Argility implements Cordys' process-driven solution for Ellerines

Issued by Blain Communications for Argility
Johannesburg, 30 Jun 2011

In summary

Company: EHL (Ellerine Holding) the Retail Business Unit of African Bank Investments.
Trading as: Ellerines, Beares, Geen & Richards, Furniture City, Dial-a-Bed and Wetherlys
Vertical: Furniture and household appliances retail, financial services of foreign stores and product insurance.
Stores: In excess of 1 000
Employees: 11 304
Locations: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia
URL: www.africanbank.co.za
The objective: To rationalise the supply chain, and in so doing, reduce costs, improve efficiency and build a platform for future growth.

Ellerines CIO Ian Child comments on the solution, the result and the future:

Solution
“The Cordys-based solution Argility proposed was quite simply the best option. In the past, companies were obliged to change entire systems, end-to-end, to achieve the results we expect from the Argility offering.
“We could have chosen a limited, 'point' solution that simply addressed logistics. That could have been implemented more quickly but it would not have built a foundation for further improvements. We expect significant future returns from the flexibility of the Argility offering, which we would not have seen with a basic, point solution.”

The result
“The project has gone exceptionally well. We anticipate immediate results in cost savings and improved efficiencies as we move on to deploying the software across the group. This will be especially significant as we start implementing the Cordys facilitated Business Activity Monitoring system, which will give us a view of flows across the supply chain. Beyond that, we look forward to realising further value for our business from the platform that Argility has provided.”

Future goals
“To utilise the foundational capabilities of the Argility's Cordys-based solution to set up other systems to further optimise the supply chain and fulfilment processes,” concludes Childs.

Ellerines, one of the largest furniture and household appliance retailers in southern Africa, partners with Argility in a strategic move to gear its supply chain for growth.

Business challenges

* Scale up the size of retail operation to further strengthen market leadership position.

* Improve positioning and increase market penetration by leveraging opportunities in the credit furniture retail sector.
* Use IT as a strategic enabler to: drive growth; lower cost structures; and create a transformational infrastructure.
* Ensure regulatory compliance with legislative frameworks.

Ellerines' growth strategies, in addition to distribution footprint expansion, cost efficiencies and driving down the cost of credit

Merchandise strategy:
* Range review
* Strategic objective: product leadership

Supply chain optimisation:

* Reconfiguration of all supply chain elements
* Strategic objective: an optimised supply chain that delivers the right product to the right store, on time, every time

Brand optimisation:
* Wetherlys, Osiers, Dial-a-Bed and Mattress Factory - already integrated
* Detailed review of remaining brands and market positioning in progress
* Strategic objective: brand differentiation

Client analytics and research:
* Client requires analysis of product, services and prices
* Client buying processes nearing completion
* Market segmentation and economics per segment nearing completion
* Strategic objective: client-centricity

Solution

Ellerines appointed Argility to implement a Cordys BPMS-based process-driven solution aimed at eliminating integration bottlenecks and driving supply-chain transformation. Argility's process driven solution helped Ellerines to minimise risk by lowering the preliminary investment necessary and also guaranteeing the predictability of the outcome. Argility's expertise in enterprise solutions design and delivery facilitated smooth change management at Ellerines, and the solution delivered what was necessary to achieve the project goals.

The end result is that the solution deployed enables Ellerines to optimise its supply chain by eliminating complex integration problems involving other systems. Additionally, the solution is scalable and capable of evolving to meet future business requirements.

Moreover, it met one of Ellerines' key objectives in aligning its IT infrastructure including: point of sale; warehousing; factory management; and logistics with that of its partners. Consequently the company can now optimally manage its entire supply chain.

Benefits of the solution

* Improved supply chain processes.
* Improved efficiency and reduced costs.
* Simplified integration based on a solution optimised for SOA.
* Better alignment with internal and external business processes.
* Responsive and agile supply chain infrastructure.

Success factors

* Vendor expertise

Argility has translated its IP - accumulated over two decades - into re-usable core assets that include: ROP-Retail Operations Platform, RAF-Retail Application Framework, and a 10 000+ components repository. These resources - augmented by the Cordys partnership for technology innovation - form the foundations of all the solutions provided by Argility. In this way the risks associated with huge upfront investments are reduced and the predictability of outcome is increased.

* Mutually agreed life cycle roadmap

A comprehensive business case consisting of gap analysis, risk mitigation plans, timelines and transparency of operation, helped set the course of action straight from start to finish, laying strong foundations for the relationship. Argility's CMMi certified delivery methodology ensured that Ellerines got a solution that met its requirements on time and within budget.

* Customer-vendor relationship

Argility has a longstanding relationship with Ellerines and this certified that the proposed solution factored in all the key business and technical aspects of Ellerines' business. Argility's understanding of Ellerines, coupled with its expertise in delivering cutting-edge SOA-based solutions, translated into a successful win-win business partnership.

Argility

Argility is a leading provider of retail solutions in South Africa and internationally. The company's recent worldwide partnership agreement with international business process management (BPM) specialist Cordys now offers opportunities for Argility's customers to implement even more comprehensive solutions. For further information on its products and solutions, visit www.argility.com.

Ellerines

Ellerines operates in the retail furniture and appliance sector in SA. It offers furniture, bedding and bedroom merchandise, appliances, and selected value-added services. The company sells its products under the Ellerines, Beares, Geen & Richards, Dial-a-Bed, Furniture City, and Wetherlys brand names. It also provides financial services, including insurance products.

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