June 2007

ARTS Raises the Flag of Retail Data Standards in India

Richard Mader keynoted the premier technology event in India.  ReTechCon, a production of the Retailers Association of India (rai) was held in Mumbai June 19-21. Speaking to an audience of 400 at the invitation of Mr. Gibson Vedamani, CEO of rai, Richard Mader encouraged the Indian retail technology community to adopt standards now; organized retail is exploding in India, and standards adoption now will help them avoid the cost of retro-fitting in future years. Attendees expressed a high level of interest in ARTS' support for SOA, Retail Transaction Interface (RTI) and POSlog. To review the presentation, see http://www.nrf-arts.org/whatsnew.htm.

ARTS Members Present on ARTS and SOA at IBM Store Systems User Group

Long-time members Home Depot, SAP and Oracle loudly proclaimed ARTS' support for SOA at the Annual Conference held May 20-23 in Las Vegas.  In the ARTS session, Marty Edelman, Sr. Manager Retail Systems, described how and why Home Depot is implementing SOA and their use of ARTS' standards. He was followed by Colin Haig, SAP Industry Executive for Retail, on how SAP incorporates ARTS-XML schemas in many SOA implementations.  In an unrelated session, Jerry Rightmer, VP, Store Solutions for Oracle and a member of the ARTS Board, made a presentation on the ARTS Blueprint for SOA.  WOW, the world's two largest retail ERP providers and the second largest retailer supporting ARTS standards.  Click here to view the ARTS Presentation.

So Long, Retail Systems Alert (RSA)

ARTS is sorry to learn that Retail Systems Alert, an ardent supporter and long time friend, has ceased operations.  ARTS presented at the final RSA event in Boston.  We wish a successful future to Brian, Mark, Eric and the rest of the RSA staff.

Video Analytics, New Frontier for ARTS

Clearly retailers are interested in Video Analytics, as more than 50 attended an exploratory meeting to discuss launching a new ARTS work team to standardize both the connection and the captured data for this exciting new technology.  Cisco Systems, working with several key retailers including Macys, Target, Supervalu, Dillard's, Home Depot and Staples, have developed key requirements for an industry standard and asked ARTS to consider organizing a work team to complete the work.

 Based on the success of this first meeting, ARTS has decided that a work team will be organized during the August XML committee meeting in Washington DC (click here for agenda information). Participation in this new work team is open to all members of ARTS.

Webinar on Open POS with Burlington Coat Factory Case Study

ARTS Board Chair Cy Young of Burlington Coat Factory recently participated in an IBM Open POS web cast.  Cy presented an actual case study on the value of using ARTS standard at Burlington Coat, a leader in open systems. You can replay this webinar on the StORES magazine website: www.stores.org/knowledge/062107.

Workforce Management RFP due for Update

The first meeting of the committee to update the Workforce Management RFP is scheduled for June 29.  If you would like to participate, contact Richard Mader at maderr@nrf.com.  Thanks to those that have contributed great materials to expand the existing RFP.

ARTS XML, Data Model Committees to meet August 13-16 in Washington DC

The overview agenda and special hotel rates are posted on http://www.nrf-arts.org/agendas/AgendaXML_DM_WDC_0807.htm   Principal topics are the SOA Blueprint, Retail Transaction Interface, Tax and Video Analytics.  The new Dictionary is nearing completion; this is your last best chance to influence the final product.  Any member using ARTS standards should plan to attend.

UnifiedPOS Releases WAMPOS for Review and Comment

The first product of the Remote Access POS (RAPOS) work team, Wampos has been posted to the ARTS website for review and comment.  Wampos is a browser-based implementation that will be followed in the coming months by XML-POS and Web Services POS (WSPOS).  See What's New or the UnifiedPOS page on the ARTS homepage at www.nrf-arts.org to download Wampos.

Importance of ARTS Conformance Certification

An ARTS vendor member recently announced a new POS and general retail support application based on ARTS standards but is not yet certified conformant.  This prompts us to remind all vendors that ARTS conformance testing is the best way to confirm to prospective clients that your application is based on ARTS standards, helping them to prepare for SOA and ensuring future flexibility.  For more information on conformance and to see a list of conformant vendors see http://www.nrf-arts.org/net/conform2.htm.

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