With the help of CAS AG, Esprit has brought the store processes of all its outlets in Europe to mobile devices so that employees can work user-friendly in real time with the data from the central SAP system. This has made the previous store merchandise management system obsolete. The new consistent view onto the current stock is an essential prerequisite for the fashion brand to further optimise its processes in the area of omnichannel services, among other things.
A user-friendly, clearly structured SAP Fiori Launchpad guides the employees through their tasks and displays open and unfinished tasks on the app tiles: Store processes such as goods receipt, dispatches, stock transfer, replenishment from the store warehouse, stock correction, continuous inventory and recalls from suppliers are now handled by employees in user-friendly apps.
With the new application, the employees on the store floor can easily access article information including the current price. The fact that the respective product is displayed with an image in the apps makes the employees’ work much easier and results in faster and more efficient processing of the processes, as the items can be identified more quickly with the help of the product image.
Sale triggers refill
The new solution also supports staff very efficiently in identifying which merchandise that is still in the store stock needs to be brought to the sales floor. In order to trigger this so-called refill process, the system accesses the sales data from the SAP CAR: almost in real time, the app learns which articles in which sizes and colours have been sold and advises the employees what needs to be brought to the sales floor.
CAS AG created the store solution with SAP’s Fiori app technology. Previously, the consultants had enabled real-time inventory management at Esprit with SAP CAR and laid the data technology foundation for the use of SAP Fiori Apps with the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). CAS AG then developed the apps very specifically along Esprit’s desired processes themselves. “The CAS AG consultants actually managed to implement all of our requirements in SAP Fiori Apps,” says Alissa Schlüter, Esprit Director Retail Operations EU.
Free choice of hardware
Thanks to the new technology, Esprit is completely free in its choice of hardware for mobile application. It runs not only on Apple and Android devices, but also on any desktop browser, as it is also available web-based. For the roll-out, the Apple iPods already available in the stores were used for the application. For the future device strategy, there are no restrictions in the choice of mobile devices due to the flexible options.
Those responsible at Esprit are also very satisfied with the support of CAS AG during the roll-out in the stores. The aim of the project phase with CAS AG was to make the app so user-friendly that no lengthy training sessions would be necessary. The app should be self-explanatory for every employee.
CAS AG builds clever training solution
When the government-imposed lockdown paralysed the entire retail sector shortly before the planned roll-out, the roll-out into the stores had to be reorganised. Esprit needed a training solution that was available in every store and could be used autonomously by the employees. CAS AG therefore created a 1-to-1 training environment of the Fiori Launchpad, the Sandbox.
This sandbox was available for all stores, at all times and for every user. A great advantage of the solution is that the training content is automatically updated when the app is called up and can thus be used again from scratch with every new call. Through this new type of training, Esprit was able to roll out the new Fiori apps across Europe despite travel bans and other restrictions. Esprit still uses the sandbox today, for example for training new employees.
Fair and transparent
“We have rarely worked so well with external partners as we did with CAS AG,” Alissa Schlüter praises the consultants: “The joint planning was fair and transparent. We could absolutely rely on the work being done within the planned effort.”
Tobias Rittinghaus, Senior Project Manager at Esprit, adds: “The CAS AG consultants always approached us with interesting ideas. In doing so, they have shown a very good understanding of the retail processes and the wishes of our business departments.”
Award-winning solution
Esprit has won one of EHI Retail Institute’s prestigious Retail Technology Awards (Reta) for its store process optimisation solution implemented together with CAS AG. End of February, the award in the category Best Enterprise Solutions was presented in a ceremony in Düsseldorf. In this context, CAS AG was honoured as Top Supplier Retail by EHI and Lebensmittel Zeitung.
