Retailers look for IT solutions to better footprint

When Chandigarh-based Kamla Dials and Devices Limited launched its retail arm for luxury watch brand Ethos in 2003, it was a bumpy road as it is difficult to access and take daily business progress report from employees across India. “The software solutions available to the big players were not customised for the small businesses and it was a constraint in growth,’ says C Raja Sekhar vice-president (finance) of Ethos.

After running on rudimentary sale solution for initial years, the company switched over to Microsoft EPR dynamics in 2008 and registered a rapid expansion of retail network across India. There are others like Devyani Group (Indian franchisee of global food retail chains Pizza Hut, KFC and Costa Coffee), Evok (part of Hindware Sanitaryware), Bikanerwala, a prominent food retailing business, Damas, an international chain of Jewellery retailer, Great India Nautanki Comapny, an entertainment initiative of Wizcraft & IFA, Twenty First Century , a retailer of furniture who could expand their retail operations in a short span of time with help of appropriate software provided by Microsoft.

Trident, through Microsoft Dynamics ERP, has helped the retail industry streamline operations which previously were run as disparate, standalone systems. With no structured system to manage the point-of-sales, old legacy POS systems were being used for billing sales and product level analysis with zero capabilities to consolidate data and employ it for building efficiency and productivity into internal systems.

“Retail is one of the most dynamic sectors today and the move to IT is an imperative to achieve operational excellence and flexibility to respond to business challenges. It is equally important to have experts in the form of implementation partners to provide for local support and domain expertise. In this context, Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution scores high as it is extremely user friendly and fits smoothly with the existing IT system,” said Subhomoy Sengupta, Group Director, Microsoft Dynamics India.