CRM ASSIGMNMENT

Submitted To: Dr. Dindayal Swain

Submitted By: Shiva Krishna Padhi

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the Write Up on CRM initiatives by Shoppers Stop , submitted to Dr. Dindayal Swain, is a record of an original work done by me based on its case reading.

USE OF CRM, ERP & SCM AT SHOPPERS STOP:

CRM:
Retail chain Shoppers Stop Ltd, is eyeing over 50 per cent sales this year from its customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. The company has also lined up an aggressive expansion plan targeting smaller towns and cities in the country. BS Nagesh, managing director and CEO of Shoppers Stop, told FE that the company has given a new direction to its CRM initiatives after it acquired a business intelligence software called Business Solutions about eight months ago. The new software helps generate intelligent data from Shopp ers Stop customer base of about 2,30,000. The company then collects this data and touches base with customers via direct mailers informing them of all new promotions that is currently on and also updates them about the upcoming events. Shoppers Stop claims that it has taken its CRM initiatives to a new height and now calls its loyalty programmes Customer Experience Management. If we find from the data that a customer had bought a pair of trousers, we tell him about a new range of shirts that we have just brought into our store

ERP:
Shoppers Stop was the first few retailers to use scanners and barcodes and completely computerise its operations. Today it is one of the few stores in India to have retail ERP (Enterprise resource planning) in place, which is the best retail planning system in the world. With the help of the ERP, they are able to open new stores faster and get information about merchandise and customers online, which reduces the time in taking quick decision.

SCM:
Understanding the importance of distribution and logistics in ensuring that merchandise is available on the shop floors has led Shoppers Stop to streamline its supply chain. The company has developed process manuals for each part of the logistics chain. These modules include vendor management, purchase order management, stock receiving systems, purchase verification and inventory buildup, fixing of price and store tags, dispatch of stocks to the retail floor and forwarding of bills for payment. If we talk about various brands then the answer is that they have a direct tie ups with different companies and companies deliver all the needed products to their door-step means deliver all the goods to every shoppers stop showroom. But there are some companies which do not provide them these services so for those they have their own carrier.

Shopper's Stop: Start Something New

Shoppers Stop is a chain of retail stores in India owned by K. Raheja Corp. It was established in 1991 and is presently spread across the nation. Shoppers Stop is considered as one stop multi brand retail outlet providing leading international and national brands in clothing for men, women and kids, accessories, cosmetics, footwear and home furnishing. Two years back in April Shoppers Stop changed its logo and adopted a new logo with a punchy tag line Start Something New.

Presently there are 27 stores in 12 cities. Shoppers Stop has been awarded the prestigious Hall of Fame and won the Emerging Market Retailer of the year award by World Retail Congress in 2008. Shoppers Stop in early 90s wanted to establish their brand as a family departmental store but now it has diversified into speciality bussiness like Crossword Bookstores, Desi Caf, Brio, Mothercare and M.A.C. Cosmetic Stores.

First Citizen Programme

At Shoppers Stop priority is given to customer convenience with customer friendly signage, alteration desk, customer service desk with gift wrapping service and off course most importantly the exclusive First Citizen Members lounge to name a few. First Citizen is one of the very significant loyalty programs of Shoppers Stop. First Citizen program has 1.5 million active members across India. With this program customers become part of the First Citizen club where they have to submit an application form along with the application fee of Rs. 150. Membership to regular customers is provided in three stages Classic Moments, Silver Age and Golden Glow. The core customer for First Citizen program fall under the age group of 16 to 40 years. Benefits come hand in hand with First Citizen program:

Customers gain reward points each time they shop at Shoppers Stop stores or shoppersstop.com Exclusive benefits & privileges Exclusive offers on purchase

Updates on various products at Shoppers Stop Exclusive cash counters which help customers to spend more time shopping than waiting in a queue

First Citizen Program contributes nearly over 50% of Shoppers Stop sales annually. The rapidly growing First Citizen Program clearly proves the fact that Shoppers Stop has been able to successfully connect with their customers through their service and special promotional offers which has converted many of them into loyal customers.

Customer Loyalty Initiatives

It is no longer enough to satisfy customers. You must delight them Philip Kotler In this fast growing and competitive retail market of India, brand positioning depends a lot on customer loyalty. And Customer loyalty is the result of well-managed customer retention program.

50% of the Shoppers Stops sales are drawn from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) initiatives. It is considered that Shoppers Stop has taken CRM to a new extent and now its loyalty programs are considered as Customer Experience Management.

Other than their key loyalty program First Citizen Program, they also offer a co-branded credit card with Citibank for their members. Shoppers Stop also introduced a loyalty program SKIDS specially for children of First Citizen club members.

Use of Technology

The ardent need of new technologies can be understood no better than Shoppers Stop. Shoppers Stop is one of those first few retail chains which introduced the use of scanners and barcodes and also encouraged the use of fully computerized operations. It is also one of those very few retail chains to have ERP (Enterprise Retail Planning), which is considered one of the

best retail planning system in the world. ERP helps in quick decision making process. With this Shoppers Stop can open new stores faster and can get necessary information about merchandise and customers online.

Shoppers Stop uses a mix of technologies and systems like JDA suite for retail business and SharePoint portal for their internal and external collaboration. It also uses Microsoft Exchange and Communication Server for messaging. Technologies like Oracle Financials is used for financial accounting, NetApps' SAN and NAS technologies for storage consolidation and virtualization, Business Objects for reporting, blade servers and multi-core servers with VM Ware for application deployment, and Wi-Fi networks in offices. For stores and distribution centers they use operational activities with Symbol wireless scanners.

Shoppers Stop replaced its legacy system in 1998 and selected JDA. JDA solutions ensured consistency and uniformity of fixtures across all its stores thus enhancing the efficiently and helping the chain grow profitably as well as ensuring the companys success particularly that of its new hypermarket business. JDA solutions have helped Shoppers Stop in many ways:

Optimizing floor space and visualizing the layout prior to construction Inventory planning improvement through planned and systematic forecasting Provide a high magnitude of analysis and reporting Efficiently manage high inventory turns and volumes Improve the management of metrics, including service and inventory levels

Shoppers Stop also insists on the use of PeopleSoft HRMS, business intelligence solutions, e learning solutions, customer feedback systems and mobile point-of-sale systems.

Shoppers Stop and Other Retail Chains

Shoppers Stop is considered as a multi brand retail outlet because of its variety of products meant for the entire family. The vast and diverse range of products available in Shoppers Stop

is rare to find in any of the retail chains of India. Again under this vast range they offer different categories and style which caters to the need of customers from various economic slabs.

Shoppers Stop has converted the concept of retail into an experience, an indulgence. To gain an insight into the international practice of customer service and new retail concepts, Shoppers Stop became the member of Inter Continental Group of Departmental Stores (IGDS) becoming the only Indian member among the 29 other celebrated retailers of the world.

In India Shoppers Stop acted as a launch pad for non-apparel brands like Walt Disney, Tencel, Clarins and Elizabeth Arden.

Shoppers Stop is considered to be a pioneer in departmental one stop shop concept and has brought retail revolution in India so it understands the customer psyche better than many of its competitors.

Reference:
http://loyaltysquare.com/shoppers_stop.php http://www.financialexpress.com/news/shoppers-stop-to-implement-new-crminitiatives/67624