SAP helps Antarc Furniture increase market share in East Africa by 50%

Enterprise software solutions market leader SAP has played a critical role in helping East Africa's leading furniture and lifestyle store, Antarc, significantly grow its business. Since implementing the SAP Business One, version for SAP HANA software in 2009, the furniture franchise has grown its business by 50%.

SAP Business One, version for SAP HANA is the first business management solution for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that runs fully in-memory and in real-time. The application is a scalable, affordable solution with embedded analytics capabilities and high-volume transactions, which empowers SMEs to have immediate access to all mission-critical data.

Before SAP, Antarc Furniture was looking to expand its IT capabilities beyond the capabilities of previous software. In order to grow at an accelerated rate, Antarc Furniture required a world-class enterprise software solution that provided end-to-end integration and cut the company's lead-time, while at the same time accommodating an increased product range.

"It was a simple decision," says Neha Malde, Antarc's Financial Manager. "The future was knocking at our door and we simply grabbed the opportunity to champion SAP's innovation. We have seen much growth since initiating our SAP partnership and have far surpassed our previous management and control objectives."

Through SAP's software, Antarc Furniture was also able to reduce its audit review time from one month to two days, with the help of a comprehensive and fully integrated enterprise resource planning reporting system," added Neha Malde.

Since go-live, SAP Business One, version for SAP HANA, has systematically provided Antarc Furniture with better control, more accurate reporting, and efficient warehouse management, swifter delivery processes, with 95% stock accuracy regardless of location, as well as lower lead times. Because of the successful SAP implementation, Antarc Furniture has now extended its product range to include the furnishing line and has subsequently opened two more branches.

"In East Africa, SMEs make up over 80% of the private sector and contribute about 40% of GDP and 50% of overall employment. It is for this reason that SAP is committed to helping SMEs in East Africa, like Antarc Furniture, grow their businesses and enable them to become innovative, compete with the global market by taking advantage of real-time business insight technology solution," said Andrew Waititu, SAP East Africa Managing Director. "The speed offered by in-memory computing is particularly beneficial for East African businesses, as it helps solve previously unsolvable problems, drives profitable growth and allows users to become more efficient by leveraging out-of-the-box features of the application for an enhanced user experience," he concluded.

East Africa comprises over 20 000 SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs. These companies contribute significantly to the region's growth and to developing economies, alleviating poverty and collaborating with larger organisations to bolster Africa's growth engine. The SAP Business One, version for SAP HANA platform efficiently supports the SME market grow faster and more efficiently within a short timeframe, while helping to address critical issues around skills transfer.

For more information, visit the SAP Newsroom.