Who We Serve
Success Stories
We work side-by-side with our clients and have seen them through many large initiatives and changes. Below is a sampling of some of clients’ successes.
Situation
- The company found itself with too much excess capital tied up in unproductive inventory
- Operations needed inventory levels aligned to meet sales demand
Solution
- Developed computer assisted ordering and item level inventory training for store operations
- Developed a mobile, web-based Inventory Management Optimization solution providing client the ability to use item level sales, purchase and on-hand inventory data
- Provided field operations and management actionable data on out of stocks, overstocks, out of date and promotional effectiveness on their key categories.
Impact
- Created millions of dollars of working capital by removing excess inventory from the stores
- Significantly improved performance for the high-volume, high-impact cigarette category
- Reduced on-hand inventory
- Reduced out-of-stocks
- Optimized SKUs
- Increased category sales
- Increased efficiency of field operations
Situation
- Leading middle market private equity firm looking to understand investment opportunities in the retail fueling industry
Solution
- Provided overview of the retail fueling industry with a focus on fuel pump, underground and tank gage technologies & POS solutions
- Completed due diligence on acquisition target, a national facilities services company
- Conducted go to market strategy for acquisition target
Impact
- Client considered project insights critical to making acquisition decision
- Target company was acquired in December 2011
- Target company positioned for strong performance due to go to market strategy
Situation
- Needed category management training on convenience store retailer expectations for a large cigarette / OTP sales organization
- Desired to better understand competitive and consumer trends in the discount, drug, grocery and dollar store channels
Solution
- Conducted category manager interviews
- Benchmarked against other sales organizations / Benchmarking and Presentation on C-Store Retailer’s Expectations for a large cigarette / OTP manufacturer’s sales organization
- Extensive secondary research on competitive and consumer trends in the discount, drug, grocery and dollar store channels
Impact
- Sales organization better positioned as a supplier partner to add value to c-store retailers
- Competitive and consumer trends helped create a future-focused approach for the sales organization
- Better positioned Altria as a thought leader with retailers
- Anticipated CVS’ abdication of the tobacco category
Situation
- Newly acquired refinery, bakery and retailer needed to upgrade all existing technology infrastructure
- Company also needed to implement new loyalty program to ensure continuity with retail customers
Solution
- Managed project to upgrade all existing technology including hardware, software, network, and third party systems
- Managed requirements gathering, technology sourcing, implementation and training
- Developed and implemented new loyalty program
- Implemented of a fuel pricing system, interfaced to the retail support application
- Created organizational structure and alignment for new and existing headquarter and store teams
Impact
- Project completed in 10 months versus 18 month projection – provided significant savings and visibility to the new business for senior leadership
- New loyalty program successfully implemented with minimal customer disruption
- Automating formerly manual processes improved the overall dataflow and pricing strategies
- Significant knowledge transfer and back-up provided during transition as new people engaged
Situation
- MARS Retail Group, operator of M&M World® Stores, Ethyl M® Chocolates and MY M&M’S® online business
- Multiple marketing business units were operating independently from an IT perspective and did not have platform for growth
Solution
- Conducted IT / Business discovery
- Identified opportunities to better leverage existing applications
- Recommended the elimination of applications that could be replaced by leveraging capabilities of more robust applications
- Prioritized all projects taking into consideration cost, effort, risk, and benefit
Impact
- Streamlined applications by leveraging capabilities of SAP and JDA in both retail and on-line businesses – efficiencies in excess of $1 million
- Implemented workforce management application, saving over $1.2 million
- Built and integrated new M&M World Store in London
- Revamped infrastructure of My M&Ms website to improve scalability
- Created new organization structure and roles in IT to support on-going business needs
Situation
- Retailer working to get systems and processes in compliance to prepare for PCI audit
Solution
- Conducted several comprehensive PCI “mock audits” and scans
- Developed and facilitated training and recommendations
- Provided support for implementation and selection of final auditor
Impact
- Retailer received their Report on Compliance from Qualified Security Assessor
- Mock audits saved client significant time and money
Situation
- Retailer switching to a new credit card processor for both company-operated and licensed locations
Solution
- Provided full project management support during entire multi-year credit network conversion
- Conducted site surveys, analyzed results and made recommendations for upgrades
- Upgraded sites as part of the conversion
- Created installation scripts and coordinated installation teams
- Created all communication to keep all parties aware of the process
- Also upgraded existing site infrastructure and POS to support PCI compliance
Impact
- Project led to a significant reduction in credit card processing costs
- Project completed on time and under budget
- Conversion finished prior to contractual deadline
Situation
- Operator of convenience stores and travel plazas needed new back office system
- Company had multiple business lines including construction, warehousing, and specialty retail
Solution
- Conducted discovery and gap analysis to determine business needs
- Determined viable enterprise solution for all businesses eliminating the need to maintain multiple business systems
- Implemented business alignment to prepare for enterprise implementation
- Leveraged reconciliation processes to allow for the elimination of manual performance tracking sheets, streamlining the entire accounting process
- Developed the plan and built team to accomplish the conversion from legacy systems
Impact
- Sourced best-fit back office solution for client
- Back office system significantly improved data visibility
- Automating formerly manual processes improved the overall dataflow
- Significantly sped up process of daily store reporting
- Implemented best practices in merchandise management process
Situation
- Develop and facilitate all intro and advanced category management courses for the National Association of Convenience Stores
- Create online versions of category management courses
Solution
- Interviews with industry executives
- Benchmark best-in-class category management techniques and processes
- Develop all course material and training classes
Impact
- Deliver courses in partnership with NACS
- Courses attended by over 500 retailers and suppliers to date