Sportmaster completed the project of optimization of logistic procedures

2016

Cross docking in points of entry

On December 12, 2016 the CUSTIS company announced continuation of the project in the field of logistics for Sportmaster company.

Partners completed the "Cross Docking in Points of Entry" project. By means of the implemented solutions the customer increased quality of management of the entering trade flow, reduced the volume of logistic transactions and increased the speed of passing of goods through federal distribution centers of the retail chain stores.

Advertizing Sportmaster, (2014)

Calculations of technology department of Sportmaster, showed - use of technology of cross docking on an external supply chain will help to increase performance of the federal distribution center due to reduction of total traffic of boxes with goods on pipeline lines and to reduce labor costs on their processing.

The "Cross Docking in Points of Entry" project implemented together with CUSTIS company allowed to fill up regional warehouses more effectively. Now decisions on processing of deliveries are made on the basis of up-to-date data and in the online mode. It is especially important in the period of peak loads when changing seasonal collections. Thanks to new approach costs for warehouse transactions were reduced and performance of federal distribution centers increased. The project on increase in efficiency of logistics was successfully implemented with our IT partner in the set time. Alexander Skinderev, director of the department of development and deployment of services of penal correction system of Sportmaster

The main project deliverable — reduction in federal distribution centers of volume of labor-intensive operations on placement and selection of goods in storage locations. In warehouses there was an opportunity to process goods without acceptance in a zone of boxed and pallet storage, as a result:

• labor costs on acceptance, placement are reduced by storage and to selection of goods for regional warehouses;
• total traffic of boxes on the pipeline is reduced;
• the need for the capacity of a zone of boxed and pallet storage is reduced;
• time between receipt and shipment of goods for regional warehouses is reduced;
• capacity of a logistics system is increased.

After start of a system on the federal distribution center of the retailer in the Moscow region, more than 17% of boxes for replenishment of regional warehouses began to be processed on new technology. For December, 2016 this approach is applied in all distribution centers of retail chain stores through which there is a supply of regional warehouses of Sportmaster in Russia.

The project allowed to achieve increase in controllability and efficiency of merchandising which quality is important for any retail business and significantly influences accomplishment of sales plans and the cost level. The first batch sent to a regional warehouse on new technology confirmed that our solution allows to eliminate influence of a human factor and to optimize costs for logistic transactions. Roman Alekseev, head of a project portfolio Management of goods of the direction Retail chain stores of CUSTIS company

Optimization of logistic procedures

Project Tasks

In December, 2015 management of information services of Sportmaster Group together with CUSTIS IT company successfully completed a stage of trial operation of the Returnable Logistics project on process automation of return of goods from retail stores on warehouses. A system was successfully tested more than in 100 shops, and since February, 2016 IT solution works in all 1500 retail stores and 10 distribution centers of Sportmaster Group in three countries — Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Project Results

Elena Kiryushina, the head of department of information support of internal supply chains of penal correction system notes Sportmaster Group: "The Returnable Logistics project implemented together with CUSTIS company allowed us to increase the speed, quality and controllability of process of return of goods on warehouses, including when changing seasonal collections. Thanks to simplification of process of search of goods in warehouses time of its assembly decreased, and the quality of filling of boxes increased up to 100%. The volume of not exported goods in shops was reduced to the minimum indicators. Considering scales of our retail chain stores, the task was not trivial. However together with our IT partner we managed to solve it".

"It was necessary to create the tool for effective planning, approval and operational management of processes of returnable logistics which quality and timeliness are important for any retail business and significantly influence accomplishment of sales plans. We integrated a number of new applications into a difficult IT landscape of Sportmaster Group and also made additions to some already existing IT systems. The universal model of resource planning developed by us for the trading companies was applied in Sportmaster Group taking into account all requirements and characteristic parameters of one of the largest retailers of the country. The solution allowed to increase controllability and to optimize expenses on returnable logistics" — Roman Alekseev, the head of a project portfolio tells Management of goods of the direction Retail chain stores.

2015: Sportmaster automated processes of returnable logistics using Custis

Sportmaster Group in partnership with Custis company was automated by processes of returnable logistics in retail chain stores of group. The developed IT solution optimized business processes and provided transparency and controllability of return of goods from retail stores on warehouses.

In December, 2015 management of information services "Sportmaster" together with Custis IT company completed a stage of trial operation of the Returnable Logistics project on process automation of return of goods from retail stores on warehouses. A system was tested more than in 100 shops, and since February, 2016 IT solution works in all 1500 retail stores and 10 distribution centers of Sportmaster in three countries — Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, told in the company.

Timely updating of the range in trading floors, especially when changing seasonal collections, directly affects level of customer satisfaction and sales volumes of the retailer. Besides, qualitatively built processes allow to optimize costs of resources of logistics and shops of network. At the same time retailers experience peak loads during the periods of change of seasonal collections when it is necessary to exempt in most short time floor spaces from goods of the previous collection, noted in Custis.

The large-scale IT solution developed together with Custis company reduces terms of preparation and approval of the diagram of return of goods by warehouses not less than for 50% thanks to optimization of planning, control and management and also provides accurate coordination of actions of specialists of different divisions — category managers, specialists in transport and warehouse logistics, the staff of shops.

The automated system creates the diagram of return and the range of exported goods for each date, considering the set parameters and conditions (priorities of export, the rule of grouping and packaging of goods, arrangement and resource restrictions of shops and warehouses, the schedule of shipments, festive and the days off, etc.). Changing parameters and settings, users of a system can model different situations, estimate load of shops of retail network and logistics in different conditions and to select thus optimal variants of execution of tasks and use of resources.

For each division participating in process of return of goods, a system develops a detailed task: the staff of shop receives the inventory for removal and packaging to the date appointed by the diagram of return taking into account time for execution of works, for transport division the volume and weight of a load for planning and execution of run to the appointed date is defined, warehouses learn the relevant volume of a goods receipt from shops for every day for resource planning on unloading and placement of goods.

The developed control panel allows to perform operational monitoring of processes of return and to trace deviations from the approved diagram. At a stage of execution of returns a system issues tasks to shops in the automatic mode, however in the presence of deviations from the diagram the existing interface allows to make corrections to tasks and the diagram of export manually.

Elena Kiryushina, the head of department of information support of internal supply chains of penal correction system of Sportmaster Group, noted: "The Returnable Logistics project implemented together with Custis company allowed us to increase the speed, quality and controllability of process of return of goods on warehouses, including when changing seasonal collections. Thanks to simplification of process of search of goods in warehouses time of its assembly decreased, and the quality of filling of boxes increased up to 100%. The volume of not exported goods in shops was reduced to the minimum indicators. Considering scales of our retail chain stores, the task was not trivial. However together with our IT partner we managed to solve it".

"It was necessary to create the tool for planning, approval and operational management of processes of returnable logistics which quality and timeliness are important for any retail business and influence accomplishment of sales plans. We integrated a number of new applications into a difficult IT landscape of Sportmaster Group and also made additions to some already existing IT systems. The universal model of resource planning developed by us for the trading companies was applied in Sportmaster Group taking into account all requirements and characteristic parameters of the retailer. The solution allowed to increase controllability and to optimize expenses on returnable logistics" — Roman Alekseev, the head of a project portfolio told Management of goods of the direction Retail chain stores of Custis company.

As noted, the Custis IT company cooperates with Sportmaster Group since 2002. During this time partners implemented several tens of IT projects in the field of financial statements, management retail and wholesales, logistics and merchandising.

2006: Implementation of the module Retail store

Since August, 2006 in Moscow in shop of retail chain stores Sportmaster the module Retail store developed by Custom InformSystems company works at Rublevskoye Highway, 62. Creation and implementation of the module Retail store became the next stage in development of a corporate information system Sportmaster.

Premises and project objectives

The module Retail store was developed by Custom InformSystems company during the custom project in direct interaction with specialists of the Management of Information Technologies (MIT) and the Retail division Sportmaster. During creation and implementation of the software solution all features of technology of retail which provide leadership of Sportmaster in the market of sale of sports goods in Russia and the CIS were considered.

Care of preserving and development of unique technologies which were supported by the former automation system of retail stores of network developed by specialists of UIT caused failure of Sportmaster from purchase of the ready-made solution. Custom development allowed to transfer without loss of functionality all valuable qualities of a former system to a new technology basis and to create such module in which issues of scaling - distribution and maintenances - are solved on tens and hundreds of shops of retail chain stores at the modern level.

The important advantage of the executed project is that the module Retail store was built "smoothly" in the existing complex system of automation of Sportmaster for a minute without having slowed down a sales cycle, accounting and the reporting. Connection of the module and establishment of communications with other components of an information system did not demand any changes in the existing software and did not cause any "ghost effects" in their harmonious work.

The implemented functionality

The module Retail store was projected and developed as the standard solution for shops in retail chain stores with the complex organization. The application allows to control all process of trade from goods acceptance before final implementation, solves problems of automation of fabrication cycles of sale, internal processes of office-work, efficiency analysis of shops, accounting of trade inventories and their movements.

The application provides transparency of interaction with logistics and the accounting systems of Sportmaster company. Besides centralized operation by shops from head office or branch of the company is provided.

The module Retail store supports unified information environment of work for all staff of shop. It includes the automated jobs (automated workplaces):

• The seller in the hall
• Cashier
• Storekeeper
• Administrator
• Accountants
• Merchandiser

The module has no restrictions on quantity and a configuration of jobs - they are configured depending on a format of specific shop. For example, in shop on Rublevskoye Highway six automated workplaces of sellers in the hall, four cash places, two automated workplaces of storekeepers and on one for a managing personnel - the administrator, the accountant, the merchandiser are set now.

"Retail store" CIS Sportmaster also supports work with a various retail store equipment:

• Cash registers (CRs)
• Displays of the buyer
• Data collection terminals
• Printers of labels
• Readers of a magnetic band
• Scanners of barcodes

Results of Implementation

Upon completion of a module implementation project Retail store is completely automated at the customer process of issue of goods from a warehouse in a trading floor. The staff of shop had convenient opportunities for work with operational information and reports. All this simplified technologies of sale of goods that allows sellers to pay more attention to direct service of buyers now. Besides, the new module replaced at once several former program components therefore need for their additional integration disappeared.

Now the software module Retail store is a basis of an information system of shop which is supplemented by office modules of CIS Sportmaster. From these office modules the staff of shop obtains up-to-date information about goods and discounts, about clients (physical persons and legal entity) and also about marketplaces, warehouses and other divisions of retail chain stores. "Retail store" in the mode of replication interacts with the uniform "Directory of goods" and "The reference book of structural divisions". In turn, modules at head office with a necessary frequency obtain operational information about results of work of shop: sales statements, a remaining balance and merchandising, the appointed discounts, etc.

Specialists of UIT of Sportmaster note that implementation of the module took place very smoothly, there was no failure and the entire period of trial operation Sportmaster shop works at Rublevskoye Highway in a normal rhythm. Now implementation of the module Retail store in other shops of network is begun.

Technologies of solution development

The module Retail store is developed by Custom InformSystems company on technologies of Oracle and Microsoft (Microsoft .Net). For creation and development of the interface forms the CustIS Forms technology (CIS Forms) created in Custom InformSystems company based on. net Framework Redistributed, SQL*Net is used. These tools allow to provide good high-speed performance and ergonomics during the work with large volumes of data. In the module the flexible system of the rights for access control of different user groups to functions of a system is implemented. Perhaps remote administration.