World Duty Free Europe, a subsidiary of British Airports Authority, took proactive initiatives to minimise the impact of the abolition of duty free retailing in Europe. The company is using a retail planning solution to cost effectively deal with the required operational transformation.
At midnight on 30 June 1999, the business of duty free retailing in Europe changed forever. After a heated debate, The European Commission voted to abolish duty free shopping for travellers within the European Union (EU).
While this legislation has hurt many duty free retailers, World Duty Free Europe has taken pro-active initiatives to minimise the impact. Specifically, the retailer with 68 stores across eight UK airports and on the Eurotunnel, realigned its business with new processes including a strategic pricing structure to maintain duty free pricing levels on 90 percent of its merchandise. World Duty Free also relied on JDA's Arthur Planning to cost effectively deal with this operational transformation.
Arthur Planning is part of JDA Software Group's comprehensive retail product offering. JDA is an international provider of enterprise retail solutions and is represented by Dimension Data i-Commerce Software locally.
According to Jon Paton, supply planning manager at World Duty Free Europe, Arthur Planning has supported the company's growth plans, enabling it to capitalise on its travel retailing marketplace through effective planning in a new, complex environment of both duty free and duty paid merchandise.
"Since the legislation, we have realised our goal of continuing to offer guaranteed value for money across a wide range of brand-leading products," says Paton. "Faced with a new combination of duty free and duty paid retailing, Arthur Planning enables us to have the right levels of stock in the stores whilst minimising both the risk of over stocking and the associated cost of clearing reduced stock."
Since going live with Arthur Planning, World Duty Free has addressed many of its unique challenges. For example, Arthur Planning streamlines the planning of merchandise from dual delivery channels, including direct from suppliers to store and via its warehouse near Heathrow. The travel retailer can also review and adjust its merchandising mix based on seasonal trends.
"Arthur Planning provides us with the flexibility to plan and re-forecast merchandise on a weekly basis at whatever level required from product to supplier hierarchy," says Paton. "It also provides real time and historical information against planned/forecast figures to make critical business decisions."
While World Duty Free's business and stock requirements have grown dramatically through aggressive acquisitions from twice that of last year and five times more than when the business was set up, Arthur Planning has enabled the company to successfully and accurately manage these increasing levels of stocks.
"Arthur Planning has the scalability to deal with the most demanding of merchandising scenarios, but maximum return is extracted if you keep focused during the development stage," says Paton.
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Dimension Data & SPL
Dimension Data Holdings is South Africa's largest Information Technology integration company with turnover of R4,7-billion (1997/98). Based in Johannesburg and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Group is fast becoming a global organisation with offices in Asia, Australia and the United Kingdom. Its subsidiary, Datacraft Asia, is listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Singapore.
SPL, part of the Dimension Data Group, has long been recognised as a high value IT partner to South African corporations and government. The company focuses on customer management, information management and enterprise systems.-Commerce
JDA Software
JDA Software Group is a global provider of integrated retail software products and professional services for more than 600 clients worldwide.
Designed to optimise the retail enterprise, JDA's solution addresses the requirements for the entire retail supply chain: from corporate with merchandising, planning, allocation, decision support and financial systems; to the distribution center with warehouse management and logistics systems; at the store with point-of-sale and back-office applications; and on the Internet with Web-based solutions.
Founded in 1985, JDA employs more than 1 100 associates operating from 20 offices worldwide. With headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company has offices in major cities throughout the United States as well as internationally in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Singapore, and Australia.