Case Study
OLR Assist Support Services: Performance Tuning Nordstrom
When leading US retailer Nordstrom Inc. sought to improve its Retek (now Oracle® Retail) performance to meet Service Level Agreements, it brought in OLR.
The resulting performance improvements have met Nordstrom's expectations.
Challenge:
Improve performance in order to meet Service Level Agreements
Nordstrom Inc's Director of Information Technology, John Mayfield, said the company had implemented Retek throughout its stores in 2003.
“One of the challenges was that we recognized we had to improve performance to meet our Service Level Agreements, he said. We have online response times and batch windows that were not met.”
A key challenge for the implementation was Nordstrom's size and the size of its database. As part of Nordstrom's focus on customer service, the company maintained stock of every color and size required of a particular fashion item, such as shoes, which produced a massive SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) or inventory database.
As Nordstrom undertook its phased rollout of Retek, it recognized it was facing mounting performance issues.
Improve performance in order to meet Service Level Agreements
Nordstrom Inc's Director of Information Technology, John Mayfield, said the company had implemented Retek throughout its stores in 2003.
“One of the challenges was that we recognized we had to improve performance to meet our Service Level Agreements, he said. We have online response times and batch windows that were not met.”
A key challenge for the implementation was Nordstrom's size and the size of its database. As part of Nordstrom's focus on customer service, the company maintained stock of every color and size required of a particular fashion item, such as shoes, which produced a massive SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) or inventory database.
As Nordstrom undertook its phased rollout of Retek, it recognized it was facing mounting performance issues.
Solution:
OLR achieves significant performance improvements
Mr. Mayfield said OLR had lived up to Nordstrom's expectations, delivering performance improvements ranging from 10 per cent to 200 per cent, depending on the store.
Nordstrom began working with OLR after encountering its executives at a Retek conference. OLR sent a Performance Tuning Specialist to Nordstrom's head office, in Seattle, Washington.
“There are always challenges with software packages, but OLR has a pretty good track record with Retek, he said. We have achieved significant performance improvements. We can now meet our Service Level Agreements whereas before we weren't.”
OLR achieves significant performance improvements
Mr. Mayfield said OLR had lived up to Nordstrom's expectations, delivering performance improvements ranging from 10 per cent to 200 per cent, depending on the store.
Nordstrom began working with OLR after encountering its executives at a Retek conference. OLR sent a Performance Tuning Specialist to Nordstrom's head office, in Seattle, Washington.
“There are always challenges with software packages, but OLR has a pretty good track record with Retek, he said. We have achieved significant performance improvements. We can now meet our Service Level Agreements whereas before we weren't.”
Benefits:
Knowledge-transfer program aided Nordstrom with ongoing system management and planning for future expansion
In addition to performance tuning, OLR undertook a knowledge transfer program to Nordstrom staff that assisted them with ongoing Retek system management and capacity planning for future expansion.
OLR's expertise in benchmarking and performance testing now enables Nordstrom to undertake volume tests before going it goes into production by extending the Retek system to a new store. This enables Nordstrom to identify issues and implement solutions, such as ordering new hardware, so that Retek scales up while still meeting the Service Level Agreements with business units.
Mr. Mayfield described his experience with OLR as ‘very positive’. “They have done everything and more than I expected,” he said. “OLR is very flexible in meeting our needs and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.”
In terms of Retek capacity planning and performance tuning, OLR has delivered the benefits of improved Retek performance.
Knowledge-transfer program aided Nordstrom with ongoing system management and planning for future expansion
In addition to performance tuning, OLR undertook a knowledge transfer program to Nordstrom staff that assisted them with ongoing Retek system management and capacity planning for future expansion.
OLR's expertise in benchmarking and performance testing now enables Nordstrom to undertake volume tests before going it goes into production by extending the Retek system to a new store. This enables Nordstrom to identify issues and implement solutions, such as ordering new hardware, so that Retek scales up while still meeting the Service Level Agreements with business units.
Mr. Mayfield described his experience with OLR as ‘very positive’. “They have done everything and more than I expected,” he said. “OLR is very flexible in meeting our needs and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.”
In terms of Retek capacity planning and performance tuning, OLR has delivered the benefits of improved Retek performance.
