M.H. Alshaya Co. to streamline supply chain operations using Manhattan Associates' Integrated Planning Solutions

Middle East retailer chooses supply chain planning modules to increase productivity and profitability and complement existing Manhattan Associates solutions

Leading supply chain solutions provider, Manhattan Associates, Inc., have announced that M.H. Alshaya Co., one of the Middle East's most well-established retailers, has begun the second phase of its supply chain overhaul, which incorporates both supply chain planning and execution. Alshaya will use the Financial, Item and Assortment Planning components of Manhattan Associates' Integrated Planning Solutions to manage the flow of goods across its entire supply chain.

Founded in 1890, M.H. Alshaya Co. employs more than 7,000 people. Its retail division is the franchisee for a number of international brands including Debenhams, Mothercare, River Island and Starbucks. The company has more than 1,000 stores in the Middle East region, with a presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , UAE, Oman , Qatar , Bahrain , Lebanon , Jordan . Alshaya also has stores in Turkey , Russia , Egypt and Cyprus and has plans to expand across Eastern Europe .

The success of this supply chain project is seen as critical to the overall performance of Alshaya as a business. One of the company's primary objectives is to establish a just-in-time flow of goods to improve customer service, maximise full price sales and reduce markdowns on products. Mr K R Narayanan, Business Systems Development Manager of Alshaya, explains, "Our supply chain is particularly challenging because of the number of countries involved. We receive a huge range of products from a number of suppliers and need a solution that will enable us to plan our intake and manage supply and flow while maintaining optimum stock levels."

The Financial and Item Planning modules will enable Alshaya to plan and forecast sales and inventory requirements across multiple products. They will also give the company access to centralised planning information for increased productivity and profitability. Assortment Planning will integrate with Item and Financial Planning to plan and track sales, receipt flow, margins, inventory measures and product ranges at individual stores or across a group of retail outlets.

The supply chain planning solutions deployment is an extension of Alshaya's current use of Manhattan Associates' technology. The company began the first phase of its supply chain roll-out with the installation of Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management solution for its 20,000m distribution centre in Dubai which will go live later this month. Financial and Item Planning are scheduled to go live towards the end of 2006 with Assortment Planning following in 2007.

"Prior to our selection of Manhattan Associates' Advanced Planning solutions, we relied on a number of systems for our planning and replenishment which led to inaccuracies and inefficiencies," continues Mr Narayanan. "We needed to consolidate all of our data to ensure that everyone has access to the same information. The new solution will integrate with our bespoke ERP system and will give our suppliers visibility to our planning, allowing them to align their forecasts to ours. We chose Manhattan Associates because of its global presence and support capabilities. We see the company as the leader in both supply chain planning and execution."

"Alshaya is well on the way to revolutionising its supply chain," says Steve Smith, vice president for Europe , the Middle East and Africa at Manhattan Associates. "This is a particularly exciting project for us, giving us the opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in both supply chain planning and execution. We will work with Alshaya every step of the way to provide them with a complete supply chain solution that reliably supports their ambitious growth plans."