Unicru

Last updated
Unicru
Type Private
Industry computer software
Founded1987
Defunct2006
FateAcquired by Kronos Incorporated
Headquarters Beaverton, Oregon

Unicru was a United States computer software company which produced a human resources software line built to aid companies in evaluating job applicants and their suitability for particular positions by giving them personality tests. Many of their customers were large retailers such as Big Y, Lowe's, [1] Hollywood Video, Hastings Entertainment, Albertsons, Toys R Us, PetSmart, [2] Best Buy, [3] and Blockbuster Video. According to its vendor, Unicru was used in 16% of major retail hiring in the United States as of early 2009. [4]

Contents

History

Unicru was founded in 1987 as Decision Point Data and is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. It acquired two other software companies: Guru.com in 2003 and Xperius (formerly Personic) in 2004. The Guru.com URL and logo were subsequently sold to eMoonlighter.com which now operates under the Guru.com brand. In August 2006, Kronos announced it had acquired Unicru. [5]

According to the Wall Street Journal , cheating on the tests, using answer keys available online, became more common during the late-2000s recession, though Kronos denies that cheating is common or significantly affects the test's validity. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

Best Buy Consumer electronics retailer

Best Buy is an is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebranded under its current name with an emphasis on consumer electronics in 1983.

Staples Inc. American multinational office supply retailing corporation

Staples Inc. is an American office retail company. It is primarily involved in the sale of office supplies and related products, via retail channels and business-to-business (B2B)-oriented delivery operations. At some locations, Staples also offers a copy and print service.

GameStop American video game retailer

GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. As of January 30, 2021, the company operated 4,816 stores including 3,192 in the United States, 253 in Canada, 417 in Australia and New Zealand and 954 in Europe under the GameStop, EB Games, EB Games Australia, Micromania-Zing, ThinkGeek and Zing Pop Culture brands. The company was founded in Dallas in 1984 as Babbage's, and took on its current name in 1999.

Rakuten Japanese e-commerce company

Rakuten Group, Inc., stylized as "Rakuten", is a Japanese electronic commerce and online retailing company based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. Centered around Rakuten Ichiba, its business-to-many ecommerce platform and one of the largest e-commerce sites in the world, its businesses include financial services utilizing financial technology, as well as digital content and communications services such as messaging app Viber, e-book distributor Kobo, and Japan's fourth mobile carrier Rakuten Mobile. Rakuten has 14,826 employees worldwide, operating in 29 countries and regions, and its revenues totaled US$7.2 billion with operating profits of about US$347.9 million as of 2016. Rakuten is the official sponsor of the Spanish football club FC Barcelona as of 2021. It is often referred to as the "Amazon of Japan".

Online shopping Form of electronic commerce

Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2020, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.

BMC Software American enterprise software company

BMC Software, Inc. is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company based in Houston, Texas. Its international headquarters is located in Houston, Texas, United States.

TJX Companies American multinational discount department store corporation

The TJX Companies, Inc. is an American multinational off-price department store corporation, headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was formed as a subsidiary of Zayre Corp. in 1987, and became the legal successor to Zayre Corp. following a company reorganization in 1989.

Egghead Software

Egghead Software was an American computer software retailer. Founded in 1984, it filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and its domain name was acquired by Amazon.com.

PetSmart American pet supply store chain

PetSmart is a privately held American chain of pet superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco. Its indirect competitors are Amazon, Walmart, and Target. As of 2020, PetSmart has more than 1,650 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Its stores sell pet food, pet supplies, pet accessories, and small pets. Stores also provide services including grooming, dog daycare, dog and cat boarding, veterinary care via in-store third-party clinics, and dog training. They also offer dog and cat adoption via in-store adoption centers facilitated by the nonprofit PetSmart Charities.

Guru.com is a freelance marketplace. It allows companies to find freelance workers for commissioned work. Founded in 1998 in Pittsburgh as eMoonlighter.com and still headquartered there.

Kaspien Holdings, Inc. is an American company that provides software and services for ecommerce. Kaspien Holdings operates on Amazon in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and India, as well as Walmart Marketplace, eBay, Google Shopping, and Target. Its CEO is Kunal Chopra, who's held the position since September 2019.

TD Ameritrade American online broker

TD Ameritrade is a broker that offers an electronic trading platform for the trade of financial assets including common stocks, preferred stocks, futures contracts, exchange-traded funds, forex, options, cryptocurrency, mutual funds, fixed income investments, margin lending, and cash management services. The company receives revenue from interest income on margin balances, commissions for order execution, and payment for order flow. The company is a subsidiary of Charles Schwab Corporation and its services and accounts will be integrated with those of Schwab by 2023. Its operations are in the process of being moved to Schwab's headquarters in Westlake, Texas.

Vignette Corporation

Vignette Corporation was a company that offered a suite of content management, web portal, collaboration, document management, and records management software. Targeted at the enterprise market, Vignette offered products under the name StoryServer that allowed non-technical users to create, edit and track content through workflows and publish it on the web. It provided integration for enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and legacy systems, supporting Java EE and Microsoft.NET. Vignette's integrated development environment and application programming interface offered an alternative to conventional Common Gateway Interface/vi/Perl web development. StoryServer was used on many large websites including those of CNET, UnitedHealth Group, The Walt Disney Company, Wachovia, Martha Stewart, Fox News, National Geographic Channel, Pharmacia & Upjohn, MetLife, BSkyB, the 2004 Summer Olympics, and NASA.

Blue Yonder is an American software and consultancy company owned by Panasonic, providing supply chain management, manufacturing planning, retail planning, store operations and category management offerings headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company has more than 3,000 corporate customers in the manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail and services industries. Companies acquired over time include Yantriks, Blue Yonder, RedPrairie, i2 Technologies, Manugistics, E3, Intactix, and Arthur.

Kronos Incorporated was an American multinational workforce management and human capital management cloud provider headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, which employed more than 6,000 people worldwide.

Retalix

Retalix Ltd. is a former Israeli software company that developed, licensed, implemented and supported software applications for retailers, wholesalers and distributors of fast-moving consumer goods, mainly in the grocery, convenience store, and foodservice industries.

Focus Multimedia Software companies of the United Kingdom

Focus Multimedia Ltd is a multi-faceted publisher and retailer of video games, consumer software and mobile apps. Founded in 1995, the company is headquartered in the town of Rugeley in Staffordshire, England, and has about 30 employees.

NCC Group is an information assurance firm headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom. Its service areas cover software escrow and verification, cyber security consulting and managed services. NCC Group claims over 15,000 clients worldwide. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Lightspeed (company)

Lightspeed Commerce is a point-of-sale and e-commerce software provider based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 2005 by Dax da Silva who also serves as the CEO of the company. It has offices in Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Santa Cruz, Toronto, Amsterdam and Ghent. It offers its services to retail, restaurant, and hospitality businesses.

The Book People Ltd. is an online bookseller. Founded in 1988, in the UK, The Book People sells books, gifts, toys and stationery through its website. The Book People was recently acquired by Retail Ecommerce Ventures, a holding company that buys distressed brands and revives them as e-commerce businesses.

References

  1. "Customer Success Accelerates Unicru Growth". Internet Retailer. 2004-08-18. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  2. Earnshaw, Eliza (2006-01-13). "Unicru grows in face of fierce foes". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  3. Francis, Mike (2004-02-18). "With growth, Unicru dares to dream of IPO". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 6, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  4. 1 2 O'Connell, Vanessa (January 7, 2009). "Test for Dwindling Retail Jobs Spawns a Culture of Cheating". The Wall Street Journal. p. A1.
  5. "Kronos to Reach Beyond Workforce Management With Unicru Buy". Gartner. 2006-07-18. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-30.