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 advanced right into a powerhouse of 2200 shops throughout 21 international locations. It gives a various array of services throughout 25 homegrown manufacturers and a number of franchises that cater to a mess of tastes and preferences throughout trend, dwelling, electronics and extra. The group’s values (iLEAD: Pay attention, Empower, Adapt and Ship with Integrity) information their function of making distinctive worth for his or her workers, their clients and their communities.
In 2013, Landmark Retail’s monetary planning and evaluation workforce confronted challenges as they managed monetary processes throughout greater than 1200 shops. In response to Gopal Chandak, FP&A Chief at Landmark, “The consolidation of the monetary price range, value allocation strategies and standardization of frequent data posed as main obstacles. Gathering information from a number of events led to discrepancies as a result of various variations of software program and completely different ranges of consumer experience.”
Challenges within the complicated budgeting means of a significant conglomerate
The workforce was current in a number of international locations and areas, and so they and operated with a number of manufacturers. Their enterprise mannequin was very complicated, and it required huge information volumes to be processed. Due to this, the budgeting course of was inefficient. It took 3–4 months and wanted stakeholder alignment throughout completely different international locations, manufacturers and features.
Moreover, the method of consolidating Excel information from completely different variations was tough and sometimes resulted in discrepancies in numbers. “Managing the information for our shops utilizing guide spreadsheets and consolidating it at each the enterprise unit and nation stage proved to be an overwhelmingly difficult endeavor,” in accordance with Chandak. “Recognizing the restrictions, 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 adaptability, making it the popular selection for Landmark Retail.
In response to Chandak, “IBM Planning Analytics considerably simplified duties by providing complete governance all through all the 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 required historic information.”
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 strains of communication.
Landmark Retail’s budgeting course of turned notably streamlined and environment friendly, and so they accomplished the primary module (“Budgeting”) inside a few months. In response to Chandak, “The budgeting and consolidation processes underwent a outstanding transformation, leading to a 75% discount in time spent by workers. They improved governance and transparency throughout completely different manufacturers and international locations, enabling a sharper give attention to strategic enterprise evaluation to drive development and innovation.”
The brand new resolution delivered vital automation primarily based 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 associate, has been integral to Landmark Retail’s success. With a solution-driven workforce of dynamic and expert technical specialists, Veracitiz has been invaluable within the implementation and optimization of IBM Planning Analytics. Veracitiz Options labored to know Landmark Retail’s distinctive necessities and delivered custom-made options that had been instrumental to the venture’s success. Notably, the workforce’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 elements similar to seasonality, climate forecasts and historic patterns.
Landmark Retail’s partnership with Veracitiz Options, coupled with the flexibleness of IBM Planning Analytics, has not solely streamlined their monetary processes however has additionally enabled them to proactively handle 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 large within the area.
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