Case Study
Ann Taylor Uses Intelligent Network Infrastructure to
Connect Hundreds of Nationwide Locations and Facilitate
Rapid Growth
U.S.-based apparel retailer Ann Taylor is using Cisco® networking technology to
improve service and increase sales at hundreds of stores across the country. The
reliability, versatility, and scalability of the Cisco network infrastructure is helping
the company to better integrate its sales channels and transform retail locations
into more efficient, unified operations.
Background
the company over the next decade. To
Ann Taylor is a billion-dollar apparel
continue differentiating itself as a customer
retailer dedicated to providing modern
service leader, management knew that all
professional women with fashionable
Ann Taylor stores and sales channels would
career and leisure attire. Headquartered in
need to be more closely connected and
New York City, the company operates more
efficient than ever before. And the
than 600 Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, and
company’s existing business systems and
Ann Taylor Factory stores across the United
networks were simply not up to the task.
States and in Puerto Rico.
Under the old system, stores received
Ann Taylor recently embarked on an
nationwide sales and inventory data that
aggressive growth plan, expanding from
was frequently out of date or incomplete. If
400 to 600 stores in just three years. The
a sales associate wanted to find an
long-term success of this expansion depends
out-of-stock garment at another store, for
directly on the company’s ability to
example, the system could not be relied on
accurately track sales and inventory
to provide accurate, real-time information.
information across the entire enterprise,
The associate had to manually call that
integrate sales efforts from multiple
store to have someone verify that the
channels, and rapidly deploy information
garment was indeed on the sales floor.
systems to new and existing stores.
Ann Taylor also wanted to implement
several new services to reduce credit card
Challenge
costs and enhance revenue. But to make the
Despite operating small, high-end
program work, the company needed to
boutiques with relatively small staffs, Ann
support instant application and approval
Taylor has thrived for nearly half a century
systems and secure communications with
by providing its customers with superior
the corporate data center. The company
clothing and customer service. However,
also wanted to better integrate its online
the company’s executive team was not
sales channel with its stores.
satisfied to simply maintain the status quo,
and wanted to aggressively grow the size of
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“We’re more than happy with the Cisco solution, we’ve been very
pleasantly surprised. The throughput we’re getting, the response time,
the reliability, the uptime, have all exceeded expectations. It’s been a real
benefit for the company.”
--Tom Pane, Vice President of Technology Services, Ann Taylor
Cost was also a concern. To reduce network complexity and
networking. So we’re not dependent on any one technology, and no
maintenance costs, the solution needed to be based on consistent
problem with any one component will slow us down from
equipment at all stores, throughout the multiyear expansion plan.
implementing this solution or maintaining it over time.”
The new system would also need to support rapid rollout to meet
Working with Manchester Technologies, Ann Taylor determined
Ann Taylor’s goal—deployment at all 600 stores in the first half of
that virtual private networking (VPN) technology offered the
2003.
necessary combination of performance, reliability, and
Finally, the new system had to be highly scalable. Whereas the initial
cost-effectiveness to meet the company’s aggressive expansion goals.
deployment would focus on data, the company envisioned adding
Using Cisco network routers with VPN capability, the company
voice, video, and other network services at a later date. The solution
could securely extend all applications and services to its nationwide
needed to be flexible enough to accommodate these enhancements
retail locations over the Internet—eliminating the need to run costly
without a massive equipment upgrade.
dedicated lines to every location.
At the company’s main office in New York, Ann Taylor deployed
Solution
two Cisco 3745 multiservice access routers and a Cisco 7204 Router
Ann Taylor’s Information Services team worked with reseller
to terminate three redundant Internet connections. The Cisco
Manchester Technologies to help them select the right solution to
routers deliver the reliability and performance to extend sales,
meet their goals. Together, they developed a multifaceted solution
inventory, and fulfillment systems to locations across the country,
incorporating an intranet, e-mail, online sales and fulfillment
and the versatility to support new services that the company may
systems, a credit switch and credit card clearing system, and
deploy in the future, including enhanced voice and video. VPN
nationwide inventory and sales performance applications. The
tunnels to all stores in the network are managed by a Cisco 7206
company knew that its network infrastructure needed to provide an
Router running the Cisco IOS® Software VPN feature set.
extraordinary level of reliability, security, and performance to make
The company uses DSL to connect most stores to the network, with
the most of these new services. After exploring several options, Ann
the exception of their largest locations, which use Frame Relay lines.
Taylor chose Cisco networking technologies to support the entire
Because reliability and uptime are critical when serving customers,
solution.
each store maintains three separate VPN tunnels in failover mode
Many of the competing network equipment providers that Ann
and a dialup line for backup. Cisco 1710 security access routers or
Taylor evaluated were locked into a specific technology—such as
1721 modular access routers at each store terminate the VPN
Frame Relay or Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)—or were
connections. These routers were designed specifically for branch
constantly revamping their product lines and rendering older
locations, and deliver the necessary security and performance while
equipment obsolete. The more scalable, standards-based Cisco
easily accommodating multiple Internet and network services. The
network technologies offered the greatest flexibility and consistency
Cisco routing/VPN platform also ensures maximum reliability and
in the short and long terms.
performance by using multiple VPN tunnels configured in failover
“We wanted a network that could grow, that could allow us to
mode and advanced quality-of-service (QoS) technology to
implement new services, see how they impact the bottom line, and
prioritize credit card authorizations and other mission-critical data
then adjust the solution as we went along,” says Tom Pane, the
communications.
company’s vice president of Technology Services. “With Cisco, our
whole design is agnostic. We can support cable, we can support
wireless, we can support frame—we can even support point-to-point
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The Results
“We rolled out the solution to forty stores a week over a period of
The Cisco network infrastructure has provided Ann Taylor with
four months,” says Pane. “Cisco and Manchester were there for us
superior reliability and performance, allowing the company to
throughout the entire process. I can’t tell you enough good things
rapidly implement the full suite of retail technology solutions and
about what they did for Ann Taylor. I don’t think we would have
complete the rollout to 600 retail stores in just four months.
been able to do it if we’d worked with any other vendor.”
“We’re more than happy with the solution, we’ve been very
pleasantly surprised,” says Pane. “The throughput we’re getting, the
Next Steps
response time, the reliability, the uptime have all exceeded
In the coming years, Ann Taylor plans to continue adding new stores
expectations. It’s been a real benefit for the company.”
and expanding the network. The company is also exploring a
Using the new inventory system, sales clerks can now access
accurate, real-time information about all merchandise across the
country, and directly interface with the Ann Taylor Website from
any retail location. Now, sales associates can put merchandise at
another Ann Taylor location on hold for a customer, transfer items
between stores, or have garments shipped directly to the customer’s
home. The Cisco network infrastructure delivers the performance to
support the entire data and voice system in real time—even over the
number of new applications and services that will further enhance
efficiency and performance, such as IP Communications. Currently,
Ann Taylor is piloting a Cisco IP Telephony solution that will move
phone communications between stores onto the Internet,
eliminating toll and long-distance costs for store-to-store calls. By
using Cisco 1700 Series routers at all stores, the company is
uniquely equipped to accommodate these new services without a
substantial equipment upgrade.
As part of the Cisco Full Service solution, the Cisco 1721 Series
Internet.
Ann Taylor’s sales performance application is also providing
substantial benefits. Store managers can now examine sales data and
trends in real time, and update merchandise displays to make
popular items and accessories easier to find. The company has seen
sales spike at all locations where the new system has been deployed.
routers provide native support for data, voice, video, security, and
VPN in a single, integrated platform designed specifically for branch
offices. Rather than deploy new IP Communications network
hardware, Ann Taylor can simply add an IP telephony module to
transform the existing store routers into all-in-one voice and data
gateways. The Full Service solution routers will also enable the
Using the company intranet, store managers can also access
company to add video, security, and other network services in the
up-to-date forms and operations manuals, and use e-mail to stay
future the same way, maximizing long-term network investment.
better connected with the company headquarters. The new system
has also reduced costs by eliminating paper-based reporting and
communications. For example, Ann Taylor now uses its intranet to
deliver seasonal style books to stores—instead of spending a great
deal of money to distribute these materials on paper.
Contact:
Tom Pane
Tom_Pane@anntaylor.com
By choosing industry-leading Cisco technology to provide its
network infrastructure—instead of going with a lower-profile,
proprietary technology—Ann Taylor is also saving money on
network support and maintenance.
“The ubiquity of Cisco has been a huge benefit for us,” says Pane.
“We’re using the industry standard approach, and there’s a large
pool of people who can speak Cisco IOS Software, who have done
Cisco VPN. That was something the competing vendors just
couldn’t offer.”
Ultimately, Cisco offered the only solution that could deliver the
reliability, performance, and long-term consistency to support Ann
Taylor’s rapid rollout requirements as well as its long-term
expansion goals. Cisco and Manchester also provided the expertise
to help Ann Taylor at every step in the deployment process.
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