Landmark Retail is among the largest omnichannel retailers throughout the Center East and Northern Africa (MENA), India and Southeast Asia (SEA). It’s a division of Landmark Group, a widely known multinational retail and hospitality conglomerate headquartered in Dubai. The group’s journey began as a single retailer in Bahrain 5 a long time in the past. Immediately, Landmark Group has developed right into a powerhouse of 2200 shops throughout 21 nations. It provides a various array of services throughout 25 homegrown manufacturers and a number of franchises that cater to a large number of tastes and preferences throughout vogue, residence, electronics and extra. The group’s values (iLEAD: Hear, Empower, Adapt and Ship with Integrity) information their goal of making distinctive worth for his or her staff, their prospects and their communities.
In 2013, Landmark Retail’s monetary planning and evaluation crew confronted challenges as they managed monetary processes throughout greater than 1200 shops. Based on Gopal Chandak, FP&A Chief at Landmark, “The consolidation of the monetary price range, value allocation strategies and standardization of frequent information posed as main obstacles. Gathering information from a number of events led to discrepancies as a consequence of various variations of software program and totally different ranges of consumer experience.”
Challenges within the advanced budgeting technique of a significant conglomerate
The crew was current in a number of nations and areas, they usually and operated with a number of manufacturers. Their enterprise mannequin was very advanced, and it required huge knowledge volumes to be processed. Due to this, the budgeting course of was inefficient. It took 3–4 months and wanted stakeholder alignment throughout totally different nations, manufacturers and features.
Moreover, the method of consolidating Excel information from totally different variations was tough and sometimes resulted in discrepancies in numbers. “Managing the info for our shops utilizing handbook spreadsheets and consolidating it at each the enterprise unit and nation stage proved to be an overwhelmingly difficult endeavor,” in keeping with Chandak. “Recognizing the constraints, we acknowledged the necessity for an enhanced resolution. Though Excel is a strong device, it was merely insufficient for the scale and complexity of our group.”
A complete resolution to maximise effectivity
In Landmark Retail’s seek for a succesful, user-friendly resolution, they turned to IBM® Planning Analytics. In contrast to different aggressive options that took 6–12 months, IBM Planning Analytics was capable of carry out a profitable proof of idea inside 8–10 weeks. This swift implementation showcased agility and suppleness, making it the popular selection for Landmark Retail.
Based on Chandak, “IBM Planning Analytics considerably simplified duties by providing complete governance all through your complete budgeting course of and unlocked substantial worth for the group. With this device, Landmark Retail was capable of improve its enterprise analytics and achieve insightful views which can be usually missed when utilizing conventional spreadsheet-based budgeting strategies. The device effortlessly facilitated budgeting on a zero-based method, saving vital effort and time because it possessed all the mandatory historic knowledge.”
To make sure worker buy-in in the course of the transition to IBM Planning Analytics, the corporate utilized efficient change administration initiatives and maintained clear traces of communication.
Landmark Retail’s budgeting course of grew to become notably streamlined and environment friendly, they usually accomplished the primary module (“Budgeting”) inside a few months. Based on Chandak, “The budgeting and consolidation processes underwent a outstanding transformation, leading to a 75% discount in time spent by staff. They improved governance and transparency throughout totally different manufacturers and nations, enabling a sharper give attention to strategic enterprise evaluation to drive progress and innovation.”
The brand new resolution delivered vital automation based mostly on clicks from the consumer interface and simplified monetary processes. Since implementing IBM Planning Analytics in 2013, Landmark Retail has efficiently scaled new use instances starting from core budgeting, warehouse budgeting, consolidation of authorized entities and monetary statements, and CAPEX throughout their greater than 1200 shops.
Trusted companions are the important thing to profitable implementation
Veracitiz Options, an IBM enterprise companion, has been integral to Landmark Retail’s success. With a solution-driven crew of dynamic and expert technical consultants, Veracitiz has been invaluable within the implementation and optimization of IBM Planning Analytics. Veracitiz Options labored to grasp Landmark Retail’s distinctive necessities and delivered personalized options that had been instrumental to the venture’s success. Notably, the crew’s around-the-clock availability led to vital buyer satisfaction.
After attaining a lot success with IBM Planning Analytics, Landmark Retail plans to implement it for gross sales forecasting to contemplate exterior components comparable to seasonality, climate forecasts and historic patterns.
Landmark Retail’s partnership with Veracitiz Options, coupled with the pliability of IBM Planning Analytics, has not solely streamlined their monetary processes however has additionally enabled them to proactively tackle the dynamic wants of their enterprise. This synergy between know-how and experience is pivotal as Landmark Retail continues to offer worth to stakeholders and strengthen its standing as a number one retail big within the area.
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