Sterling Commerce has introduced a new system for eliminating retail stockouts. Sterling Always in Stock combines cross-channel order management with integration capabilities to help retailers improve customer service, increase sales and optimize inventory efficiency, the vendor said. When a customer is faced with an out-of-stock product, the tool enables a sales associate or call-center agent to locate the desired item in the retailer's network, while allowing the customer to select a method of fulfillment. The pre-configured software combines modules from Sterling's Multi-Channel Selling and Multi-Channel Fulfillment applications, with an interface for sales associates and call-center agents. The app includes a special-order process, which can accommodate "endless aisle" items. Once the transaction is complete, Sterling Always in Stock triggers fulfillment from the desired location, and provides complete order-status visibility for the customer and sales associate. Configurable sourcing rules steer the associate toward the most appropriate fulfillment options, in addition to providing flexible sourcing logic to support advanced cross-channel fulfillment options.

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