Dohle Handelsgruppe implements JDA space and category management solution

JDA Software Group, Inc., The Supply Chain Company, has announced that Dohle Handelsgruppe Holding GmbH & Co.KG, Germany (HIT), a retailer with more than 90 stores in Germany, has gone live with a number of JDA space and floor  planning solutions.

Dohle Handelsgruppe operates 90 HIT consumer markets and self-service department stores. In order to implement the principles of modern category management in a sustainable fashion, Dohle has been using several JDA modules since January 2013:JDA Space Planning, to optimise merchandise presentation; JDA Floor Planning,to increase store area profitability;  JDA Web Publisher to communicate plans to the markets via the Internet; and JDA® Intactix Knowledge Base (IKB), a central data bank to automate category management processes. The JDA products were fully integrated into Dohle's existing IT infrastructure with the sxLink SAP interface.

JDA Software's German distributor, Strategix Enterprise Technology GmbH, implemented and integrated the JDA Solution with Dohle's ERP system. On a functional level, Dohle now realises significant benefits with the option of linking listing processes with planograms, thereby avoiding overstocking. In addition Dohle can now make assortment decisions from a central location and place articles in the right quantity and ready-for-sale on shelves. The graphic visualization of fixtures and floor plans accelerates work processes and ensures more accuracy.In addition, JDA IKB automatically receives current product master data and sales data via interfaces.

Daniel Vollmer, project manager, assortment and space optimization, at Dohle, explains Dohle Group's choice as follows, "We chose JDA because its integrated solution for space and assortment planning makes it possible to consistently apply category management principles to all merchandise groups and stores."

In January 2013, piloted assortments in selected stores were linked to the new system and then reorganized according to the optimized plans. Ingrid Rothmann, manager for merchandise coordination at Dohle adds, "For us, JDA Space Planning is a practical and efficient solution.Across the board, feedback from the pilot markets is positive." The next roll-out step, linking to JDA Planogram Generator, is underway now. When complete, Dohle will then be in a position to create market-specific planograms taking user-defined merchandising rules and fixture assortment and performance data into account.

"As a leading German retailer, Dohle understands that floor space is one of the most valuable and limited assets. Through our floor and space planning solutions, we can certainly help Dohle utilize our innovative category management practices, increase profitability and provide outstanding customer service," said Mark Morgan, regional vice president, EMEA, JDA Software. "We look forward to helping Dohle maximize and increase sales across their 90 HIT consumer markets and self-service department stores."