NEWS 05


GIEVES & HAWKES OVERHAULS BUSINESS IT


GREGGS ROLLS OUT TRANSPORTATION IT


transportation planning nationwide following a successful pilot project. Since achieving effi ciency


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One of Savile Row’s most prestigious tailors, Gieves & Hawkes, has stripped out £1 million in stock after overhauling its IT systems. A Microsoft Dynamics management solution from K3 Retail has redesigned Gieves & Hawkes’ stock management, fi nance, reporting and supply chain and as a result, changed the way the company allocates stock in its 11 stores, four concessions and a recently relaunched e-commerce business. The new systems were commissioned to enable the company, famous for bespoke suits, to support growth in the off-the- peg market.


Andrew Merriman, Gieves &


Hawkes chief operating offi cer, commented: “Thanks to the centralised solution, staff now have the ability to see stock levels in the warehouse and across the stock estate. Therefore, if a customer asks for a tailored suit that is not available instore at that time, staff can check if the materials are available on the system and still process the order, opening up a whole raft of opportunities for trade. K3 has revolutionised the way our staff work, and our customers have really noticed the difference and very much appreciate it.”


improvements and savings by optimising delivery routes from its Manchester depot, Greggs has been deploying a cost-effective temperature controlled delivery planning approach to another three depots and hopes to have completed the roll out to the rest of the UK operation serving its 1,540-store estate by the end of summer 2012. “Transporting our fresh products to our shops is a key activity at Greggs and as we grow our number of shops, delivering to more locations in the UK, we want to do this without increasing our costs,” said Paul Duggan, Greggs national logistics project manager. “Paragon is helping us achieve this as is demonstrated by our pilot in Manchester, where we now run fewer vehicles to service 170 stores. The drivers also benefi t from the


K High Street bakery retailer Greggs is implementing Paragon optimised


software because we are able to produce realistic routes and it allows us to incorporate their real world experiences within our planning,” he continued.


Duggan added: “Logistics is an


important part of our business as we must be able to deliver fresh products to each store on time to keep our customers happy. Therefore, effi cient deliveries help us to be successful retailers too. The software allows us to use a temperature controlled delivery concept that we call ‘shop windows’. Importantly, the software allows us to inform the stores of what we are delivering and when. This prepares them for the delivery, which also improves effi ciencies.”


SPAR STORES UPGRADE EPoS


The SPAR network of convenience stores is enjoying the benefi ts of a new electronic point-of-sale (EPoS) software upgrade. Retail systems provider Business Computer Projects (BCP) successfully rolled out the SPARPoS software upgrade to independent and company owned stores across SPAR UK’s estate to support the company’s new electronic fi le transfer (EFT) system and deliver a faster, more secure means of serving customers and handling card payments. The upgrade was prompted by SPAR’s desire to facilitate the uptake of contactless payments and to ensure that customer credit and debit card information would be handled more securely, while satisfying Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security regulations.


The new software was rolled out to almost 700 stores and almost 2,100


checkouts over a period from May to November 2011. And a further 300 stores are in line for the upgrade over the coming months. Roy Ford, SPAR UK IT controller, stated: “As the UK’s leading c-store


operator, we recognised that our EFT system needed to be more secure, effi cient and dynamic. We’ve been partnering with BCP to provide our SPARPoS solution for over two decades and knew they would be able to work with us and the other partners involved in the project to deliver a seamless transfer to the enhanced solution.”


◆ Superdrug, the UK’s second largest health and beauty retailer, has become the latest business in the UK to go contactless in partnership with Streamline and Visa Europe, now accepting contactless


payments in 50 stores across London and Liverpool, with plans to expand the roll out across the UK during 2012.


JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 RETAIL TECHNOLOGY


◆ Kitchen Craft, a Birmingham- based, family run kitchen, dining and housewares supplier with a 160-year history, recently commissioned advanced inventory management tool Slim4 from Slimstock to slash inventory levels by up to 30%. This will boost customer service and availability, alongside other improvements that include higher margins, faster turnaround, increased productivity and return on investment.


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