Maplin has gone live with a new merchandising solution as it looks to build flexibility into the way it updates fixed shelf layout and manage the performance of its product categories based on consumer purchasing patterns.
The new micro space planning solution from Relex-owned Galleria is expected to help the consumer electronics retailer create planograms more quickly, and Maplin is also set to utilise the 3D visualisation and flexible reporting capabilities of the new tool.
With 218 stores and 20,000 products in over 800 categories, Maplin is a growing retailer and chose to update its systems with further expansion in mind.
Simon Duggan, merchandising manager at Maplin, remarked: "We ultimately want to improve efficiency across our stores, for higher customer satisfaction and increased business performance."
He added that the system was implemented "in just three days", and is intuitive and has been well received by staff.
Feelunique streamlines with EDI
Meanwhile, online heath & beauty business Feelunique.com has also made an investment that it hopes will improve operational efficiency in the long run.
The e-tailer has implemented HighJump-owned TrueCommerce's EDI technology with the aim of streamlining its trading processes and gaining greater insight into its supply chain.
Previously the business replied on manual processes to manage its B2B supply chain, including the exchange of purchase orders via email and the manual entry of supplier invoices into its ERP system.
Craig Wheeler, operations director at Feelunique, said the ultimate aim was to avoid potential delays in the company's supply chain and to maximise product availability for customers.
The TrueCommerce supplier enablement solution – which is entirely managed by the vendor's managed service team – allowed Feelunique to incorporate suppliers regardless of their size or technical capabilities thus maximising the number of suppliers it could trade with electronically.
"Our merchandising team is more efficient as they no longer need to print purchase orders, less time is spent receipting stock in our distribution centre and we've seen a reduction in the number of invoice matching errors," Wheeler added.