Hickory Farms Chooses IRG for Wireless WAN in its 500 Pop-Up Stores Nationwide

Flexible contracts and managed service were key factors in decision. IRG now manages all services, from sourcing carriers to overall management of the retaiLAN.

February 3, 2011

Industry Retail Group, Inc., a leading provider of retail-centric broadband-based applications and services, announced Hickory Farms as its newest retail customer. IRG delivers customized solutions that enable retailers to leverage their broadband.

Hickory Farms, an American favorite since 1951 for sausages, cheeses, and gift baskets, needed cost-effective wireline service for its 500 pop-up stores in time for the holiday season. It faced several challenges to finding broadband for the temporary pop-up stores and kiosks which are set up in malls and shopping centers across the U.S. Primarily, most broadband providers require stringent, annual contracts that prevent pop-up stores like Hickory Farms from obtaining cost-effective broadband for just three months. Additionally, extending wireline service through mall concourses is costlier and interferes with heavy customer traffic.

IRG answered Hickory Farms technical and contractual challenges, first by building a wireless, 3G WAN infrastructure using multiple wireless relationships. Second, IRG offered flexible, monthly contracts appropriate for the seasonal business. IRG Mike Luzio said, "We can't stress enough that broadband is a commodity. It's our task to help our customers leverage their broadband to deliver both cost-effective service and a more powerful customer experience. It's certainly an honor to provide our service to Hickory Farms locations nationwide, a company so well-known and well-respected since its inception."

IRG's dedicated project manager worked closely with Hickory Farms' Manager of Retail Information Systems Darrell Woolaver. The purpose was to understand the customer challenges and present the most effective way to leverage the broadband, since Woolaver manages all daily retail POS operations. Hickory Farms will utilize the wireless WAN for a variety of applications such as POS transactions, inventory control, and VoIP. The entire project was slated for quick deployment due to the nature of pop-up stores.

Hickory Farms' CIO Chris Houser shared, "We're anticipating a strong year for Hickory Farms, taking full advantage of our wireless network for faster credit card processing and an improved customer experience. The flexible contracts will allow us to open locations without concern of being locked into 12-month contracts or facing cancellation penalties."

IRG will manage all services, from sourcing carriers to overall management of the retaiLAN. The entire implementation is expected to be complete by early November.

Retailers interested in broadband for pop-up stores and traditional brick and mortar locations should contact IRG at 866-525-8529.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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