Harvey Nichols is rolling out supply chain and electronic
point of sale systems to support its expansion plans and improve
stock management across its five UK stores.
The department store is installing Itim's Chameleon Epos system and
Grantfort Computer Systems' Merret supply chain product in a
project worth £2m.
Chameleon will operate in a Windows 2000 environment and the supply
chain software will run on IBM iSeries servers, offering "tried and
tested stability", said Martin Schofield, head of IT at Harvey
Nichols.
The overhaul will accommodate the company's growth from a single
site to a multi-store chain across the UK. The two products will
help Harvey Nichols improve customer service by making near
real-time stock information visible at the till point. The software
will allow Harvey Nichols to deliver chip and Pin capabilities. It
will also provide an infrastructure that will allow for further
expansion in the UK.
Schofield said it was essential for the company to implement
technology to control and reduce revenue overheads. "Sensible
licensing arrangements and optional maintenance payments that yield
functional enhancement were stated as project prerequisites," he
said.
The roll-out of the Epos system across 360 tills is expected to be
completed in time for Christmas. The supply chain system is due to
go live by April 2005.