CASE STUDY

Taking Inventory
Leading Latin American Retailer Almacenes Exito Leverages JDA Solutions to
Optimize Inventory Levels, Increase Customer Service

Almacenes Exito S.A.

Almacenes Exito S.A.
Fast Facts
Industry
Grocery and Hypermarket Retailer
Headquarters
Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia
Description
Almacenes Exito is a leading retailer in
South America, operating more than 114
grocery and hypermarket stores in 45 cities
across Colombia, as well as a successful online
business.
Number of Employees
Over 48,000

Business Challenge
With more than 255 grocery and hypermarket outlets to manage, Almacenes
Exito realized it needed to address inventory management challenges with
new technology that would enable centralized replenishment, more efficient
processes for meeting customer demand, as well as support the companys
rapid expansion.

Business Solutions
JDA Softwares replenishment
solutions have allowed our company
to free-up important resources that
were previously devoted to inventory
management. Moreover, the new
system has increased customer
satisfaction by reducing out-of-stocks,
avoiding lost sales and customers due
to breaks in the supply chain. We have
been able to maintain our position as a
leading retailer in South America with
the support of JDA.
-Jos Londoo,
chief information officer,
Almacenes Exito

JDA Advanced Store Replenishment

JDA Advanced Warehouse Replenishment

Business Benefits

Enhanced supply chain visibility

Centralized replenishment processes
Better and quicker decision-making abilities through improved data
Optimized inventory levels
Increased customer service levels
Reduced days of inventory
Improved demand forecast accuracy
Improved supplier partnerships
Enhanced buyer and inventory manager productivity

Quantifiable Benefits
10-percent increase in inventory turnover
60-percent reduction in overstocks
12-percent decrease in out-of-stocks

Almacenes Exito S.A. is a leading Latin

American retailer, managing multiple
grocery and hypermarket chains located
in 45 cities throughout Colombia. The
company operates 59 Exito hypermarkets,
40 Ley grocery stores, 11 Pomona
supermarkets, four Qprecious discount
stores, as well as a successful online
business.
Established in 1949 as a small clothing
company, Almacenes Exito has expanded
into a multi-channel retailer that
provides a variety of food products at
its hypermarkets and supermarkets,
including produce, dairy and meat
products, baked goods and beverages.
The companys hypermarket chain sells
clothing for men, women and children, as
well as home accessories and electronics.
When Almacenes Exito acquired Carulla
Vivero S.A., its chief competitor and
second-largest retailer in Colombia,
Almacenes Exito was faced with the
challenge of managing an additional 155
grocery and convenience stores located
throughout the country.

Addressing Inventory
Management Challenges

JDA Solutions Deliver

Immediate Results

With more than 255 grocery and

hypermarket outlets to manage,
Almacenes Exito realized it needed
to address inventory management
challenges with new technology that
would enable centralized replenishment,
as well as ensure better and more efficient
processes for meeting customer demand.
In addition to optimizing inventory levels
and improving demand forecast accuracy,
Almacenes Exito required scalable, bestof-breed solutions that could adapt to
the companys rapid growth in a global
market.

According to Almacenes Exito Chief

Information Officer Jos Londoo, the
projects success can be attributed to the
companys commitment and support.

To support its rapid expansion, the

retailer replaced its in-house applications
with JDA Advanced Warehouse
Replenishment (AWR) and JDA Advanced
Store Replenishment (ASR) solutions to
heighten visibility into its supply chain.
After conducting a pilot study with ASR,
the retailer implemented the software at
all of its stores in a record eight-month
timeframe.

We immediately started seeing results

from the software implementation thanks
to the on-time installation of AWR and
ASR, Londoo said. One of the most
important changes was the centralization
of replenishment. This provided us with
better and quicker decision-making
abilities, and was a major improvement
over our previous purchasing process in
which buying decisions were influenced
by suppliers on a store-by-store basis.
Inventory levels across all of the retailers
selling channels were positively impacted
by the centralized replenishment system,
resulting in improved data and the
fulfillment of logistic agreements with
the companys suppliers. Almacenes Exito
leveraged JDA Softwares solutions to
increase inventory turnover by 10 percent

Improving Customer Service

Levels
Having a dynamic forecasting system
allows us to react rapidly to customer
demand, Londoo explained. The system
also enables us to establish cyclical
forecasts to better plan for seasonal
fluctuations in demand. Weve been
able to reduce our inventory investment
while at the same time ensuring that our
store shelves are stocked with the right
merchandise to minimize lost sales and
improve customer satisfaction.

and reduce overstocks by 60 percent. The

retailer also realized a 12-percent decrease
in out-of-stocks as a result of the new
technology.
In addition, Almacenes Exitos buyers
and inventory managers were able to
boost productivity, leading to increased
customer service levels and market
penetration.

WEB
jda.com
EMAIL
info@jda.com

In addition, Almacenes Exito has

benefitted from reduced days of inventory
and is now able to more effectively plan
and execute strategies for sales support
during seasonal campaigns with the
support of JDA.
Almacenes Exitos supplier partnerships
have also improved. By leveraging the
JDA solutions, the retailer is successfully
continuing collaboration programs
with several key suppliers, according to
Londoo.

AMERICAS

EUROPE

US
+1 800 479 7382
Canada & Latin America
+1 480 308 3555

UK & Northern Europe

+44 (0) 1344 354500
France & Southern Europe
+33 (0)1 56 79 27 00

JDAs replenishment solutions have

allowed our company to free-up
important resources that were previously
devoted to inventory management,
Londoo added. Moreover, the
new system has increased customer
satisfaction by reducing out-of-stocks,
avoiding lost sales and customers due to
breaks in the supply chain. We have been
able to maintain our position as a leading
retailer in South America with the support
of JDA.

About JDA Software Group, Inc.

JDA Software Group, Inc., The Supply
Chain Company, offers the broadest
portfolio of supply chain, retail
merchandising, store operations and allchannel commerce solutions to help
companies manage the flow of goods
from raw materials to finished products
and into the hands of consumers. JDAs
deep industry expertise and innovative
cloud platform help companies optimize
inventory, labor and customer service
levels. As a result, JDA solutions have
become the standard for the worlds
leading retailers, manufacturers and
distributors.

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09.02.10