September 2007

ARTS Committee Meetings

ARTS technical committee meetings in August set an attendance record with participation by more than 50 people from over 35 companies.  It wasn't the weather or location - Washington is hot and humid that time of year - but a statement on the value of the work being done to develop new standards. 

The first meeting of the new Video Analytics work team was an in-depth sharing of information between retailers and vendors that produced an extensive list of business activities that can be supported by this new technology.  The ARTS mission will be to standardize the data messages for all of these activities.  

Detailed minutes for the meeting and progress updates on the following items are available to members on the ARTS webboard (go to the ARTS website to log in to the members-only area and access the webboard).

       The SOA Blueprint, describing the infrastructure and services for the optimum SOA implementation in retail, is still on track for release at the NRF Annual Convention in January 2008. 

       Retail Transaction Interface (RTI) developed message sets from POSlog to reuse core POS functions and services in the SOA infrastructure described by the Blueprint. 

       Transaction Tax work team has completed their charter.  This technical specification, when linked with the tax examples in the Data Model, will be the definitive retail tax manual.  Accurate tax amounts for anything anywhere. 

       ARTS will develop a SOA Best Practices white paper to coordinate related activities across various ARTS technical committees and work teams.  This white paper will only be available to ARTS members. 

       The new Data Dictionary was tested by the Data Model Committee for search, relationships and accurate/understandable definitions.  The Dictionary, with these capabilities and more than 5,000 retail information elements, is an educational tool for retail IT personnel.

Don't Miss the Fifth Annual Retail Technology Summit, 18 October, Brussels

SOA: Integrating Retail for Improved Profitability, 18 October in Brussels. This year's Summit will feature speakers from JCPenney (United States), Etam Groep (Netherlands), Galeries Lafayette (France) and AMR Research.  Attend and learn how SOA technology solves business problems.  Review the complete program and register to attend at http://www.nrf.com/itsummit.

European Technology Council to meeting 18 October, Brussels

NRF and ARTS will organize the 5^th annual meeting of the European Technology Council at the Brussels Summit.  This invitation-only event is open to Retailer IT directors and CIOs in EMEA only.  For more information contact ARTS Executive Director Richard Mader.

ARTS and Saks to Present at Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention & Exhibition

Saks CIO William Franks and ARTS Executive Director Richard Mader will present at the 13th Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition, 12 October in Tokyo.  Mr. Franks will speak on how IT can support exceptional customer service and Mr. Mader will speak on Global Standards to Improve Commerce and Retail Operations.  For more information, see http://www.aprce.com/en/.

ARTS Standards Pavilion, NRF Annual Convention & EXPO, 13-16 January 2008

This year's Pavilion at the NRF 97th Annual Convention, January 13-16, 2008, will feature the unveiling of the SOA Blueprint as the centerpiece of an exhibit area showcasing ARTS standards (ARTS-XML, UnifiedPOS, Data Model and Standard RFPs).  Hundreds visit the Pavilion each year to learn how ARTS standards are implemented by leading retail software and hardware providers can enhance their IT operations.  Sponsorships are available; contact Richard Mader or Lisa Marzetti for more information.

ARTS Board Openings

Would you like to meet for one hour each month with leaders in retail IT to discuss the hot topics and trends?  The ARTS Board is seeking two retail members to participate in developing the ARTS agenda.  Candidates should be director level or above and be able to dedicate two hours a month to ARTS activities.  For more information contact ARTS Executive Director Richard Mader.

ARTS and NRF to develop Joint Best Practices Manual for IT Policies

The NRF CIO Council and ARTS are launching a joint effort to develop a Best Practices Manual that will begin with PCI compliance, but could grow over time to include other subject areas such as E-mail policies, record retention, etc.  If you have policies, procedures, or information that you would like to contribute as best practices recommendations, please send to Richard Mader or mail to NRF Best Practices, NRF, 325 7^th Street NW, Washington DC 20004.

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