Natural Insight, a private retail technology company engaged in workforce management, today announced rapid “out-of-the-box” deployment of an innovative in-store task management platform that features secured in-store iPads^® for employee use.

The Natural Insight solution is deployed to allow centralized oversight of in-store retail execution activity, providing improved accuracy, accountability and deeper understanding of real-time activity. The new system provides an easily accessed, touch screen communication link to workers that aids in speeding numerous in-store work processes.

By introducing iPads as the in-store communication medium operating with the proven Natural Insight platform, district managers, for example, can now have mobile access to the status of accomplished tasks across their stores; human resources can survey and provide essential employee communication; new employees can access product information and training; and management can access a dashboard view of the status of all in-store retail execution activity, including photo verification.

Stefan Midford, President and CEO of Natural Insight noted that “enabling such a comprehensive view of in-store task activity – what we call 'Execution Intelligence' – drives so many forms of efficiency supporting improved worker productivity, customer satisfaction, and overall bottom line. We have pioneered an iPad-based system that takes all the friction out of task execution processes.”

The initial deployment of the iPad-equipped system was effectively introduced into dELiA*s 100-plus stores. Shelley Sadofsky, dELiA*s Director of Retail Communications, related that “rarely do we see a turnkey multi-store technology solution deployed so rapidly.”

The overall demographics of in-store retail staff is often young and sometimes a first-job experience. In those instances, the Natural Insight platform provides a quick ramp in training with iPad-based access to information and learning tools, which in turn allows improved customer service levels and reduced labor costs. Some retail employees have characterized Natural Insight’s ability to almost “paint by the numbers” in guiding the completion and verification of in-store tasks. One heavily-used feature is the capture and upload of photos of completed work for compliance and verification.

In addition to its fully managed and hosted solution, Natural Insight reduces the burden on IT departments by providing all staging, configuration, and on-going monitoring of the iPads. Delivering on its promise of out-of-the-box task management, Natural Insight can setup the iPads and ship them to stores fully equipped with secured mounts, instructions, and everything the store manager needs to get up-and-running. The iPads are removable for photo use in verification of completed projects and displays.

Natural Insight customers benefit from a centralized database across all stores and an ability to drill down to specific activity status that includes verification of work completed as well as outstanding tasks remaining. In addition, retailers are now equipped to provide guidance and work tasks for the day. With the Natural Insight platform, reduced emails and a reduction in project cycle time can also be productive benefits.

Deployment of secure iPads can also provide another intangible benefit in branding. Retail customers, seeing in-store staff so equipped, perceive the retailer as current, progressive and operating with the latest devices in technology.

Pioneering in-store task management has appeal across borders. Natural Insight is growing internationally with the addition of new customers in Canada and the Caribbean, sales partner CACI in the UK and the recent addition of German to the list of supported languages. All new customers cite positive user experience as a deciding factor.

About Natural Insight

Natural Insight is a private retail technology company with a distinguishing feature – outstanding user loyalty to the product. The company’s innovative, cloud-based platform significantly improves sales, reduces overhead and provides real-time workforce activity feedback that motivates high performance. Through an integrated suite of solutions focused on scheduling, task management, data reporting and timekeeping, large numbers of workers are empowered to complete assignments with significantly less effort. Providing services across a broad cross-section of the retail industry, Natural Insight is used by major retailers and servicing companies to improve execution and manage in-store merchandising, assisted sales, magazine and book distribution, product demos, and store audits. Visit www.naturalinsight.com.

iPad is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc.