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Integration, efficiency, and growth: these were the main factors
that led Bemol, a successful department store retailer, to invest in
software from the SAP for Retail solution portfolio. As the first
company in Brazil to implement human capital management and
industry-specific software from SAP, Bemol helped pioneer the
trend toward adopting an aggressive IT strategy – and realized
many benefits, including subsequent growth of 70% over the next
five years. But it didn’t stop there. Bemol continues to expand its
IT footprint, with an eye on continuous improvement and growth.
A Company Always on the Move
Founded in 1942 by the brothers Samuel and Israel Benchimol,
the Brazilian company currently has 11 department stores,
with 10 in Manaus and 1 in Porto Velho. This gives it a total of
25 thousand square meters of retail space. Today, the company
has approximately 430,000 customers, 280,000 of whom use a
“loyalty” card, which offers bonus credit at the moment of
purchase, among other benefits.
Bemol’s corporate culture is based on the principles of integrity,
respect, economy, vitality, and continuous improvement.
“As a service provider, our main goal is to satisfy our customers
throughout the entire sales process,” states Jaime Benchimol,
Bemol’s CEO.
SAP Software: State-of-the-Art IT
When Bemol began searching the marketplace for a state-of-theart
IT solution to help support its aggressive strategy for expansion,
the road led to SAP. “We chose SAP because we needed a solution
with retail functionalities that would enable the growth of the
company and help our operation as a whole,” says Benchimol.
The company also selected SAP® software because of its strong
reputation in Brazil and throughout the world.
Up until then, Bemol had been using software developed internally,
including an accounts payable system and software for
controlling and human resources, explains Sheila da Nóbrega
Silva, head of the IS department at Bemol.
The most crucial challenge the company faced was eliminating
the largely ineffective processes regarding inventory management.
“Each shop manager would manually determine how much
inventory the store needed, check availability at the distribution
center, and request delivery directly to the shops. The process
was haphazard and extremely dependent on the shop managers
to ensure that stock did not run out,” says da Nóbrega Silva. In
short, the company needed a solution that would enable it to
integrate these processes.
Better Business Practices
Against this background, Bemol decided to implement the SAP
for Retail solution portfolio, given that it was the most complete
and could meet the company’s needs without Bemol having to
contract another supplier. “The idea was to acquire a system
with functionalities geared toward retail that would enable us to
streamline operations and eliminate manual tasks,” points out
da Nóbrega Silva, who also stresses the importance of the
partnership with SAP. “SAP furnishes the best business practices,
freeing the information systems department to concentrate on
other activities. It also is constantly developing its products,
keeping in step with the latest processes and technology, which
precludes the need for parallel development.”
SAP Consulting came on board to help with the implementation,
which included software for financial controlling, sales and
distribution, and materials management. The consultants also
implemented software for human capital management,
including capabilities for employee recruitment and selection,
training, and staff administration.
Many Benefits, Including Tighter Control of Inventory
The team implemented the solution in 10 months, bringing
huge benefits to the company. “Today we can easily track sales
and inventory and manage related processes,” says the head of
the IS department. Furthermore, by using the SAP software, the
company can group goods according to specific characteristics
and product hierarchy. “This option makes it possible to sell
products through the Internet more easily, and increases the
sales team’s autonomy and efficiency.”
Another benefit: the company now has tools that enable it to
coordinate all the processes involved in opening a new shop –
from planning through the display of in-store inventory.
“Previously, the information systems department was responsible
for opening these shops, but today the process is more flexible,
and can be carried out by employees in different areas of the
company,” explains da Nóbrega Silva.
Bemol also gained greater transparency of financial data and an
improved ability to accurately break down expenses and track
costs. The shops now know exactly what they spend each month
to operate. “This means the company is able to identify areas for
optimization and improve profitability,” says da Nóbrega Silva.
“The SAP solution helps us effectively control daily costs, which
is a big advantage for retailers, especially when dealing with sales
peaks where there is also an increase in expenses. We now have
access to more critical information than previously.”
Taking Advantage of More Functionality
Bemol recently upgraded to the latest version of SAP R/3
Enterprise software (functionality that is now available in the
SAP ERP solution). The project took just four months to
complete.
It next plans to implement the SAP customer relationship
management solution as well as the SAP Business Intelligence
component found in the SAP NetWeaver™ platform sometime
this year. “We have already eliminated the manual processes
during customer contact by using the internal system, but we
want more functionality,” says da Nóbrega Silva.
For example, Bemol wants to use SAP Business Information
Warehouse, the core component of SAP Business Intelligence to
coordinate financial and sales information.
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