White Wind Retailer Deploys Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Retail POS

St. Petersburg, Russia, June 28, 2014 --(PR.com)-- KORUS Consulting completed the launch of Microsoft Dynamics for Retail on Dynamics AX 2012 for White Wind, a Russian chain of electronics and digital goods (Digital.ru). The system functions in all 149 stores; all the old cash register machines were replaced with advanced monoblock units with a unified Microsoft Dynamics Retail POS interface; as a result, the performance of check-out clerks grew manifold.

Implementation of Microsoft Dynamics Retail POS became the final stage of White Wind project to be 100% based on a unified Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 platform. Now the retailer is fully prepared to efficiently put the omni-channel strategy into action. Purchase, payment, and receipt of goods in online as well as offline stores, a common loyalty system, individual discount systems, multiple payment options, flexible credit facilities – all this has already been brought into life due to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

In the beginning of 2012, the management of White Wind declared their ambitious plans to increase a number of stores in the chain from 106 to 300 by 2015, to achieve an annual turnover of more than 1 billion US dollars, and go public in the end of 2015. To achieve these goals, it was essential to facilitate technological development of the chain and to support the new business requirements for the upcoming five–six years.

White Wind started looking for a powerful system which would effectively deal with the soaring volume of information and promote improvement of the sales process in the company to the maximum extent possible.

Initially, the management at White Wind considered SAP and Oracle platforms - key Microsoft Dynamics competitors –– to serve as the basis for their business. However, the crosscutting features designed to ensure efficient retail chain management led White Wind to a confident decision in favour of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

White Wind used to have several different systems for front- and back office operations, and lack of real-time interaction between the systems, that is, impossibility to promptly respond to events alone resulted in loss of several hundred thousand rubles every week. Implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 allowed to solve that pressing problem.

The check-out clerks at White Wind had to operate several systems with different interfaces at once. Each and every operation – cash or non-cash payment, return of purchased goods, etc. – required multiple “clicks” and took quite a long time. Therefore during high-demand periods people had to stand in queues before check-out. Implementation of the new system helped speed up the service, which is one of the key competitive advantages.

White Wind takes into account several hundred indices regular for business analysis, including obvious ones, like incoming traffic, conversion, average basket, marginality by store, as well as more field-specific ones, like the weather, buying activity index, or passing-by traffic. A powerful BI system was built within Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 which would take into consideration all the indices measured by the company and ensure fast data processing.

The support of the most up-to-date technologies for retail, such as monoblock units with touch screens for cash operations, contactless payment (NFC), customer identification by RFID code, unified loyalty systems and discount programmes for all distribution channels, use of in-house and partner gift certificates, credit sales, and Trade-In sales.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 platform made it feasible to implement all the technologies listed above in the chain, while the system functionality intended for building a full-featured omni-channel model served as an impetus for the company to set new goals with regard to sales process improvement.

Generally, it would be enough to say just one phrase: ERP, POS, BI, E-commerce, omni-channel strategies in one and the same solution – this is what a retail chain of today needs to succeed, and all this is available in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

By having deployed the solution, White Wind also ensured the following benefits:

· White Wind call center and online store of were connected to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Hotline specialists using the system can consult calling customers on goods’ availability and prices. All online orders made on the company web page are also processed in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
· The enterprise information portal was created on the basis of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. KORUS Consulting team has significantly extended the functionality of the portal and assigned a number of functions of a standard store to it, having developed a full-fledged Enterprise Portal on the basis of Microsoft Dynamics AX.
· Cash accounting and reporting, cash collection, goods flow, Trade In operations. Credit facilities were designed from scratch, and credit-granting mechanisms were developed.
· Payment management and loyalty card / gift certificate management were automated on the basis of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Retail POS, and such blocks as marking of shelves and goods, along with price tag management and analytical reports by store were implemented.

At the moment all White Wind stores are working in the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 system, and Microsoft Dynamics Retail POS is installed at every check out desk. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 platform objectively helped White Wind to address a number of strong challenges and ensured a technological advantage facilitating quantitative and qualitative growth.