Kiabi European Growth Story Underpinned by Manhattan Associates
Leading Value-clothing Fashion Retailer Achieves Optimised Supply Chain Execution Capability with Multi-site Deployment of Manhattan Associates Solution
PARIS and ATLANTA - March 6, 2007 - Leading supply chain solutions provider, Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), today announced that Kiabi, one of France's leading value-clothing fashion retailers, has completed its multi-site roll-out of Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management for Open Systems across its national distribution centres (NDCs) at Macon (22,000m², South-East France), Villeneuve d'Ascq (28,000m², Northern France), Dourges (33,000m², Northern France) and Madrid (Spain). Kiabi is now focusing its attention on a fifth stage of its European-wide deployment of Manhattan Associates' solution at an NDC in Tournai (24,000m2, Belgium).
Kiabi, which offers an extensive range of womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and baby clothing, employs 6,000 staff and fulfils more than 40,000 store orders every year. These orders amount to 95 million individual items and are bought by customers in Kiabi's 160+ stores across France, Spain, Italy and in the Middle East, as well as through its website. Each of its five NDCs across France, Belgium and Spain handles a specific product range enabling the multi-channel retailer to meet the supply requirements of both its store and on-line channels.
Having determined several years prior that the company's specific supply chain system infrastructure would not be robust enough to support the future expansion of the business, Kiabi made the decision to select a new warehouse management solution. Kiabi's primary objective was to achieve an optimised supply chain execution capability that would allow it to replenish each day every single item of the hundreds of thousands of items it sells across its retail operations.
Working in collaboration with leading French analyst firm CXP, Kiabi conducted a thorough review and evaluation of the different offers available on the market. The company selected Warehouse Management for Open Systems, a component of Manhattan Associates' Integrated logistics Solutions(TM), for a number of reasons. Firstly, the solution's functionality was wider and deeper than other solutions available and so few bespoke enhancements would be needed. Critically, the technical architecture was in line with Kiabi's standards, and finally, a further important consideration for Kiabi was that Manhattan Associates had a tremendous wealth of experience in the fashion industry.
The multi-site solution roll-out was initiated at the 22,000m² Macon warehouse in South-East France. Based on the Macon implementation, the Kiabi and Manhattan Associates teams designed a deployment duplication model that would facilitate and accelerate installations at other sites. Subsequently, Kiabi implemented Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management for Open Systems at its Villeneuve d'Ascq warehouse in Northern France, and then at its warehouses in Dourges and Madrid. Thanks to the duplication model, Kiabi was able to deploy the solution in only 10 days at these sites instead of the 30 days previously needed.
In terms of benefits, Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management for Open Systems solution has enabled Kiabi to optimise its warehouse operations by providing much more flexibility and accuracy. Picking waves which couldn't be amended by the old system once they'd been prepared and launched, can now be modified at any time. This capability helps Kiabi accommodate order changes right up to the time of goods despatch. In the two-year 'ramp up' period during which the system has been rolled-out, Kiabi's distribution facilities have comfortably handled a volume growth in excess of 25%. The solution has also provided Kiabi with much clearer visibility into its global supply chain operations. Finally, the implementation approach that Kiabi and Manhattan Associates have jointly taken allows Kiabi to open new sites very rapidly and therefore support the business's high growth strategy.
"New system functionality provided by Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management solution, combined with Manhattan Associates' expertise in the apparel retail sector, has allowed us to optimise our processes and improve the performance of our distribution centres," comments Beatrice Regnier, logistics organisation manager at Kiabi. "The technical architecture on which Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management for Open Systems is based corresponds to the operating environment preference of our IT department. This aspect, associated with the solution's evolution road-map, offers us a solid foundation on which to build our logistics function to support the business's future expansion."
Henri Seroux, managing director of Manhattan Associates France, commented, "We're excited to be supporting Kiabi as it pursues its strategy to become one of Europe's leading players in the value fashion retailing sector. What we can guarantee as the multi-channel retailer grows is that our solutions will grow with it. Helping Kiabi to reach its dual goals of higher efficiency and optimised service is part of our pledge to deliver an unrivalled set of Integrated Logistics solutions to the fashion retail sector."
Kiabi is currently planning a further deployment of Manhattan Associates' solution at a sixth warehouse in Northern France in two years' time.
About Kiabi
Fashion at low price! This concept was invented by Kiabi in 1978, and the brand remains closely associated to it. Today, its 160+ stores in France, Spain, Italy and the Middle-East offer quality fashion clothing and accessories for men, women, children and babies at highly competitive prices. The company aims to become the number one company in France operating in the value-clothing space. For more information, visit www.kiabi.com.
About Manhattan Associates, Inc.
Manhattan Associates® is a leading supply chain solutions provider. The company's supply chain planning, supply chain execution, business intelligence and business process platform capabilities enable its more than 1,200 customers worldwide to enhance profitability, performance and competitive advantage. For more information, please visit www.manh.com.
