When Roy Wood took ownership of a small pet store a few years ago, he soon realized it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Faced with the marketing muscle and inventory advantages of big competitors, APet had more than its share of woes. Wood turned to Microsoft Business Solutions Retail Management System for help.

For a company known throughout the world for high-performance running shoes and gear, Brooks was caught in a technical backwater a few years ago. For one thing, managing inventory at Brooks' three outlet stores from the company's Seattle headquarters was nearly impossible.

As a single store facing competition from larger rivals, Abernathy's needed to keep pace. Sadly, the store's outdated computerized sales network, a rapidly aging DOS system, was hardly up to the task. It was grossly unreliable, particularly with credit card sales and inventory management. The system was forever crashing, too.