YHA Adventure Shops Plc is an independent retail operation formed from a management buy-out from the Youth Hostels Association in 1990. It has 22 stores across the UK selling a range of products geared towards outdoor activities.

Traditionally a high street based operation, YHA Adventure Shops Plc decided to move towards a multi-channel strategy, in order to service customers via their medium of choice. The first stage of this was to set up a fully transactional Web site and mail order operation, with a possible move to other electronic channels in the near future.

The company realised, however, that there was little point in taking this route unless it could dovetail with existing sales, procurement and supply chain processes. As Singh Chana, managing director of YHA Adventure Shops Plc points out: "We pride ourselves on the expert, personal service we provide for our customers. Just because were expanding online, it doesnt mean we should compromise these standards as so many organisations appear to have done. It was a major aim of the project, therefore, that we could ensure consistency of service across all channels and this process had to start with integration of some sort."

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