Matalan improves customer service with new in-store systems from Capgemini

The Situation

Matalan is one of the UK’s leading clothing and homewares retailers, trading from 6.5 million square feet in some 190 out-of-town stores. The technology being used within the business was more than 10 years old and was becoming a constraint on the efficiency of the company’s operation. It was decided to replace all core systems within finance, supply chain, retail and marketing in a £25 million program.

The Solution

A new customised electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) system was one of the core elements of the overall change program, and was carried out in partnership with  Capgemini as consultant, project manager and system implementer.

The Result

The new EPOS system is making strides toward achieving some of Matalan’s most pressing challenges in the key areas of customer service, responsiveness to  changing patterns of demand, staff/system interfacing and promotional effectiveness. It is also enabling Matalan to accommodate and exploit new developments in retail technology, both current and imminent, such as chip-&-pin credit cards and the use of PDAs by mobile in-store sales staff.

“Capgemini have done a magnificent job of applying the right point-of-sale technology for our fast-moving retail environment. Their consultants were able to achieve terrific  rapport with Matalan staff at all levels while challenging accepted convention and proposing stimulating and innovative new ideas of their own. The net result is a very  significant boost to our capabilities in key areas such as customer service and flexibility of response.”

— Nick Beighton, Change Management Director and Chief Information Officer, Matalan