Business Services Industry

Big Y Foods, Inc. Standardizes on Workbrain RetailERM; Workbrain will reduce labor costs, enhance decision-making, and improve operational efficiency and customer service

Business Wire, Sept 17, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2002

Workbrain(TM), Inc., the industry standard for Employee Relationship Management (ERM), today announced that Big Y Foods, Inc. has standardized on Workbrain RetailERM. Big Y will use RetailERM to streamline and transform its workforce management processes for its 8,000 employees, across its 48 supermarkets, distribution center, and corporate headquarters. RetailERM's real-time reporting and operational HR capabilities should provide Big Y managers with better insight into labor trends and requirements, enabling the company to reduce labor costs, enhance decision-making, and improve operational efficiency and customer service.

RetailERM provides managers with a centralized view of all workforce data, including real-time reports on employee absences, hours worked by minors, and employees approaching overtime thresholds. In addition, Workbrain will play an integral role in scheduling, by matching employee skill sets, availability, and actual hours worked with Big Y's optimized schedules. This will enable Big Y to reduce the cost of workforce deployment throughout the organization, and ensure compliance with regulatory restrictions, as well as its complex business rules. RetailERM's advanced capabilities also should help Big Y reduce scheduling errors, minimize overtime costs, and shorten process cycle times.

"We chose Workbrain RetailERM because it includes comprehensive ERM functionality, meets all of our complex workforce management requirements, and features a user interface that is easy-to-use," said Jack Henry, vice president, employee services, Big Y.

Big Y sought a fully integrated, pure Web-based solution to manage complex operational HR processes, such as employee time, attendance, and leave management, as well as reporting. Workbrain RetailERM provides Big Y with applications for time capture, balances and entitlements, vacation requests, online pay stubs, customized reporting, employee messaging, and advanced employee and manager self-service. Employees will have the option of accessing the solution outside the work environment, including from home, as well as mobile devices.

Workbrain ERM's architecture, based on the J2EE(TM) standard, enables Big Y to easily integrate RetailERM with its existing infrastructure and systems. These include biometric clocks from Control Module, Inc., Infinium HRMS and payroll products, and scheduling from TempoSoft.

"Big Y is the latest retailer to adopt the Workbrain RetailERM solution to address the unique challenges of managing a large and complex retail operation," added Steve DeBacco, vice president of sales at Workbrain. "By focusing on streamlining the specific operational issues faced by retailers in managing their workforces, RetailERM allows store managers to focus their efforts on the customer experience. Furthermore, our real-time alerts ensure that managers are always aware of key workplace metrics, and issues requiring immediate attention."

About Big Y Foods, Inc.

Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, Big Y is one of the fastest growing retail supermarket chains in the United States, currently operating 48 locations in Central and Western Massachusetts and throughout Connecticut. As the only American owned and largest privately owned supermarket in the region since 1936, Big Y employs over 8,000 people in its stores, warehouses and Store Support Center. Big Y ranked 226th in the 2001 Forbes Top 500 Largest Private Companies and holds the second highest share of market percentage in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. For more information please visit www.bigy.com.

About Workbrain, Inc.

Workbrain's Employee Relationship Management (ERM) applications automate and transform the most frequent and complex interactions between an enterprise and its employees, including advanced time and attendance, skills and training management, real-time analytics and reporting, shift bidding and trading, and next-generation employee and manager self-service.

ERM aligns employees with corporate objectives, resulting in reduced costs, increased productivity, improved decision-making, and enhanced employee satisfaction. All Workbrain applications are built on ERM 3.0, a J2EE(TM) compliant platform, ensuring rapid implementation, integration with existing technology investments, and scalability to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of users. Customers such as C&S Wholesale Grocers, Burlington Coat Factory, British Airways, and Russell Corporation have chosen Workbrain's industry standard ERM solution. For more information, please visit www.workbrain.com.

- Workbrain is a trademark of Workbrain, Inc. All other product or company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.