Autumn 2006

Specialty Retail Group, the company behind retail outlets such as Suits You and Racing Green, says it has cut its order to delivery cycle times by up to two weeks following the implementation of the Kewill Trade electronic trading system. SRG has also been able to optimise warehouse space and reduce associated costs by replacing warehouse picking with supplier picking on some lines.

Kewill Trade facilitates the exchange of business-critical documents between retailers, suppliers and carriers. The system accommodates all elements of data movement for purchase orders, delivery instructions, despatches and stock availability declarations.

SRG's orders are raised in its Futura back-office system and transmitted to Kewill Trade. Suppliers can view orders via the web and declare availability. SRG then decides on allocation to stores in advance of delivery and notifies suppliers, who are sent pick lists so that they can plan ahead and organise picking, packing, labelling and barcoding.

There have reportedly been notable reductions in delivery times into stores from the Far East.

Specialty Retail Group runs around 80 stores across the UK and Ireland. Its head office and distribution centre are at Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.