery solutions. One element will be a solutions matrix detailing all the services and options that transporters and co-suppliers provide.

RESOURCES (available on request):

• Internet Shopping Is Safe logo (JPEG)

• 'E-RETAIL DELIVERY IN THE UK' - an IMRG research report by Snow Valley (PDF)
• IMRG Delivery Charter Overview and Draft Content V0.2 (PDF).

ABOUT IMRG: IMRG (Interactive Media In Retail Group), formed in 1990, is the industry body serving e-retail: www.imrg.org

CONTACT: James Roper, IMRG +44 (0) 20 7829 8376 / delivery@imrg.org / http://www.imrg.org/

Axida helps fulfil IKEA's home delivery

22nd July 2005, Axida, a specialist in multi-channel fulfilment software, has won a major contract from IKEA for a software package designed to manage its home deliveries in the UK.

The contract, worth in excess of £1m, will see Axida's HDi (Home delivery and installation) software used by stores, the central distribution facility right through to IKEA's fulfilment partner Exel Logistics to give customers complete visibility of orders from the point of sale through to delivery.

The first phase of the implementation went live in July at IKEA Wholesale and covers the home delivery of larger items held centrally. This also allows bespoke items, such as kitchen worktops, to be tracked from a third party manufacturer to enable delivery and installation to be co-ordinated with each customer.

Scalability is particularly important for this software project due to IKEA's ambition for expansion in the UK.

Currently dynamic route planning, based on Paragon software's real time router, is provided for deliveries. This will be extended to real time delivery information for customers linked to PDAs in the delivery vehicles later in the contract.

Jerry Ryan, logistics manager for IKEA Wholesale, said, "The value of our business is defined by our service to customers. With that in mind we believe that the customer should be able to control the home delivery process using whatever channel suits them, email, text message or phone. With Axida's help we can achieve this whilst creating a smarter infrastructure that both controls cost and doesn't limit our growth."

Wayne Holgate, director of Axida added, "IKEA has a very clear vision of how best to serve customer's needs and we are delighted to have been chosen as their partners to help deliver that vision. From our perspective it's a very important win. This endorses our approach of how major brands can reinforce core values by getting deliveries absolutely right. Furthermore this gives IKEA the cornerstone for a Global delivery solution."

About Axida, a leading provider of home delivery solutions, was formed in 1995 by founders Len Robinson and Wayne Holgate. Its mission is to improve the home delivery experience for retailers and consumers. Axida software underpins deliveries for a number of the UK's leading companies, including CEVA logistics, Habitat, Laura Ashley and IKEA.

Axida is a founder sponsor of the Delivery Trust scheme for Internet shopping recently launched by IMRG, the e-retail industry body. The Scheme includes an 'Internet delivery is safe' Trust Mark and an associated IMRG Delivery Charter.