Challenges in international store and campaign management in the fashion sector

• Extensive store network: Management of over 1,000 stores worldwide
• Language and country diversity: Considering different languages, legal requirements, and market demands
• Complex POS logistics: Variety of POS items in different sizes and over 200,000 total items
• High order volumes: More than 50,000 POS items per campaign
• Complex campaign planning: Planning requires several days, high manual coordination processes
• Order errors: Frequent discrepancies due to individual requirements and decentralized communication

Optimization through the Store Lifecycle Tool (SLT)

• Central store management: All stores including detailed store information are recorded in the SLT.
• Direct ERP integration: Seamless integration with the ERP system for efficient data and process management.
• Global use despite language diversity: Uniform system for all countries with a multilingual user interface.
• Structured article management: All items are recorded in a central database – with consistent naming without country-specific deviations.
• Efficient campaign organization: Planning and implementation of campaigns are done quickly and error-free in just 1–2 hours.
• Easy reorders: Campaign items can be easily reordered via the integrated reorder function.

This optimized system ensures higher efficiency, lower error rates, and smooth international collaboration.

Challenges of our customers in the Sports Sector

• Large Branch Network with Many Franchise Partners: Managing a multitude of stores with different ownership structures.
• Diverse Concepts & Brands: Different store designs and brand requirements complicate standardization.
• Locations with Individual Requirements: Branches in ski areas, lake regions, or major cities require tailored campaigns.
• Complex Central Campaigns: Planning takes up to two weeks, is error-prone, and involves a high level of communication effort.
• Decentralized Campaign Management: Franchise partners independently decide on campaign content, leading to a lack of transparency.
• Unstructured Graphic Requirements: High manual effort due to individual requests by email and phone.

Optimizations with the Store Lifecycle Tool (SLT)

• Centralized Management of All Stores: Uniform data basis with detailed information on own branches and franchise partners.
• Inventory of Advertising Spaces: All advertising spaces are systematically recorded and visualized in the virtual store plan.
• Clear Identification of Advertising Spaces: QR codes on each advertising space enable precise assignment and error-free stocking.
• Quick and Error-Free Campaign Planning: Reduction in planning time from two weeks to 1–2 hours.
• Optimized Decentralized Campaign Management: Franchise partners can individually select motifs and place orders without affecting the overall process.
• Structured Processing of Graphic Requirements: All requests are recorded via the SLT, ensuring better traceability and a uniform process.

Challenges of our customers in the luxury segment (High-End Watches)

Customers in the luxury watch segment face particular challenges, especially concerning brick-and-mortar retail. These include:

• Exclusive Brand Presentation: Ensuring a consistent and high-quality brand staging
• Personalized Customer Experiences: Demanding customers expect tailored advice, excellent service, and exclusive shopping experiences – thus also very high-quality stores
• Effective Store and Campaign Management: Branches must be regularly modernized and POS campaigns strategically managed to maintain brand appeal.

The opening of new stores represents a substantial investment, often amounting to several million euros. The entire process is highly complex and requires the coordinated collaboration of numerous parties – from architects and construction companies to suppliers and store designers, as well as marketing and IT teams.

Every step, from site selection and planning to interior work and final opening, must be precisely managed to meet time and budget constraints and ensure a smooth store launch.

Previously, there was no standardized regulation for this process. Communication took place via various channels, leading to a lack of transparency and inefficient operations. The current status of individual tasks was not always apparent, and central control over schedules, progress, and costs was lacking. This often led to delays, unexpected additional expenses, and difficulty tracking the entire opening process.

What has been improved with the Store Lifecycle Tool?

Through the Store Opening Process in the Store Lifecycle Tool, a clearly structured workflow for store opening has been established. The entire process is executed step by step, with all involved teams – from shop fitting and architecture to marketing – regularly informed about upcoming tasks.

Thanks to the transparent status tracking, the project's progress and incurred costs are always visible and traceable. New plans are displayed directly in the tool with the DWG Viewer, ensuring all participants have access to up-to-date information at all times. The process includes all details – from planning through execution to the final opening, including the opening sticker on the door and the opening event itself.

Challenges of our customers in the grocery retail sector

• High Number of Similar but Not Identical Furniture: For example, different refrigerators with slightly varying dimensions and specifications.
• Lack of Traceability in Furniture Transfer: Furniture was often relocated between branches without documenting their location or condition (refrigerators, scales...)
• Specialized Furniture with Individual Requirements: Checkout systems with different widths, advertising spaces over fruit and vegetable departments or other custom-made facilities required precise measurements.
• Laborious Data Collection for Rebranding: In the case of necessary rebranding, exact sizes were not available, so they had to be manually recorded – a process that often took several months.

Optimizations through the Store Lifecycle Tool (SLT)

• Immediate Inventory of All Important Furniture and Advertising Spaces: The key elements were directly recorded in the SLT and provided with the corresponding data.
• Efficient Data Collection for Unknown Measurements: If furniture or advertising spaces were recorded without known measurements, employees in the branches automatically received a task to measure them on-site and enter the data.
• Quick and Easy Use for All Employees: Thanks to the intuitive operation of the SLT, every employee – even without extensive training – can immediately work with the tool.

Through these improvements, the furniture and advertising space inventory is transparent at all times, and tracking and branding processes are more efficient and time-saving.

Challenges of our customers in the drugstore & perfumery sector

• Unclear Service Offers in Stores: Many locations offer different services that are managed in Excel lists parallel to the ERP – this leads to a lack of transparency.
• Lack of Overview of Campaign Requirements: It was often unclear which required items and promotional packages were needed on-site for campaigns.
• Complex Reordering of Special Items: Individual items, such as replacement parts for cosmetic display cabinets, are hard to identify and reorder.
• High Number of Different Suppliers: Procuring required items is tedious and time-consuming, as employees spend a lot of time searching for items.
• Frequent Misorders and High Storage Costs: Erroneous orders lead to unsuited items ending up in storage, causing unnecessary costs.

Optimizations through the Store Lifecycle Tool (SLT)

• Transparent Store and Service Management: Each store is documented in the system with all relevant data and services. Campaign planning automatically takes store services like gift wrapping at Christmas or laundry services into account.
• Efficient Ordering of Required Items: An integrated e-shop significantly eases reordering. Through customized user rights, each store can order only the items relevant to them.
• Planogram-Based Spare Parts Management: Special required items like spare parts for cosmetic cabinets are visualized in the planogram – employees immediately see the needed part and can reorder it specifically.
• Elimination of Misorders: The ordering process runs exclusively through the e-shop, thereby avoiding misorders and conserving internal resources (no more manual order emails or calls).

Thanks to these improvements, the ordering process is faster, more transparent, and more cost-efficient, while administrative effort is significantly reduced.

Challenges our customers face in the field of gas stations

• Decentralized capture of gas station data: Gas station data and details are often stored in different systems and Excel sheets, making it difficult to maintain an overview.
• Diverse concepts: There are numerous different concepts, such as regular gas stations, gas stations with bistro, shop, e-charging station, car wash, or trucker-friendly stations.
• Complex campaign planning: Creating a final campaign order list requires a complex exclusion process and the application of complex rules, which usually takes 1 to 2 weeks.
• Problems with reordering POS items: Lessees often don't know which of the various flag models fits, leading to incorrect orders. Incorrect items are ordered and stocked, costing time and internal resources.
• Insufficient inventory of furniture and advertising spaces: Furniture and advertising spaces are not captured in a central system but are kept in various Excel sheets. It is often unclear which furniture is available and what sizes they are.
• Extensive surveys in rebranding projects: Rebranding requires an extensive on-site survey, which often takes months if it involves 400 or more gas stations.

What has improved with the Store Lifecycle Tool?

• Centralized capture of all gas station data: All relevant gas station data and details are captured in one system, making it easier to maintain an overview.
• Easy evaluations: With one mouse click, evaluations can be made immediately regarding which advertising spaces and furniture are available and which services are offered.
• Simplified campaign planning: Campaign planning is greatly simplified and can now be completed within 1 to 2 hours.
• Seamless rebranding: The tool enables quick determination of dimensions, for example, for doors to be wrapped, simplifying rebranding.
• Intuitive reordering: Reorders of advertising and necessary items are handled easily and intuitively via the e-shop.
• Targeted ordering options: Thanks to rights allocation and inventory assignment to the respective gas station, the lessee can only order items relevant to his station, saving time, resources, and costs.