UK Supermarket Secures Success with Xoomworks
Our understanding of the retail environment and advanced IT expertise produced great results for a leading chain
Xoomworks - We Understand Retail and Technology
Xoomworks offers a winning formula in the retail sector with our proven understanding of business coupled with world-class IT expertise. A project with a leading UK supermarket chain demonstrates our approach in action.
The Challenge : A leading UK supermarket chain had implemented AribaBuyer software, but was unhappy with its implementation in the company’s goods-not-for-resale (GNFR) spend area. The technology worked well but had not been developed and integrated into the whole organisation to make sure its full value was being realised. The simple implementation of technology would not address all the issues the business were experiencing and secure return on investment. A full review was needed to achieve the savings targets and more efficient processes promised by the company’s CPO.This meant not only analysing the technical aspects of the system but also ensuring that it was being fully utilised and was properly integrated into the company as a whole.
The Xoomworks Solution : After a rigorous selection process, Xoomworks were chosen to support the transformation of the GNFR function. The client was impressed by our technical skill and experience in major projects with large organisations. Our proven record in successfully managing major change management programmes was also a key factor in the client’s decision.
Xoomworks moved quickly to develop a plan and identified three core phases to roll out a successful project.
Phase One was to develop a plan for reviewing the end-to-end purchasing processes for all GNFR products and services. This involved working closely with buyers, managers and finance teams to understand the existing method of procuring each commodity and to identify priorities for targeting specific categories of spend.The outcome produced a set of business and technical recommendations by spend group which would empower the client with the knowledge required to make decisions on rollout planning.
Phase Two involved the technical aspects of the project. Xoomworks worked collaboratively with the client’s team to develop the system, which included the installation, design, development and configuration of AribaBuyer based on the products and services selected in Phase One. This phase also involved establishing links between the company’s financial systems and extending the functionality of the standard tools to create a more flexible and complete solution.
Products and services were entered onto the system to provide better control of budgets and make approval of orders much faster through the use of an online tool which could be centrally viewed by buyers and appprovers. Suppliers were also brought online so that they were able to receive orders much faster.
Finally, in Phase Three, a Business Change plan was impemented to make sure the technical aspects of the project were fully managed and that the system was effective. Xoomworks was responsible for all aspects of managing policy changes, communications and documentation and for the training of about 1,000 end-users. This meant engaging with all levels of the procurement organisation to make the transition to the new way of working as seamless as possible.
The project was a total success and the client then engaged Xoomworks to manage a major change programme to develop and implement an integrated global e-procurement model, also completed successfully.
