CASE STUDY: Web-based supply chain efficiencies for a retail giant.

The client is one of the UK's largest clothing, homeware and food retailers, with over 300 stores and 75,000 staff.

The business problem

The client had identified a need to streamline its general merchandise supply chain in order to reduce stockholding in stores and improve responsiveness to changes in demand. It sought to implement a collaborative supply chain business process and system between its buyers and key suppliers. The management team evaluated several leading supply chain software packages, all of which were well beyond budget and lacked key functionality. As well as cost, key drivers included system responsiveness and scalability.

The solution

Myriad Minds staff were engaged on-site to provide technical project management and system design services. A bespoke development project was fully scoped and costed, with the planned approach providing cost-effectiveness by leveraging the client's existing infrastructure and technical resources. A steering committee was established, ensuring representation across the user community of buyers and suppliers. Detailed requirements were gathered and refined, then prototypes for several of the most business-sensitive functions were developed, demonstrated and approved. An innovative web/database/OLAP system was designed, with close adherence to the client's corporate technology policies. An iterative development and review process ensured that the system responded well to the often-changing needs of the different stakeholders involved.

Myriad Minds staff worked hand-in-hand with the client's buying teams to manage the business change. The new business process was tightly defined, then delivered through training classes and online help material, ensuring high productivity from day one of implementation. Ongoing support was transferred to an existing partner company, with the successful handover based around high-quality technical documentation.

The result

• A high-performance and functionally rich supply chain web solution, rolled out to 350 internal and external users, managing a portfolio of 20,000 products worth in excess of £900m in annual sales.
• A 4% increase in sales, four weeks’ reduction in stockholding and a 40% decrease in the value of reduced price stock in the first year of operation.
• Recognition of the project’s strong ROI and sound project governance by winning an independent industry award for profitability.