UK retailer Regatta selects Cegid cloud technology
Having successfully completed a rollout of Cegid Retail POS software across its European and North American store estate, outdoor clothing specialist Regatta is migrating from on-premises infrastructure management to the cloud, with Cegid’s cloud SaaS application. The Manchester-based retailer aims to future-proof as it continues to open new stores, by adopting cutting edge retail technology.
Background
Since 1981 outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Regatta has been catering for all those who love the great outdoors. Today Regatta sells through around 180 stores, across 11 countries, employing over 1,400 people.
The challenge
With the initial rollout of Cegid Retail to 60 stores completed in 2017, Regatta wanted to further enhance its technology capabilities with a move away from on-premises hosting of servers in favour of a SaaS model for cloud hosting. A major challenge of on-premises hosting was the management time required when updates needed to be implemented or when downtime issues occurred. It was felt a SaaS cloud solution, managed by a third party, would free up the Regatta IT team’s time, and deliver efficiency benefits across the store network. As for all retailers, server uptime and data security are major priorities, made even more challenging when international expansion is planned.
Regatta’s head office team has a strategy to build agility into the IT infrastructure so that international expansion can take place simply and cost effectively. They want to be able to set up the store technology infrastructure quickly and easily as they enter new countries, with issues such as compliance with local tax and currency issues taken care of, and hosting and data storage competently managed at every site.
The solution
In March 2020 the migration to Cegid Cloud SAAS was completed. The Cegid Retail software is hosted on Cegid’s SaaS application, removing the need to rent server storage on-site. Cegid is also providing the mechanism to manage the infrastructure and can handle all compliance activity and the necessary software updates to align to the latest product roadmap, greatly easing up the pressure on internal teams.
With Cegid managing Cegid Retail Software updates, Regatta is always in alignment with all the latest product offerings including new functionality from the Cegid roadmap.
The migration is the latest stage of a longer relationship between Regatta and Cegid. In 2016 Regatta selected Cegid Retail for its global POS solution with modules chosen to run alongside the POS software that could integrate with Regatta’s existing ERP software. This was installed across around 350 POS terminals in 170 stores across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States. Installations in the Czech Republic and Solvakia are planned for 2020.
The Cegid Retail solution has enabled Regatta to integrate replenishment, inventory management, promotions management and customer relationship management into its ERP solution. Business processes are therefore now administered on a centralised platform, eliminating the need for spreadsheets and manual processing of data. Regatta sought out a solution that would give them a single platform that could host every country’s POS and associated store functionality.
There is also now business-wide visibility of store inventory and CRM data. The replenishment and inventory management modules have helped Regatta streamline supply chain, merchandising operations and promotional activity. Thanks to the installation of the latest Cegid Retail software, Regatta maintains its strength in technology capabilities and is ready for the future. It has the CRM module to carry out personalised marketing to customers and can build its retailing services such as ‘endless aisle’ selling and Clienteling in stores. Omnichannel functionality is being planned for 2020.
The Regatta team found that Cegid was able to offer valuable international support and systems know-how during the roll out of the solution.
ResultsThanks to the Cegid Retail implementation in recent years and the current migration to cloud infrastructure hosting, Regatta is today in a strong position to continue its ambitious growth path.
“We recognised early on the need to run one solution for many international locations, rather than having to seek out a new POS system for each country we entered. With so many local currencies to deal with, tax rules and different configurations required location by location it was essential for us to partner with a specialist retail software supplier who knows the clothing retail industry and has international reach and experience. Now with cloud hosting as well, we can build further agility into the business while taking the pressure off our internal teams who are busy with everyday retailing responsibilities”.
Chris Bulmer
GROUP IT DIRECTOR AT REGATTA
