Solit iNovations and Interpay partner on retail solution for African market

Solit iNovations, the affiliate partner for sales, distribution and services of Lawson Software in Africa, has appointed Interpay, an e-business solution provider for the retail industry, as services partner for implementation and support of the Retalix StoreLine point-of-sale (POS) solution in East Africa.

The Lawson Retail solution is complemented by the Retalix StoreLine POS system, which has been designed specifically for the FMCG and fuel retail industries. In terms of the agreement, Solit iNovations and Interpay will work together to market and sell the comprehensive solution to retailers across East Africa.

These include grocery, convenience, speciality and department stores, discount value stores, pharmacies, home improvement outlets, petrol stations, and the hospitality industry. Interpay will provide services and support on the POS system throughout the region.

Mark Congdon, country manager for Solit iNovations in East Africa, says the agreement demonstrates the commitment of Solit iNovations and Interpay to setting retail industry technology standards for the future.

"The partnership will leverage Lawson's state-of-the-art retail solution and the Retalix StoreLine point-of-sale system to provide retailers with the opportunity to enhance revenue and decrease costs by dramatically increasing operating efficiencies and profitability," says Congdon.

"Solit iNovations and Interpay are helping retailers to respond rapidly and efficiently to new customer demands. We take pride in deploying solutions, distinguished by state-of-the-art technology, open systems architecture and rich functionality, that fully cater for the specific needs of companies in the East African region.

"We can now offer retailers a dynamic, comprehensive set of retail applications and solutions that are flexible and robust. Managing a retail operation requires a system that is flexible enough to handle global operations, a 24x7 workforce, and constantly changing inventory and consumer preferences. Add the age-old problems of employee turnover, razor-thin profit margins and a multi-step supply chain, and it's evident that retailers have a critical need for solutions that help them manage their business more efficiently."

Lawson's complete retail solution includes store operations, supply chain management, merchandising, category management and promotion. Its Merchandise Payables greatly increases the percentage of accurate invoice matches for high-volume retailers and digital exchanges. Another key differentiator is its industry specific analysis modules that provide retailers with significant added value for benchmarking calculations, including comparable store sales, labour expenses, cost-of-goods-sold, and sales per square foot.

"Lawson's strategy for the future remains pinned to its ability to lead the technological race," says Congdon. "With its international presence and reputation, Lawson offers e-business engines for financials, human resources, procurement, distribution and enterprise relationship management, along with extensions that provide collaborative commerce, workflow and world-class analytic tools."

Retalix StoreLine supports the FMCG retailer's essential operations, resulting in increased operating efficiencies and profitability while improving customer acquisition and retention.

"We believe this partnership enhances the Lawson total technology solution for retailers and demonstrates our joint commitment to the Kenyan and East African markets," says Nicholas Maina, (Managing Director, Interpay). "The alliance is already beginning to help retailers across the region and multi-national companies have begun to reap the benefits of our partnership."

" Leading retailers need scalable tools to manage local assortment lifecycles, including buying, assorting, allocating, displaying, replenishing, promoting, and pricing at the store Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) level."

Retalix StoreLine is built to deliver the speed, accuracy and robustness needed to support a successful retail operation, effectively taking care of all aspects of stock and cash control. It offers flexible system configurations, an electronic journal which assists in loss prevention, system audits, user-related security and cash management, a wide variety of promotion options, loyalty systems, language translation, and online, realtime and historical reporting for cash office management.

"This partnership reinforces Solit iNovations' commitment to creating competitive advantage for our customers," adds Congdon. "We integrate the power of our solutions with specialised expertise and industry-leading technologies to give our customers more choices and systems suited specifically to their needs. "Our systems are renowned for their ease of installation and intuitive user interface. This results in a dramatic reduction in consulting and implementation time, ensuring a cost-effective solution that delivers rapid ROI. Our first store, for example, went live within four weeks. We are confident that our integrated software solutions will provide the flexibility and advanced data analysis needed to drive true business success."