Shoe retailer Deichmann is relying on the cloud-based unified spend management platform from US specialist provider Ivalua to digitalise its procurement processes. The family business, based in the German city of Essen, wishes to optimise internal processes, reduce manual effort and improve collaboration with suppliers.
With around 4,700 shops in 34 countries and its online presence, Deichmann is the leading European shoe retailer. The company aims for further growth and is facing market changes and global supply chain challenges, which demand a high degree of flexibility and transparency in the procurement of goods. Digital transformation is set to cope with these tasks.
The company aims to use the new platform to consolidate and rationalise all strategic and operational procurement activities from source-to-pay (S2P), including supplier selection and contract management. Automation shall help to reduce manual efforts. Deichmann expects access to more meaningful data and insights to increase transparency across processes and spend and improve collaboration between internal teams and suppliers.
Standardised data model promises fast modifications
Specifically, Deichmann will use Ivalua to digitalise all core S2P processes, including supplier risk & performance management, sourcing, contract management, e-procurement and invoicing. The company also uses a virtual assistant, and the Collaboration Plans module. The latter is designed to help recognise and solve supplier-related problems more quickly and plan improvement measures.
Ivalua has built its source-to-pay solutions on a standardised no-code/low-code platform. The development environment makes it possible to create software applications with little or no programming knowledge. The manufacturer promises that the solution can therefore be easily adapted to the growing needs of users. The standardised data model is designed to support a consistent user experience and offer workflows that seamlessly connect all source-to-pay processes and data.
Generative AI supports employees in procurement
Deichmann’s procurement teams can access an intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) for their tasks. This uses generative AI (Gen AI) to automate time-consuming tasks. Among other things, the assistant can help with researching and analysing, creating and modifying documents or summarising content. The no-code platform also enables users to develop their own use cases with the help of generative AI.
