Landmark Retail is without doubt one of the largest omnichannel retailers throughout the Center East and Northern Africa (MENA), India and Southeast Asia (SEA). It’s a division of Landmark Group, a widely known multinational retail and hospitality conglomerate headquartered in Dubai. The group’s journey began as a single retailer in Bahrain 5 many years in the past. At present, Landmark Group has advanced right into a powerhouse of 2200 shops throughout 21 international locations. It presents a various array of services throughout 25 homegrown manufacturers and a number of franchises that cater to a large number of tastes and preferences throughout trend, residence, electronics and extra. The group’s values (iLEAD: Hear, Empower, Adapt and Ship with Integrity) information their goal of making distinctive worth for his or her workers, their clients and their communities.
In 2013, Landmark Retail’s monetary planning and evaluation group confronted challenges as they managed monetary processes throughout greater than 1200 shops. In line with Gopal Chandak, FP&A Chief at Landmark, “The consolidation of the monetary funds, value allocation strategies and standardization of widespread information posed as main obstacles. Gathering recordsdata from a number of events led to discrepancies on account of various variations of software program and completely different ranges of person experience.”
Challenges within the complicated budgeting strategy of a significant conglomerate
The group was current in a number of international locations and areas, they usually and operated with a number of manufacturers. Their enterprise mannequin was very complicated, and it required large knowledge volumes to be processed. Due to this, the budgeting course of was inefficient. It took 3–4 months and wanted stakeholder alignment throughout completely different international locations, manufacturers and features.
Moreover, the method of consolidating Excel recordsdata from completely different variations was tough and infrequently resulted in discrepancies in numbers. “Managing the information for our shops utilizing guide spreadsheets and consolidating it at each the enterprise unit and nation stage proved to be an overwhelmingly difficult endeavor,” in response to Chandak. “Recognizing the restrictions, we acknowledged the necessity for an enhanced answer. Though Excel is a robust software, it was merely insufficient for the scale and complexity of our group.”
A complete answer to maximise effectivity
In Landmark Retail’s seek for a succesful, user-friendly answer, they turned to IBM® Planning Analytics. Not like different aggressive options that took 6–12 months, IBM Planning Analytics was in a position to carry out a profitable proof of idea inside 8–10 weeks. This swift implementation showcased agility and suppleness, making it the popular selection for Landmark Retail.
In line with Chandak, “IBM Planning Analytics considerably simplified duties by providing complete governance all through all the budgeting course of and unlocked substantial worth for the group. With this software, Landmark Retail was in a position to improve its enterprise analytics and achieve insightful views which can be typically ignored when utilizing conventional spreadsheet-based budgeting strategies. The software effortlessly facilitated budgeting on a zero-based strategy, saving important effort and time because it possessed all the required historic knowledge.”
To make sure worker buy-in through the transition to IBM Planning Analytics, the corporate utilized efficient change administration initiatives and maintained clear traces of communication.
Landmark Retail’s budgeting course of grew to become notably streamlined and environment friendly, they usually accomplished the primary module (“Budgeting”) inside a few months. In line with Chandak, “The budgeting and consolidation processes underwent a exceptional transformation, leading to a 75% discount in time spent by workers. They improved governance and transparency throughout completely different manufacturers and international locations, enabling a sharper deal with strategic enterprise evaluation to drive progress and innovation.”
The brand new answer delivered important automation based mostly on clicks from the person interface and simplified monetary processes. Since implementing IBM Planning Analytics in 2013, Landmark Retail has efficiently scaled new use instances starting from core budgeting, warehouse budgeting, consolidation of authorized entities and monetary statements, and CAPEX throughout their greater than 1200 shops.
Trusted companions are the important thing to profitable implementation
Veracitiz Solutions, an IBM enterprise accomplice, has been integral to Landmark Retail’s success. With a solution-driven group of dynamic and expert technical specialists, Veracitiz has been invaluable within the implementation and optimization of IBM Planning Analytics. Veracitiz Options labored to know Landmark Retail’s distinctive necessities and delivered custom-made options that have been instrumental to the venture’s success. Notably, the group’s around-the-clock availability led to important buyer satisfaction.
After attaining a lot success with IBM Planning Analytics, Landmark Retail plans to implement it for gross sales forecasting to contemplate exterior elements corresponding to seasonality, climate forecasts and historic patterns.
Landmark Retail’s partnership with Veracitiz Options, coupled with the flexibleness of IBM Planning Analytics, has not solely streamlined their monetary processes however has additionally enabled them to proactively handle the dynamic wants of their enterprise. This synergy between expertise and experience is pivotal as Landmark Retail continues to supply worth to stakeholders and strengthen its standing as a number one retail big within the area.
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