The JSC BNS Group, which manages store networks such as MEXX, Calvin Klein, Pinko and more, has implemented LS Retail on the basis of Microsoft Dynamics. The implementation was managed by Impact-Soft, the most experienced Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Russia with 16 years experience in the IT-market.
BNS Group owns a network of 99 fashion stores in 11 Russian cities. Most of the stores are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg. At present, the BNS Group is intensively developing its business in other cities of Russia.
Business case
The decision to replace the existing software was taken because of the lack of functionality and limited capacity of the system. The development of the business required a modern and functional information system. “Prior to implementing Microsoft Dynamics, the company used a system of its own design, which supported the sales. This system managed very well with the accounting processes at one site. Its main disadvantage was the lack of managerial accounting, lack of connection with financial accounting and the inability to create a distributed database. Also it was necessary to maintain parallel accounting in RAS (Russian Accounting Standards) and IFR,” says Oleg Andreev, Director of IT at JSC BNS Group.
The solution
The selected automation system was designed to meet the company management accounting challenges. The system should have all the functionality for the automation of activities involving the management of financial and material resources of the enterprise, personnel, accounting calculations with various debtors and creditors, budget support, detailed cost accounting, automated calculation of item cost, support for taking management decisions. “We made the choice in favor of the LS Retail based on Microsoft Dynamics while planning a rapid growth of our network. The decisive selection criteria were the scalability and the code replication, the short installation and implementation time at new sales locations, as well as the ability of the system to cope with large volumes of management information in a geographically distributed retail network and the ability to support the work of a complex warehouse. It was also necessary to have parallel accounting in RAS (Russian Accounting Standards) and IFRS. When we were choosing a developer, we took into account the vast experience at Impact-Soft in working with Microsoft Dynamics and a number of successful projects in the fashion retail sector,” says Oleg Andreev.
At the start of the project, the BNS Group management presented the following objectives to the specialists of Impact Soft:
- To create a solid technological platform for the development of an enterprise management system based on Microsoft Dynamics. Getting a flexible system with integrated development tools with the possibility to be changed with the business growth and changes
- To implement an integrated accounting system
- To implement integrated accounting operation principles
- To eliminate manual processes of reporting
- To differentiate access rights at the user level, tables, forms and reports
During the project the software in use at the stores was to be replaced gradually with LS Retail. At new stores, LS Retail will be installed according to the project plan. Before implementing LS Retail in the existing stores the software there will be integrated with Microsoft Dynamics. In the program, the following features aimed at accelerating item processing in the warehouse and item delivery to stores were attained:
- Shipment file processing. In this processing the item is created, filled out by the item classifier, and the item price lists are created.
- Maintaining the item distribution rules in the stores.
- Item acceptance by data collection terminals. A few operators can handle the “goods-in” process and distribution to the stores.
- Item price label printing.
- Automatic preparation of parcel shipments to stores.
“Soon after the warehouse module implementation, the company purchased automatic sorting of items. The item sorter makes it possible to increase the item processing speed and to reduce the number of operators at acceptance. The previously developed functionality allows docking the Microsoft Dynamics with the sorter software easily,” says Oleg Andreev. As far as a POS system is concerned, it was decided to continue using SuperMag UKM-4 which was already in the stores. A docking module for UKM and LS Retail, which allows the upload of information on items, prices, discount cards, sales promotions, cashiers and sellers, was developed. The information on sales and returns is imported from the cash register. Based on this information, various analytics are formed: the number of individual sales, the check-item ratio, the accumulation of discount cards and so on. The result of the POS-system and LS Retail integration is a centralized management system for cash registers that allows the company to manage any POS at any site from the headquarters. “One of the main criteria of BNS Group for selecting automation systems was the presence of budgeting: With the business growth, budget handling is getting ever more important. Operative planning, analysis and control of budgets are very important issues. The implementation of budgeting in Microsoft Dynamics allows budget analysis in real time. We can eliminate a lot of manual operations. The financial department reduced the number of employees. The integration of the budget with accounting allowed the company to calculate the budget on the basis of actual statistics. Now we have reporting for the investors according to European standards,” says Oleg Andreev.
Results
Oleg Andreev speaks about the results of the implementation of LS Retail: “There is still work to do. But now we can say that we have a replicable and scalable solution that allows us to open new stores with minimal cost and in a short period of time. The implementation of the system increased the efficiency of processes such as accounting and management accounting, inventory management, formation and the control of retail prices and planning.”
The company plans to open new brand stores. This can now take place in the shortest time possible. As for the system – it does not require any major modifications. The loyalty system will be developed further. Introduction of bonus cards and various marketing actions are planned.
