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CLIENT CASE STUDY

US footwear company: Innovative ERP apparel and footwear solution using
SAP HANA

Greater Control, Better Decisions

A US Footwear Company needed a new ERP platform to accelerate operations and enable future growth. Drawing upon its global reach, knowledge of local markets and experience with leading edge SAP technologies, Accenture implemented SAP Apparel and Footwear Solution (AFS) ERP for 16 countries within 18 months. Accenture also leveraged SAP HANA and SAP HANA-Live for real time analytics-driven business intelligence, marking this as the first time SAP HANA and SAP HANA-Live had ever been implemented on SAP AFS. The newer, more scalable platform will give the company greater control over its supply chain and enable productivity gains, optimized costs, stronger data reporting and better business decision-making. These outcomes will contribute to the company’s profitability and ability to pursue future growth and expansion into new markets.

Scalable ERP to Meet Ambitious Goals

After setting ambitious goals to double sales and expand into new markets, the company needed a scalable enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform to provide appropriate controls for enterprise risk and compliance requirements across its global supply chain and within finance. The new platform would also need to support businesses as they came online. The company chose SAP Apparel and Footwear Solution (AFS) for its industry-specific solution and recognized that Accenture as a business partner, would help ensure that the complex transition went smoothly and met an aggressive time schedule.

How We Got It Done

The Accenture team included specialists from the Products industry group, Accenture Digital and Accenture Delivery Centers. Collaborating closely with the client, the team led the implementation of SAP AFS ERP 6.6 for 16 countries within 18 months from early planning stages through testing, deployment and employee training.

Accenture also drew upon relevant SAP experience to incorporate SAP HANA and SAP HANA Live into the platform to provide more efficient and nimble analytics-driven business intelligence in real time. This was the first implementation of SAP AFS to incorporate HANA and HANA Live.

As the primary integrator, Accenture utilized Accenture Advanced Enterprise Solutions for Fashion, a set of fashion industry solutions to accelerate project work and gain efficiencies during the analysis, design and build phases of the ERP, this included:

  • Establishing a starting point using common industry configurations.
  • Using pre-developed materials and re-usable deliverables based upon industry leading standards.
  • Providing early access and visibility to the system and materials so the client could preview the solution.
  • Utilizing an accelerated approach with focused efforts on the client’s distinctive processes during the Design and Build phases.

To further accelerate the project completion, Accenture utilized its Global Delivery Center in Bengaluru, India to perform approximately 50 percent of the work. Once the implementation is complete, Accenture will train the new system’s users to use SAP and transition practice knowledge to allow them to use and support the new system and reap its benefits

Real-time Supply Chain Visibility

The new ERP platform will strengthen and evolve the company’s operations by giving it complete control over its supply chain (including supply planning, financial operations and inventory). The company will have real-time and reliable visibility into product cost, upcharges and variances at the component level, which will be essential to analyzing costs and identifying new opportunities for savings and growth. The platform’s standardized and automated business processes will drive opportunities to further reduce costs and also redeploy employee focus to strategic priorities.

Furthermore, the new platform will improve data reporting with both speed and quality to enable better business decision-making. A well-designed technology platform in conjunction with excellent data will allow the company to leverage integrated global information that will help business-driven actions, including improvements in accounts receivable, reduced accounts payables and more efficient inventory utilization. Additionally, the platform will establish the base for near term expansion goals into additional technology projects such as advanced supply chain planning and omni-channel eCommerce. As a result of these gains, the company will be more efficient and profitable when entering new markets and benefit from a lower total cost of ownership in maintaining its new global ERP platform.

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