Founded in 1991, Praktiker Hellas is the leading DIY and home improvement chain in Greece. The company is credited with actively introducing the DIY philosophy in the country. The company runs 15 stores across Greece and a rapidly growing online shop, serving six million customers annually. Praktiker provides its customers with smart solutions and excellent, personalized service. Since April 2014, Praktiker Hellas has been a member of Canadian group Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, known for its long history of successful investments in international companies with strong growth prospects.
Business case
Before implementing the LS Retail software solution, Praktiker was running a retail management system which was giving the company various problems. The solution was not flexible, and offered limited integration to back office operations. Rather than being a Customer Service Point, the system’s functionalities were limited to POS only. The solution also had very high maintenance costs. By using disparate systems, Praktiker also had issues with guaranteeing consistent pricing throughout its chain. Warehouse workflow also needed improvements.
Solution
After looking into alternatives, Praktiker decided to implement the LS Retail software solution as its new management system. LS Retail software is an all-in-one system that covers all retail operations: prices and items are updated once in the back office, guaranteeing accurate and consistent information throughout the chain. Praktiker also knew that the LS Retail software solution could help them offer a better in-store experience to customers thanks to the large variety of retail tools LS Retail software offers, and the possibility to implement different types of deals and promotions. The system was deployed by Real Consulting, a local LS Retail partner.
The implementation project was not without challenges. The team was faced with the complex task of a deep integration to a legacy system from a different vendor. The implementation team had to begin the project keeping into consideration integration, the kind of legacy system, and the architecture of the accounting system. A second challenge was the totally customized back office application which Praktiker was using for the supply chain, the central distribution and warehouse management. As with most custom software, integration was complex and entailed many changes in business, pricing, offering, warehouse management system and loyalty scheme.
Benefits
Today, Praktiker’s online store is completely integrated to the physical stores, and both are managed through one system. This means that the staff at Praktiker can save time by not having to manage multiple databases. The LS Retail software solution’s merchandising and replenishment functionalities have helped Praktiker streamline their inventory and order management. Today, Praktiker can manage its operations in a simpler and more streamlined way, in just one system. The brand has also managed to improve its operations on many fronts, optimizing warehouse management, guaranteeing consistent pricing, and raising the level of customer service in store.
