Mothercare eases the path to international growth with Kewill

Kewill, a provider of solutions that simplify global trade and logistics, has provided Mothercare with a web-based order management solution, Kewill Trade, which has enabled the development of a flexible, scalable supply chain trading platform to support the rapid expansion of its international operations.

Through Kewill Trade, Mothercare issues, on average, 5,000 purchase orders electronically per week and receives on average 1,900 invoices electronically per day from suppliers. Kewill's system provides access to supply chain data including supplier inventory, purchase orders, ASN's and invoices and has inbuilt data integration points which allow the exchange of multiple formats of data with Mothercare's other business systems including merchandising and warehousing systems by JDA Software and Manhattan Associates.

James Blackburn, Enterprise Architect at Mothercare, said, "Kewill effectively provides the glue and string behind our supply chain operation, a combination of vital components that work together to form a sound foundation to trading."

Mothercare has ambitious plans to grow its business internationally with over 600 overseas stores already, stretching from South Africa to Russia and Australia. Much of this growth has been achieved by entering into joint ventures and franchise arrangements. The company announced its plans to open 200 Mothercare stores in India in September 2010.

Blackburn, said, "The Kewill solution supports the trading of our entire franchise network, yet none of the franchisees are aware of the involvement of a third party system. Suppliers find the system simple to use and the integration with Mothercare's own systems takes place seamlessly, behind the scenes, which is exactly the way it should be done."

He continues, "We're adding international stores at a rate of over 100 per year which brings a number of challenges to overcome. However, worrying about our IT infrastructure to support trading in each new country isn't one of them. The Kewill solution works, it's simple for new users and it delivers what we need. Kewill has continually proven its ability to work with us, understand our business requirements and help us utilise their systems and our own to respond flexibly to new market opportunities."