CDW Expands Retail Solution Offerings, Partners with Payment Processor Chase Paymentech Solutions

2008-10-28 13:58:02 -

www.cdw.com/ - CDW Public Relations Kelly Caraher, 847-968-0729 kellyc@cdw.com or O'Keeffe & Company Martin Nott, 315-857-7347 mnott@okco.com CDW Corporation, a leading provider of technology products and services to business, government and education, today announced an expanded portfolio of offerings for retailers of all sizes, including merchant services from Chase Paymentech Solutions, CDW Store-in-a-Truck(TM), integrated point of sale (POS) and automatic

identification data capture (AIDC) solutions, and specialty solutions such as digital signage. CDW has also grown its team of retail technology specialists to help businesses develop comprehensive solutions that meet their front-to-back technology needs.

"The current economic environment is challenging for consumers and retailers alike, so more than ever, retailers need to make sound investments in affordable technology solutions that allow them to improve their competitive position and pass savings on to their customers," said Marc Barnett, senior manager of solutions, CDW. "We have expanded our offerings to include end-to-end, industry-specific solutions and services to help retailers reduce costs, protect their business, streamline their operations and ultimately enhance the customer experience."

CDW's newly expanded retail technology offerings include:

-- Merchant Services, available through a partnership with Chase Paymentech Solutions, which facilitate payment processing to allow merchants to accept credit or debit cards, gift cards, private label cards, online payments or other non-cash payments from customers at the point of sale, through mail or telephone order, or over the internet.

-- Integrated POS/AIDC Solutions, which allow retailers to quickly and accurately collect essential data and customer information. These solutions help achieve real-time inventory tracking, improve sale price accuracy and reduce manual processes, while enabling customer-focused rewards and loyalty programs.

-- CDW Store-in-a-Truck(TM), which takes a complete blueprint of a retailer's IT, including servers, power, networking, telephony, merchant services and POS lanes, and replicates it at new stores and in store refreshes, enabling retailers to simplify IT implementation.

-- Digital Signage, which allows retailers to use an interactive messaging platform to communicate with employees and customers and enables organizations to deliver effective real-time advertising, while minimizing advertising, communications, and human resource costs with self serve kiosks.

-- Retail Technology Specialists, who understand retailing business challenges and work to develop custom-configured solutions and specialized services for optimal technology performance.

One Stop Shopping for Payment Processing

CDW retailing customers now have access to payment processing services from Chase Paymentech Solutions, a trusted leader in credit card processing. Chase Paymentech Solutions offers CDW customers more competitive discount rates and simplified fee structures, as well as improved transaction reporting.

"At Chase Paymentech Solutions, one of our core objectives is to help small businesses with the process of accepting payments. Through this partnership, the establishment of a payment processing solution is less confusing, more convenient and less expensive for CDW customers - large or small," said Greg Schaub, executive vice president, Business Development at Chase Paymentech Solutions. "This complements CDW's well-earned reputation for helping small businesses. We look forward to the opportunity to deliver our knowledge and expertise in payment processing to CDW's retail customers."

Los Angeles Duplication and Broadcasting, a video duplication service provider, was dissatisfied with the level of service they received from their credit card processing provider. The company was charged exorbitant and often unexplained service processing fees, and processing errors, such as duplicate transactions or billing mistakes, occurred regularly. The provider failed to offer prompt or sufficient explanation or relief, so Los Angeles Duplication and Broadcasting sought a new solution provider through CDW.

"About 75 percent of our income is brought in through credit cards, and we can't afford to lose large customers because, for example, they get charged twice for a $20,000 purchase," said Daniel Soto, CFO, Los Angeles Duplication and Broadcasting. "Chase Paymentech Solutions' service is established and tested, and their customer service and tech support are more responsive and better able to provide us with the information we need."

Soto says that the transition process to the new Chase Paymentech Solution service was very user-friendly and efficient, taking little more than 24 hours to complete set up.

Touchdown with Store-in-a-Truck

MainGate, an event-merchandising and marketing company, needed POS solutions that could scan and process credit cards and operate cash drawers for its apparel and souvenir stores throughout Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. CDW specialist teams provided guidance and product demonstrations to help MainGate select an all-in-one POS device.

"Some of our locations at the stadium are small and the space must be maximized for merchandise display so we needed a solution that was compact, user-friendly and discrete so as not to distract from the products on sale," said David Schultz, POS administrator, MainGate, Inc. "CDW recommended an all-in-one touch screen solution that has the computer built right into it, which has saved on space and given us the style and look we want."

MainGate took advantage of CDW's Store-in-a-Truck offering, with the CDW Configuration Center boxing each of the 60 POS systems individually along with its labeled peripherals and then delivering them to 30 different locations throughout the stadium. Schultz says this service reduced deployment time and labor, freeing him up to focus on more strategic aspects of the implementation process.

CDW technology specialists also implemented local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) solutions with added security to protect credit card information. Additionally, CDW provides storage back-up services for all MainGate POS solutions.

In addition to representing leading manufacturers of IT and retail technology, CDW provides advisory services on a wide range of retail technology issues, including application servers, network and data systems, communications for multi-site retailers, signature capture, payment processing, technology that enables Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, radio-frequency identification (RFID), e-commerce and more.

For more information regarding CDW's retail solution offerings, please visit www.cdw.com/content/solutions/store-optimization/.

About CDW

CDW is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. Ranked No. 39 on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies, CDW features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. The company's technology specialists offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers can assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions.

CDW was founded in 1984 and as of September 30, 2008 employed approximately 6,900 coworkers. In 2007, the company generated sales of $8.1 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com.

Account managers and technology specialists provide
industry-specific support to retailers