ZETES CASE STUDY |Selfridges

Selfridges tracks stock-on-loan with bespoke data capture solution from Zetes

The Industry Sector : Department store retailer

The Business Need : Greater tracking and control of items out on loan

The Solution : Bespoke, web-based system linked to handheld computers
The Technology : Zetes’ Stock-on-Loan solution/12 Symbol MC70 handheld mobile computers + CF Memory Flash card

The Benefits: Simplification & streamlining of items on loan & Real-time data which can be manipulated for business intelligence

Company Overview

Selfridges is a world-class department store retailer and renowned for offering the ultimate shopping experience.  From designer fashion, sumptuous food and drink, and cutting edge technology, to luxurious homewares and everything in between, Selfridges is committed to providing customers with only the very best.

Selfridges’s Challenge – Improving the lending process of stock to the media and visual merchandising teams

Since opening its doors in 1909 Selfridges has wowed Oxford Street shoppers with its extravagant and striking window displays. Internationally renowned for its innovative visual merchandising, Selfridges’ high visual standards extend in-store to its mannequin styling and other themed displays. Products from every department, from menswear and accessories, through to home wares and electronics, are brought together to transform the stores’ 500,000 square feet of retail space.

In addition to stock being used in visual merchandising, thousands of pounds worth of stock is lent to the media. On a daily basis, Selfridges’ press office fulfils a vital role in the distribution and loaning of items to magazine editors and stylists for use in photo shoots. Managing this internal and external lending has traditionally been via a paper-based system but the sheer volume of products being loaned had resulted in the system becoming inefficient. As users struggled to manage four-part documents, the system began to lose its integrity.

“From a business perspective the system we were operating contained too many risks and we needed to minimise them,” explains Andy Wood, Selfridges’ National Audit and Loss Prevention manager. “We routinely lent high-value products to the press with little more than a paper record and a simple spreadsheet to track its return. It simply wasn’t sufficient when a single item could have a retail value of £20,000, as in the case of a gold belt we recently loaned a fashion editor.”

In January 2007, Selfridges began to look for alternative ways to track and record stock out on loan. Following a detailed review of requirements from the press office and visual merchandising teams a decision was made to replace the existing system with an advanced web-based solution that could scan and collect product data via  handheld mobile computers. This would enable the different departments to select and record product information in a timely and efficient way. Being web-based, the system would also allow department managers to remotely monitor and assess the value of stock out on loan.

Whilst Selfridges had a clear specification of the new system, they found that there was no solution to purchase. The company turned to Zetes, a  systems integrator of data capture solutions and provider of its stock-auditing solution, to discuss the possibility of building a bespoke loan system. Andy says, “Zetes have worked with us for more than 10 years and we have developed a good relationship during this time. They had never let us down in the past and we were confident that they could deliver a tailor-made solution to transform our lending process.”

The Solution – Integrated ‘Stock-on-Loan’ via handheld mobile devices

In April, just three months after initial talks with Zetes, Selfridges went live with an advanced Stock-on-Loan solution.  Developed by Zetes, Stock-on-Loan is a web-based system that uses Motorola’s MC70  mobile computers to record and track products used by the press office and visual merchandising teams.

Users are able to roam the store and input a range of data into the computers. Press officers for instance, are able to record individual stock keeping units, location sites, what publication or media outlet it has been sent to, when it was sent and when it is due to be returned.  Return dates are pre-programmed for 14 days ahead and should the item not be returned, the system automatically alerts the press office. At the end of the working day, any new information held within the mobile computer is transferred to the main system via a cradle device.

A key concern for Selfridges was how the system could accommodate the store’s large volume of individual stock keeping units.  Since Selfridges carries more than two million individual lines, Zetes upgraded the MC70’s standard memory with an SD card to effectively manage the high volume.

The Benefits – Streamlined process to tracking and recording items on loan

Selfridges began to see tangible benefits from the Stock-on-Loan system from the first entry into the mobile computers.  But the most significant insight has been revealed over the first six weeks of its deployment. Until the installation of Stock-on-Loan, Selfridges could only estimate the value of goods being used in visual merchandising and press office activities.

On a day-to-day basis users have responded well to the system. Despite limited technical experience, the press office has quickly adapted to the technology and report considerable savings in terms of time and efficiency.  Teresa Gladwell, Loss Prevention manager at Selfridges, says, “Stock-on-Loan has dramatically reduced the cost and disruption of recording and tracking items for loan. With the ability to enter requests directly from the relevant department, product requests are processed more quickly and more accurately.”

“Inevitably, stylists require the latest fashions and must have accessories at a moment’s notice.  Whilst we want fashion editors to turn to Selfridges, we also need to ensure that the item information is recorded, to minimise product loss. With Stock-on-Loan the press officer can grab a mobile computer and create a delivery note as they scan the product. The whole process just takes a few minutes,” says Teresa.

Another key benefit of the system is the ability to extract and analyse data from the items being lent. As a web-based solution, data is easily extracted from the Stock-on-Loan system and exported into Excel. For the first time, the press office is able to analyse information relating to stock out on loan. Over time they will be able to predict peaks for demand and analyse which magazines are more likely to request stock.  Ultimately, the business intelligence extrapolated from the system will enable press officers to better equip themselves for future events and form the basis for ongoing PR strategies.

Commenting on Stock-on-Loan’s impact in visual merchandising, Teresa says, “Without a doubt, our paper-based system was ill-equipped to cope with tracking the items used to dress more than 5,000 mannequins. Our business is driven by trends, seasonal changes and customer reactions, Selfridges store windows and visual merchandising must reflect these. The challenge we face is managing these changes effectively and Stock-on-Loan now makes this possible.”