The retail industry isn't traditionally on the cutting edge of IT. But growing competition, shrinking margins and an increasingly global supply chain are putting pressure on retailers to be more savvy about how they stock their shelves.

In response, retailers are investing in software to augment their existing in-store and back-office systems and deliver real-time or near-real-time business information.

Such data-related technology will feature prominently at the Retail Systems conference in Chicago, which is expected to attract about 4,000 attendees. Among the roughly 300 vendors slated to appear are first-time exhibitors TradeStone Software Inc., QuantiSense Inc., Netezza Corp. and Advanced Interfaces Inc..

Gloucester, Mass.-based TradeStone's niche is providing software to simplify the process of partnering with suppliers around the world. Launched in 2003, the privately funded company has built applications that are aimed at helping retailers manage relationships with global partners, from sourcing and order management through financing and international trade policies.

Margins on imported goods are about 12% higher than on domestic goods, yet retailers today directly import only about 10% of their inventory, said Sue Welch, CEO of TradeStone. One reason is that operational systems tend to be oriented toward domestic business, she says. TradeStone's OneStep software fits in with existing systems -- such as third-party vendors' order entry, warehouse management and financial processing applications. It also adds international trade features to create a composite view of domestic and international purchasing functions.

Arlington, Va.-based newcomer QuantiSense makes business intelligence software for retailers. Called QS|Retail, the software can help retailers make decisions around merchandising, inventory management, financial reporting and store operations. For example, QS|Retail can alert a retailer to impending out-of-stock conditions and suggest solutions such as reordering merchandise or transferring products from one location to another.

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