© 2017, Mountain Equipment Co-operative.

“We’ve been working with A2R for several years, with good results. We recently decided to expand our relationship with A2R to implement various customizations and improvements to our core ERP system.

We called on A2R’s expertise in warehouse operations to help us integrate a new automated conveyor system. A2R guided us throughout this project ‒ from being available as consultants for key decisions during the requirements phase, to the development of customized programs, through to the creation and execution of test plans. Having A2R as a partner truly helped us deliver a successful project.

A2R’s team puts its clients first. From large projects to support questions, we know that A2R is there for us and committed to our success.”

Robert Sung, Application Support Manager at MEC

MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op) is Canada’s go-to place for outdoor gear, know-how and inspiration. Combining high-quality apparel and equipment with expert advice and firsthand experience, MEC supports a wide range of activities including camping, snowsports, watersports, cycling, climbing, hiking, running, yoga and travel. For more information, visit mec.ca or visit one of our 21 stores nationwide.

“In 2015, we decided to outsource our Point-of-Sale helpdesk support to A2R. Their support agents are fully bilingual and have met our requirements for our service levels and call resolution. With over a hundred Laura Secord stores coast to coast, it was important that the agents have the hours of coverage we needed to support our enterprise.

In the year since, we are extremely pleased with the level and quality of service that A2R provides & would not hesitate to recommend them.”

Leo Yuen, IT Support Coordinator at Laura Secord, Inc.

Laura Secord is Canada’s largest and best known chocolatier, selling Premium Chocolates, Ice Cream and an assortment of candies. With more than 400 products, Laura Secord still follows the time-honoured recipes and dedication to quality and excellent customer service as when the company first started. Laura Secord is a privately-held company with over 125 company-owned stores across Canada.

“A2R’s expertise has been extremely valuable in the planning and execution of our strategic IT projects. Since the beginning of our partnership, its team’s know-how was pivotal in the successful implementation of our new merchandising and supply chain management system, ecommerce and order management systems.

Their insight is valuable throughout our decision process. They are particularly savvy when it comes to designing an integration roadmap as well as setting realistic and achievable project goals.

A2R was definitely an important contributor to the success of our ecommerce initiative. They helped us substantially improve our warehouse and fulfillment processes, essentially building the platform for future growth to cater our stores and support our expanding online business.

As a long time customer of A2R, we rely on their deep retail and IT expertise. Their consultants and support team are very responsive and have gone above and beyond what is expected from them. We are and have been very pleased with A2R and its team for the past several years. We can count on them. They always deliver, which is why we would not hesitate to recommend them!”

Gary Craig, Vice-President of Information Technology at La Maison Simons Inc.
With over 2000 employees, La Maison Simons Inc. is a fashion retailer operating nine (9) stores across Canada.

“Linen Chest has been working with A2R for a long time. As we planned for growth and in order to be more efficient during that phase, we decided to leverage their expertise on various fronts.

Over the years, they helped us customize and integrate various store systems and improve our operational controls. They are very good at what they do. Having seen their performance in delivering and supporting the various projects and because of their retail know-how as well as their intricate knowledge of technology and of our business processes, we decided to outsource our store user applications and hardware support to A2R. This allowed management to focus more on the core business. It also freed up our IT resources to focus on more strategic projects such as store openings.

Since we have outsourced our store help desk to A2R, we increased store and IT resources efficiency and significantly improved our user service levels. From store opening to the end of day processes, their response and resolution times are outstanding. We know where things stand at every step of the way. They have helped minimize store downtime and contributed to our overall performance. We are extremely happy of the standard of service we have come to expect from A2R as it is truly an extension of our organization.”

Mohsen Hamouda,Vice-President of Information Technology at Linen Chest Inc.
A retailer that owns and operates home decor stores in Canada.

“In 2012, we hired A2R to help us define our IT strategic plan. Its team of consultants examined all areas of our business, working closely with our senior leaders to identify areas of improvement and to determine the right corporate roadmap that delivers tangible results.

Their findings and recommendations were insightful and pragmatic. In fact, we started seeing results in the first three months of our roadmap. A2R brought deep retail and ecommerce experience to the table, working as a strategic partner and catalyst for the transformation of our business into a multi-channel retailer.

With A2R, you truly get the expertise advantage of the big firms but with personalized service that customers deserve. They are a group of dedicated consultants that are passionate about retail and that understand your business. We value A2R’s expertise in the field of IT, retail and ecommerce strategy and continue to leverage them as they are leading our ecommerce initiative. We are highly satisfied with their work and would not hesitate to recommend them.”

Ken Kumar, Senior Vice-President of Information Services & Technology at Princess Auto Ltd.
With over 2,200 employees, Princess Auto Ltd. is a Canadian based multi-channel retailer, operating thirty-six (36) stores across Canada.

“In a highly competitive retail market, having the right IT partner assist you in successfully delivering projects and in supporting your critical business systems is important for your organization.

We have been working with the A2R team for many years. They helped us in successfully implementing our core system and point of sale (JDA MMS and WinDSS) and have been supporting our business applications ever since. From the onset, we were impressed with their quality service and dedication. They have shown to be highly knowledgeable of retail processes and technology, which helped us improve operational efficiencies.  The diligence and responsiveness of their highly skilled and bilingual support team are remarkable, which makes A2R a partner of choice.”

Brian Wenk, Director of Information Technology at West 49 Group Inc.
A division of Billabong International. West 49 Inc. is a multi-banner specialty retailer of apparel, footwear and accessories related to skate, snow, surf, and action sports lifestyles, operating over 100 stores across Canada under the banners West 49, Billabong, Amnesia, Arsenic and Element.

“About a year ago, we met with Advantage2Retail (A2R) to discuss our plans to implement a workforce management system throughout the organization. The goal was to eliminate manual interventions and to optimize employee scheduling. They assisted us in our search for a best-of-breed solution that better addresses retail industry challenges as well as Laura Canada’s specific requirements.

A2R’s involvement in this initiative was pivotal. Their retail expertise and understanding of our business needs helped us save time and money. During the selection process, A2R guided us in the right direction and recommended Dayforce, a leading edge solution that will allow us to achieve greater operational efficiencies.

We chose to work with A2R because of their deep retail insight from a technology and business perspective, and for their commitment to customer service. They understand our business. I will not hesitate to use their consulting services in the future.”

Murray Shostak, Director of Information Technology at Laura Canada, a privately-own women’s fashion retailer operating more than 170 stores throughout Canada (www.laura.ca).

“Over the past 20 years, I was involved in several retail systems implementations as a system integrator and as a client. Finding the right solution is only half the battle.

When it was time to replace our legacy systems here at Hart Stores, I looked for an IT partner that would act like an extension of my IT department with strong retail expertise and know-how that I can rely on.

We chose Advantage2Retail (A2R) not only based on the solution they presented, but mostly because they understand retail from a retailer’s point of view. It just doesn’t stop at a great solution: you need the right integrator to make it all work. They have a thorough understanding of retail business processes and have a very knowledgeable technical and functional team that has an attention to detail and a fast response time.

We started working with A2R in early January 2010 to implement a complete JDA enterprise solution and things are going very well. We plan on going live with the complete solution in Q1 of 2011.

With the help of A2R, we are adding significant improvements in our store system, merchandise and warehouse management systems, which translate into greater efficiency overall. We are already seeing it in our stores. That’s very positive!”

Sal Pugliese, Vice President Information Technology and Systems at Hart Stores, a Canadian and publicly trade retailer operating a network of 90 mid-sized department stores under the Hart, Bargain Giant and Géant des Aubaines banners throughout Eastern Canada.