IBM also will be implementing business-integration software from Yantra Corp. to let Circuit City connect its Web-commerce systems with in-store systems and business partners' order and fulfillment systems. That will let Circuit City more easily build collaborative relationships such as the one it has with Amazon.com Inc., which lets shoppers buy Circuit City items through a gateway on Amazon's Web site, Jones says. "Yantra provides a wonderful opportunity to expand those kinds of programs," he adds.
Such collaborative initiatives will increase in importance as more consumers use the Web to research and shop for big-ticket items such as flat-screen televisions, says Howard Tubin, an analyst at Cathay Financial. "It's another way to drive eyeballs to Circuit City products," he says.
The retailer also is evaluating IBM's wireless point-of-sale offerings to see if it can reduce customer checkout times. Under one scenario, Jones envisions staffers equipped with handhelds processing customer purchases while they are standing in line.
Circuit City has been under pressure to improve its operations to stanch market-share losses to No. 1 electronics retailer Best Buy Co., which is solidly profitable. It won't be easy, as Best Buy has been enhancing its technology infrastructure. Best Buy implemented Yantra's business-integration software in 2002 and has a number of other initiatives under way. Still, Jones is confident that Circuit City's move to standardized point-of-sale technology will position the company to be more competitive. Says Jones, "We'll be able to devote more resources to retailing, which is the business we're in."
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