The retail sector has grown increasingly crowded in recent years as new kinds of competitors – from big-box stores and deep discounters to niche boutiques and e-commerce merchants – have radically altered consumer expectations and changed how people expect to access goods and services

To compete in this dynamic environment, today’s retailer must keep pace with evolving customer demand while working constantly to drive unnecessary costs out of the supply chain. And you have to do all of this while getting your people working more efficiently and delivering better one-to-one service and overall customer experience.

Allstream has the fast, flexible communications solutions that retailers need to get better connected with customers and keep business running more smoothly and efficiently. Our IP-enabled solutions, backed by our technology expertise and deep sector knowledge, can help you better anticipate customer needs, tighten the links in the supply chain and securely connect your people with mobility and collaboration tools – on the sales floor, in the office and across multiple locations.

We can converge your voice, data and multimedia applications onto a single, high-performance private network that’s securely connected to the Internet, helping you maximize your IT resources and reduce your overall technology costs. With internal and external communications fully integrated, you can equip your people with powerful applications that let them share files across desktops, partner at a distance on key projects and track each other’s locations and availability on the move.

Whether you need to better coordinate your communications planning, streamline procurement and inventory management, strengthen your web presence, track shopper purchase patterns or support a customer loyalty program, you’ll see improved results quickly with Allstream’s secure, reliable solutions. Our experts work with you to ensure your network and applications are tailored to the realities of retail and always performing at peak levels – round the clock, every day of the year.

 Deliver a better customer experience.
No matter where you customers are – in store, on the phone or online – they need quick and efficient service. Allstream’s IP connectivity solutions help you deliver it, cementing customers’ loyalty by ensuring they can quickly access the right items at the right time.

• Equip your people with mobile devices that connect them seamlessly to customers and colleagues no matter where they are.
• Improve contact centre functionality by transferring calls directly to the specialists who are best prepared to answer them.

• Support advanced data applications that help you optimize stock levels to meet demand.
• Enhance online shopping capabilities by providing customers with real-time access to the information and support they’re looking for.
• Easily update your website with new product details and special offers.
• Use a range of digital technologies – including audio, web and video conferencing – to cost-effectively expand training and professional development for frontline staff.

Boost productivity across your organization.
Backed by Allstream’s industry-leading expertise and coast-to-coast IP network, you can converge voice, data and video communications to keep your workforce securely connected around the clock.

• Ensure reliable information flow across your organization, as well as to manufacturers and other business partners, with reduced risk of network downtime.
• Improve staff efficiency by supporting mobile contact across all areas of your organization.
• Streamline ordering and inventory protocols with vendors and other suppliers.
• Enable your people to share files and applications, set up virtual meetings and connect seamlessly via instant messaging.
• Improve coordination among managers and staff in geographically dispersed locations using audio/videoconferencing and collaboration tools.
• Adjust network bandwidth during seasonal fluctuations in demand without disruptions or compromised service levels.
• Improve productivity and customer care with employee-performance monitoring systems.
• Stay up to date with new business applications and service-delivery technologies –and ensure your network always has the latest, seamless upgrades.

Save money.
Allstream helps you reduce both operating costs and capital expenditures, supporting all your communications needs with an end-to-end network that maximizes the value of your existing IT investment.

• Save money and resources by eliminating the hardware and software required to maintain multiple technology interfaces.
• Reduce travel time and costs with audio/videoconferencing capabilities.
• Lower storage and management costs by transforming paper-based information into electronic records.
• Maximize ROI by migrating to new communications platforms at your own pace and integrating solutions incrementally into your current network environment.
• Centralize applications for multiple sites to reduce administration costs and simplify management tasks.

Stay secure.
With more of your business and customer transactions conducted electronically, you need to protect your valuable dataand brand reputation with a flexible, integrated security profile. We can help safeguard your valuable information with the innovative security solutions built into every connection point along our 30,000 km fibre-optic network. With Allstream’s experts working alongside your own IT people, you can transfer and store data efficiently while enjoying industry-leading protection against cyber threats, spam and malware.