Sterling Commerce Advances its Business-to-Consumer Strategy with New Multi-Channel Selling and Fulfillment Capabilities

Business Wire, Feb 4, 2008

Integrated Approach to Business-to-Consumer Operations Changes the Game for Retailers, Manufacturers and Telecommunications Companies

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) subsidiary, today unveiled a new business-to-consumer (B2C) strategy that will change the way retailers, manufacturers and telecommunications companies interact with their customers, enabling them to drive profitable growth while optimizing the consumer experience. This B2C strategy leverages the company's advanced cross-channel selling and fulfillment applications to deliver the industry's only truly integrated B2C offering. As part of the new strategy, Sterling Multi-Channel Selling is being enhanced with new marketing and merchandising capabilities that leverage its integrated applications and the power of the Web to deliver a more personalized, customer-centric shopping experience across all channels - in-store, online, catalog/call center, kiosk, etc.

"While other vendors in the industry are focused on the Web channel as being the only option for B2C, we believe the Web is only part of the overall multi-channel B2C interaction. Our strategy is to deliver solutions that enable our customers to quickly and consistently deliver a seamless personalized experience to their customers, regardless of which channel they choose," said Andy Nicholas, vice president of product management, Sterling Multi-Channel Selling, at Sterling Commerce. "In delivering a truly integrated cross-channel B2C offering, Sterling Commerce is positioned to leverage the strengths of each channel to enable our customers to increase customer loyalty and share of wallet."

Under its B2C strategy, Sterling Commerce has integrated its multi-channel selling and fulfillment solutions and provided deep cross-channel integration to deliver the industry's first:

* Integrated order management platform across selling, order capture and fulfillment that simplifies shopping by making it easier for consumers to transact business across channels seamlessly.

* Cross-channel gift-registry capabilities that enable customers to create, manage and buy through all channels.

* Complete, closed-loop solution for endless aisle.

Endless aisle is the ability to offer stocked, non-stocked special order and custom products and services through all channels while managing the distributed fulfillment of them. With customer expectations for broad product assortments rising, endless aisle is a key process for meeting these expectations and increasing share of wallet. To accomplish this, Sterling Commerce combines the ability to sell all types of products and services (including those from third parties) through all channels with advanced multi-channel fulfillment capabilities to source orders from both internal and external sources. The company's guided selling and configuration capabilities allow consumers to easily locate the products and services that meet their needs, create dynamic bundles of products and services, and personalize those products and services through configuration.

As part of its expanding B2C strategy, Sterling Commerce has added new merchandising and marketing capabilities that enhance cross-selling, up-selling and targeting special offers and take an innovative approach to helping companies create a more personalized and targeted shopping experience for their customers. By leveraging the power of the Web to provide unprecedented real-time feedback on a user's or organization's behaviors and purchase history, Sterling Multi-Channel Selling enables companies to capture data and make it actionable by creating true, real-time segmentation. This dynamic behavioral segmentation enables retailers and other direct-to-consumer businesses to drive customer retention and share of wallet by more accurately targeting recommendations and offers to customers based on their profile, needs and wants.

Sterling Multi-Channel Selling allows customers and partners to accurately find, configure and order both simple and complex products and services through every available touch-point. The solution provides a comprehensive platform to drive B2C business, helping companies increase revenue by enabling sales through multiple channels and various business models and reducing costs by automating the sales process.

About Sterling Commerce

Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), helps customers thrive in a global economy by connecting their business communities, processes, people, and technology. More than 30,000 customers worldwide - including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 - use Sterling Commerce solutions for business process integration, multi-channel selling, and supply chain fulfillment to improve profitability inside and outside their company walls. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Sterling Commerce has offices in 19 countries and most major cities around the world. More information on the company can be found at www.sterlingcommerce.com.