In only a few decades, s.Oliver Group has become one of Europe’s leading fashion houses. Due to the different requirements of the individual brands (s.Oliver, TRIANGLE, Q/S designed by, comma, LIEBESKIND Berlin) and the vertical processes—from the design of the collections, procurement, production, and logistics through to the customer-oriented processes—the existing system landscape was being pushed to its limits. This environment was extremely heterogeneous and had been largely developed in house. In addition, growing omnichannel requirements were increasing the complexity and need for process integration. What was needed was a stable platform that would enable continuous innovation management.
The Group therefore took the decision to migrate to a new system in order to lay the foundations for its digital future. The aim was to put in place homogeneous and sustainable processes. When implementing integrated standard software, cooperation between the different business units is key to the future success of the company—it is important to move from a function-based mindset to a process-based mindset. For the transformation, s.Oliver was looking for a competent consulting partner with extensive experience in both omnichannel and the fashion sector—and therefore opted for KPS as its implementation partner.
Preparing for a digital future with Digital Core
The new systems (FMS and CAR) provide the platform for the SAP-based digital transformation at s.Oliver Group. The new Digital Core supports the integration of all goods and value flows in finance, logistics, and merchandise management. It functions as a central, comprehensive, and common platform for all integrated processes and applications, allowing and facilitating collaboration and interaction between all the different areas. All business processes are mapped centrally. The resulting transparency helps s.Oliver act faster and with a greater focus on the customer. By integrating all processes, s.Oliver is able to achieve a high degree of automation, allowing it to react quickly to changing market requirements, even at short notice. Thanks to SAP FMS and CAR (with AMR and APR), s.Oliver is able to perform automated replenishment on the basis of a real-time, omnichannel requirements overview.
Rapid and professional project implementation
The migration was implemented for each brand successively while operations were ongoing. This placed considerable demands on coexistence mapping for the new and legacy systems.
KPS ensured a professional implementation that was both rapid and agile. KPS Vice President, Josef Richter, explains how they did it: “First, we analyzed the existing business processes using the KPS reference process model. Then, we defined and implemented the selected processes using rapid prototyping. s.Oliver’s user and IT departments were involved right from the start as part of a comprehensive change management process.”
According to Dirk Schneider, Chief Digital & Operating Officer at S.Oliver Group: “With the go live of s.Oliver’s merchandise management system, we have established a central basis for the digital future of s.Oliver Group. Integrated processes and a central database provide transparency and help us to act faster with a greater focus on the customer, setting the course for our future.”
