Shoppers' Stop is in the process of deploying the next generation Business Intelligence (BI) technology stack. It will also be venturing into e-commerce, informs Ranjit Satyanath, head (Solutions & Technology) of Shoppers Stop.
Shoppers' Stop is a chain of stores in the retail area, in India.
The entire cycle of the chain combines all types of data. There is employee data, for example, which is handled by the Human Resources Management System (HRMS) application. There is also the merchandise data, for which there is another application. Financial data is handled by the Financial Application, and so on.
The HRMS application takes over from when the employee applies for the job, to his selection. The Resource management data comes into the picture, and approval metrics are built. Then the resources required for his working are issued.
The merchandise data, which comprises of the available material and what merchandise is to be bought. The system then issues a purchase order, which is for the amount of material required, on a particular date. When the material is received, the system automatically marks off the item received against the purchase order.
There is also a process where any discrepancy in the quantity is highlighted, and a quality check is carried out for the received merchandise.
The goods are then shipped to the various stores. Each outlet in the chain has an automated replenishment algorithm. When the quantity of merchandise reaches a particular level, a signal is sent to the distribution center with an advice to send. There is also a pick-list, which is a bunch of items that need to go to each store. Accordingly, the items are shipped to the store.
When the above cycle is completed, there is a feed from the core ERP system to the finance application, because the vendor has to be paid.
The Shoppers' Stop chain currently uses the JDA Merchandise Management System (MMS) as its core ERP. JDA MMS addresses the basic and core retail functions within the context of merchandise management or inventory. It runs on IBM's System i hardware platform.
The company had deployed JDA Win DSS at the Point of Sale, which is an in-store system for distributed store systems environments.
Shoppers' Stop employs Oracle Apps for finance. Its loyalty program is managed by a custom developed application.
The enterprise has deployed its intranet on MS Sharepoint. In addition to this, it also has several other smaller point applications.
As for the hardware infrastructure, its core ERP runs on an IBM i570 server. It has also deployed IBM's blade servers for their intranet, HRMS, and Oracle applications. Netapps is used for storage, and in terms of networking equipment it uses CISCO routers and Checkpoint firewall.
The business benefits accrued from this, according to Satyanath, is timely stock replenishment, lower cycle times, and accurate business insights. High availability, optimized resources, cost effectiveness in the long run, are the technology benefits.
Shoppers' Stop was started in 1991 at Bombay. Currently, it operates stores in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Gaziabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai (Andheri, Bandra, Chembur, Kandivli, Mulund), Pune, Gurgaon, and Kolkata.
The company employs about 4,500 people. The company's turnover for the last three years has been Rs.500 crores (2004-05), Rs.666 crores (2005-06), and Rs.808 crores (2006-07).
