Discounter Lidl has announced that it is to standardise the product-management and logistical software across the 26 countries in which it operates, LSA reports.
The standard Lidl system for stock management will now be that developed by US technology firm SAP, named HANA Retail. In a successful test, the chain transferred 100 of its Austrian outlets to the new software in an overnight switch.
Lidl is currently working with KPS Consulting to ensure a smooth transition to HANA for its international network of stores, which consists of more than 10,000 supermarkets and hypermarkets. As well as managing product supplies, the system acts as a kind of IT central nervous system, which carries out numerous in-store processes in real time.
René Sandführ, project manager for Lidl, commented, "It was crucial for us to create SAP HANA Retail, which is accelerated by a very fast platform, in order to provide operational transparency across the globe, and reduce [unnecessary] complexity, facilitating a focus on commercial activity.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
