Dutch Retailer

Challenges

To optimize the speed and efficiency of its supply chain, a leading Dutch discount store chain deployed SAP Logistics across its business. The company, which operates 600 stores in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany, generates annual revenues of $1.5 billion. The first phase of the SAP rollout took place in the Netherlands, where several hundred employees and logistics outsourcing partners were migrated onto the new system. While the SAP deployment went smoothly, many end users struggled to adapt to the technology change, leading to concerns that key processes may be negatively impacted. To address this issue, and to streamline future SAP deployments in other European countries, the retailer built a structured SAP training program for end-users being migrated onto the new platform.

“Logistics is mission critical for us, so everyone needs to master SAP before it goes live,” said the retailer’s program manager. “The question we faced was how to train several thousand staff and outsourcing partners in multiple countries on SAP quickly, effectively and at the lowest possible cost to our business.”

Solutions

Based on a recommendation from SAP delivery partner Capgemini, the retailer evaluated Assima solutions to solve their training challenges. “We evaluated a number of competing training solutions, but Assima was the one that really stood out,” said the Program Manager.

The company’s Assima solution comprises three key components: Assima Cloning, Assima Digital Assistant and Assima Analyze. The project team used the Assima Training Suite to clone their live SAP Logistics system and create more than 150 realistic, interactive training exercises. These were grouped into role-based courses and delivered in classrooms and online, preparing hundreds of staff across France to work with the new SAP system before it went live. The second component of the solution, Assima Assist, provides ongoing, in-application support for the organization’s SAP users. If they get stuck on a particular screen, in-app prompts help them proceed, ensuring that key processes – such as truck loading and routing – are carried out correctly, and in line with corporate best practices. The third element of the solution, Assima Analyze, provides an auditable record of employees’ progress through the training exercises. Using this technology, the organization can identify skills gaps, and ensure that all employees across the group gain the SAP skills they need.

Results and Benefits

With Assima, the retailer will train several thousand employees and outsourcing partners rapidly and efficiently in multiple countries. “Assima offers amazing efficiency benefits over traditional training methods,” said the retail program manager. “Training exercises can be developed quickly and cost-effectively, and the efficient mix of eLearning and classroom training minimizes ‘per-user’ training costs.”

Faster staff on-boarding

Assima training exercises help new employees get up to speed with SAP faster, minimizing the impact of employee churn. “With Assima training, we can upskill new people faster, which is a huge benefit for our business,” said the program manager. “We can also update training quickly, helping staff to make any changes to the live application immediately in their stride.”

Best practices as standard

Assima technology enabled the chain store to standardize logistics processes across its internal teams and outsourcing partners. “We wanted everyone to follow the same processes and best practices across all aspects of our logistics operations, and we’ve achieved it with Assima,” said the program manager. “We now have one system with SAP Logistics, but we also have the training and in-app guidance to ensure that it’s used the right way by everyone, however they touch the system.”

Streamlined SAP rollouts

With Assima, the retailer has successfully streamlined the deployment process for SAP in different countries. “We can easily update the Assima training exercises based on local differences in the SAP system,” noted the program manager. “We can also translate training exercises in other languages quickly and easily, which saves us a lot of administrative time.” The biggest benefit comes when the system goes live and users can work productively from day one. “In France, we didn’t have any issues at all when SAP went live, and we expect the same for all future deployments,” said the program manager. “Assima has really helped us streamline the process, and minimize risks when cutting over to SAP.”

Additional in-app intelligence

The company is also further enhancing its SAP environment with additional in-app intelligence. “We were looking at ways to put data at the heart of our decision-making process, and Assima is helping us get there”, said the program manager. “Staff are able to see the ideal processes for loading trucks and are prompted to check traffic status when they are planning delivery routes, plus additional help from with the application itself. The future is bright for our logistics operations, and it’s all being enabled by Assima technology”.