UK. Alpha Airports Group has just completed the roll out of what it calls “a cutting edge, end-to-end IT solution which will revolutionise the way it operates”.
The firm has spent three years and invested £7.8 million in installing IRIS (Integrated Retail Information System) across its entire UK retail business. The IRIS project will replace the firm’s current operational and business systems and provide a new and efficient supply chain system across the Alpha Retail business.
One key benefit of the new system includes the increased ability to de-range slow-moving products and target sales to passenger profiles, thereby delivering an improved product range.
The company will also benefit from improved stock availability in stores and stock holding through the supply chain, with stock “˜pushed’ into stores from a central planning function for new product launches and promotions, and auto-replenishment via a central merchandise management function.
Crucially, said Alpha, by centralising these administrative tasks it leaves in-store teams free to focus on customer-facing activities and drive sales growth. Alpha Group Commercial Director David King said: “We have invested a significant amount of money in this project and are confident that it has the potential to completely transform the way we do business. Not only will it allow us to carry out essential processes such as stock replenishment more efficiently, the new technology will improve customer confidence and loyalty by keeping customer waiting times to a minimum during till processing.”
He added: “It will also enable Alpha staff at all levels to do their jobs more effectively and will allow greater flexibility, scalability and responsiveness in terms of meeting current and future company requirements.”
The technology behind IRIS is a Tier One SAP solution with the EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) provided by Torex Anker. It combines Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) with EPOS and Mobile Hand-held Terminal Devices and will deliver a fully compliant new chip and pin solution to all of Alpha’s stores. The IRIS project is the first stage of Alpha’s corporate strategy to implement Enterprise Resource Planning software, SAP, as the common platform for the Group.
