Project Description
Pilot implementation of a major retail enterprise software system to adopt industry-leading practices, improve inventory positioning, enhance data management, and provide key competitive advantages.
The Client
A multi-brand, multi-channel global retailer specializing in the design and production of stylish, high quality footwear and accessories.
The Challenge
The company selected SAP’s FMS (Fashion Management Solution) and S/4HANA Finance to replace multiple, highly customized and separate legacy systems which managed their retail, wholesale, and franchise businesses. They needed strong retail and wholesale industry experience as well as implementation guidance to fully take advantage of the new system’s finance and core merchandising capabilities.
The Parker Avery Solution
Parker Avery recommended a pilot of the new core merchandising and finance solution in one brand that represented a small part of the client’s business. Implementing the solution in a pilot environment minimized the risk to the client while ensuring all functionality worked as designed prior to a full rollout. Parker Avery led the following activities:
- Facilitated the design of industry best practices into the new solution along with several key transformational changes to provide competitive advantage and financial benefits. As an example, prior to implementation, the client’s inventory was segregated by country and channel. Parker Avery recommended a global, omnichannel pooled inventory approach that allowed for flexibility to ensure product was available at the right place and right time.
- Created a master data governance plan and team, clearly identified data owners, and established data setup and maintenance processes. The client went from free-form text fields to structured data elements providing better information to make informed buying decisions.
- Instituted a robust organizational change management program, which underpinned the initiative and focused on communication, training, and aligning the organization to new roles and responsibilities
- Established and led a program management office (PMO), ensuring the initiative stayed on track, issues/risks were addressed in a timely fashion, and scope was managed through a rigid change control process
The Result
As a result of the core merchandising and finance solution implementation project, the client was able to achieve:
- Standard worldwide processes and procedures to enable scale and efficiency
- “One version of the truth,” providing a single, consistent repository of customer, vendor, purchase order, and inventory information
- A common pool of inventory across channels and geographies
- Reduced errors via elimination of reentry/re-work