E-City, First Super-Specialty Electronics Store in the Middle East, Uses Retail Solutions from SAP

Al Batha Group's New Retail Venture in Dubai Relies on SAP(R) for Retail Solutions to Manage and Grow Business

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates and WALLDORF, Germany, June 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the successful implementation of the SAP(R) for Retail solution portfolio, providing integrated end-to-end retail applications for Al Batha Group's new electronics retail venture, E-City. Al Batha Group, one of the largest business conglomerates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), required a retail-specific solution as a strategic IT foundation to grow along with the E-City business. The successful implementation of the SAP software was completed in only four months, with the support of a dedicated SAP task force.

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Al Batha Group, an SAP customer since 1999, recently launched E-City as the first super-specialty electronics store in the Middle East. The store offers world-class customer service and sells a wide range of high-end electronic items, including laptops, televisions and telecommunications products such as mobile phones. The store recently opened in Wafi Mall, and the company has plans to open additional stores in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, as well as across the UAE and Middle East over the next several years.

E-City is using the SAP(R) Point-of-Sale (SAP POS) application, which offers unprecedented flexibility to address retail-specific needs such as pricing, discounts, promotions, tender types, layaways and returns. The application offers powerful back-office functions for in-depth store-level management and reporting. Supply chain efficiency is improved as the customized reporting allows E-City management to closely monitor and analyze the movement of stock, ensuring the tools needed to manage product demand successfully.

"Al Batha has been working with SAP for nearly a decade, so when it came time to select a strategic IT solution for our new retail venture, SAP was a natural fit," said John Willimott, managing director of Al Batha Retail Group, which includes E-City. "The integrated, end-to-end retail solution from SAP enables staff at our new retail stores to consolidate all services from the back-office to point-of-sale, while providing fast, effective and efficient service to customers. Additionally, SAP POS enables us to respond immediately to changing business needs and competitive pressures by quickly implementing new business functionality or transaction types."

Mobile POS terminals allow E-City staff to scan a customer's basket goods and print a product slip that the customer can then take to the cashier and pay immediately, ensuring that queues in-store are minimal. In addition, the 'Info Stations' situated in the store allow staff to check stock position and status, and create sales orders that are automated to the back office.

"The SAP for Retail set of solutions is integrated with Al Batha's existing SAP platform by providing a single view across the entire enterprise," said Saji Oommen, general manager of IT, Al Batha Group. "SAP is helping to streamline the purchasing needs of both the head office and the stores while providing business intelligence, customer relationship management, planning tools and RFID solutions, all of which will help enable E-City to achieve its business goals."

The SAP solutions help ensure that customers will enjoy a consistent retail experience as the E-City systems are all integrated, from cash registers to return points. The home-delivery and installation tracking systems help to monitor compliance to the delivery schedules committed with the customers.

"As one of the largest private business groups in the UAE, Al Batha is recognized for its innovative technological approach to retail," said Sergio Maccotta, managing director, SAP Middle East and North Africa. "SAP is pleased to provide the company's new retail venture, E-City, with our robust retail solutions, which help ensure reliability, scalability and provide a business platform which seamlessly integrates data from the back office to point-of-sale."

The SAP for Retail solution portfolio provides a set of leading edge solutions that helps retailers of all sizes drive a better return on their investment. Offering an end-to-end set of solutions supporting merchandise lifecycle, corporate operations, shopper insight, supply chain and shopper experience, SAP helps retailers run a clear enterprise by providing the insight necessary to understand their shoppers, as well as the flexibility and efficiency required to execute in a cost-effective, sustainable manner.

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