The Comfy company left from multiple solutions to uniform ERP

Columbus IT automated business processes in retail network of home appliances and COMFY electronics.

Prerequisites

Active growth of retail network COMFY demanded optimization of business process management due to creation of the integrated corporate IT system. As the platform for its implementation the ERP system of Microsoft Dynamics AX was selected.

The Columbus IT company acted as the partner of the project.

Andrey Pokotilov, the director of information technology of retail network COMFY, explained: "Before implementation of the ERP system we had 15 software products. We had serious problems with integrity and timeliness of providing information for acceptance of management decisions. Rapid growth of retail chain stores forced us to build harder and harder mechanisms of controlling".

Process

Staff of Columbus IT automated the main work areas of COMFY company: Assortment management, Pricing, Purchase of goods, Logistics, Accounting, Wholesale, Management of retail network, Financial accounting and reporting under international standards.

Difficulties

The main difficulties of the project the director of information technology of COMFY Andrey Pokotilov calls risk management and changes: "Risk management is the most difficult. It is important to prepare the company for implementation of a new system, to create an effective project team. We managed to involve top management of the company in the project and to create a command which has sufficient knowledge and leadership skills. Also constantly it was necessary to manage changes. Business does not stand still, and some solutions were modified on a phase of implementation and even during stabilization of a system".

Results

Start of a new system allowed to provide maximum efficiency of work of COMFY and to provide to this Ukrainian retail network a number of competitive advantages. Results:

• obtaining complete, operational and reliable information on business activities;
• the complex analysis and timely decision making on the current competitive situation;
• flexible change of business processes in process of new activities;
• creation of tools for obtaining the qualitative conclusion of external audit.

Pokotilov added: "After start of the ERP solution in the company there were 5 software products. We received the closed management system, integrated financial and logistic circuits within one information system. This solution will allow COMFY to undergo qualitatively the international audit and to implement the development strategy of retail chain stores for the next 5 years".

Integration with the solutions of 1C (1C: Accounting, Salary and the personnel, the POS system) which are earlier implemented into COMFY is made for the most convenient and productive work. Unloading of data of the ERP system is also provided in the system of the analytical reporting that allows to analyze indicators of the company in detail.

Objectives

During further cooperation of COMFY with Columbus IT automation of warehouse processes of the retailer (management of a warehouse and supply chains) will be carried out that will allow to minimize the current temporary and production costs, to achieve optimal use of resources of the company.