Genie Systems Secures Major Deal With Toys “R” Us, Largest Toy Retailer In The World
E-Commerce Solution To Be Customised By NZ Based Programmers
AUCKLAND – Thursday 17 August 2000 – New Zealand e-Commerce software development company, Genie Systems Limited,
announced the sale under licence of its flagship supply chain management system, OrderWare, to the largest toy retailer
worldwide, Toys “R” Us. The US based CEO of Genie Systems, Mike Hendry, said his company will be working with the Babies
“R” Us division of the corporation, playing a strategic role in its retail strategy with the implementation of an
in-store Intranet-based special order system. Babies “R” Us currently operates 136 stores across the United States with
over US$1 billion in annual sales revenue.
Phase one of the project, to be completed before the end of the year, involves the deployment of OrderWare at ten Babies
“R” Us stores. This will be expanded to the remaining stores in phase two by March 2001. According to Mr Hendry, two
Genie Systems staff will be located on site as project executives at the Toys “R” Us management information systems
(MIS) headquarters in New Jersey. However the software customisation of the project will be carried out by Genie Systems
programmers based in Auckland.
“Toys “R” Us is currently restructuring its retail strategy,” explained Mr Hendry. “They were looking for a Web-based
application that would help them achieve a more efficient delivery service.” As a result of the deal, the OrderWare
application will be utilised within the Guest Fulfilment System (GFS) of Babies “R” Us, enabling the handling of special
orders and complex procurement activities. The Web-based procurement system will also allow ordering of non-stock items
from five distribution centres and 20 key suppliers across North America.
“Keeping larger items such as furniture and children’s play equipment in the stores takes up valuable retail space,”
said Mr Hendry. “By moving these items back into the warehouses, Babies “R” Us can substantially increase the
flexibility of their retail layouts. With OrderWare they will reduce floor costs, provide greater space for more
valuable stock items and fulfil customer delivery requirements on an as-needs basis”.
Genie Systems’ ability to implement the solution within a tight time-frame was a critical factor in the decision by Toys
“R” Us to purchase OrderWare. In addition, the giant retailer had a number of key order-tracking requirements which
OrderWare was able to meet, including its ability to confirm receipt of the order from the supplier; allow each store to
track the entire order process; permit the prioritisation of orders; and keep the store associates informed. The GFS
system will integrate with the existing Oracle, Unisys and IBM platforms to enable seamless integration from store to
distribution centre to supplier.
According to Mike Hendry the deal with Toys “R” Us is a further validation of OrderWare as a world class product. “We
are a global e-Commerce collaboration and exchange platform and this contract underlines our ability to implement and
operate highly complex procurement and distribution systems,” he said.
About Toys “R” Us
A Fortune 500 company, Toys “R” Us is the world’s leading resource for kids, families and fun. It currently
operates 1,557 stores: 707 stores in the United States; 473 international toy stores, including franchise stores; 201
Kids “R” Us children’s clothing stores; 136 Babies “R” Us stores; ands 40 Imaginarium stores. The company also sells
merchandise through the Internet sites at www.toysrus.com and www.imaginarium.com and through mail order catalogues.
About Babies “R” Us
Babies “R” Us, the Baby Superstore, a division of Toys “R” Us, was established in 1996 and currently operates
136 stores across the United States with over US$1 billion in annual sales revenue. The chain registers more new parents
in their personal gift list shopping program than any other retailer in the country. The expansive stores offer one-stop
shopping for everything new parents need including apparel, furniture, car seats, bedding, strollers and more.
About Genie Systems Limited
Established in 1998, Genie Systems has offices in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. The company provides
packaged applications for real time, end-to-end business-to-business e-Commerce via the Internet, trading exchange,
corporate Extranet or corporate Intranet. Its flagship suite, OrderWare, is a fully featured collaboration and exchange
package with fully integrated supply chain management and procurement capabilities to enable B2B orders to be placed
over the Internet.
OrderWare facilitates Web-based order entry, supply change management, internal procurement and product cataloguing. It
also contains an additional packaged application to streamline the frequently complex process of interfacing with
back-end third party applications. In addition OrderWare has fully integrated Web-based workflow management, enabling
business processes to be truly delivered online between organisations.
In June 2000 Genie Systems secured a major licensing deal with Unisys to provide the e-Commerce capability for that
company’s global Application Service Provider (ASP). Available throughout Australasia, the service is based on the
OrderWare suite.
More information on Genie Systems is available at http://www.geniesystems.com
Ends