In retail, the greatest burden is maintaining records for tens of thousands of products and managing the associated tasks. Storing static data alone is not enough: inventory and procurement must also be managed, and promotions supported.
The Challenge
Auchan is one of Hungary’s leading FMCG retailers. Its product range is exceptionally broad and extensive: thousands of products enter its systems every month, while at least as many are removed. This requires the listing of approximately one hundred thousand products annually and the transfer of their data across systems.
Each product can have a wide variety of associated data: name, pack size, allergen information, promotional prices, and numerous other attributes that are important to customers or the business, or legally required to be displayed.
Without a supporting system capable of consolidating data stored in multiple systems and received from suppliers, displaying it in a unified interface, and forwarding it to the appropriate organizational units, this task is almost impossible—or at least highly challenging and resource-intensive.
The xFLOWer Solution
Based on our client’s requirements, we set the following objective: to connect all existing systems using xFLOWer and automate every process that could be automated.
Our first step was to understand every detail of our client’s operations, as this was essential to optimizing and redesigning processes to a high standard.
Because xFLOWer can establish data connections between different systems, with workflow serving as an intermediary, numerous M2M (machine-to-machine, or system-to-system) automations can be implemented.
Process Overview
xFLOWer receives information from the product database specifying exactly which data must be collected for each product. Initially, the product manager or supplier provides these data items, generally once or whenever changes occur. The required forms are generated automatically for each product based on the product database. This involves hundreds of different data types, and xFLOWer begins the product listing process by collecting them.
The data then undergoes a validation process. As part of capacity and other checks, the product being replaced must first be phased out of the product database, and its data compared with that of the incoming product. This large volume of data must be displayed on a single screen so that, whenever human intervention is required, users can conveniently access all necessary information through one unified interface.
Based on predefined rules, the system automatically selects the people involved in validation and determines the decision-making levels. During validation, it automatically flags allergens contained in the products and checks capacities. At the end of validation, all data and files must be transferred automatically to the product master database.
If the system detects missing data during validation, or a participant reports an omission, xFLOWer first attempts to retrieve the missing information—including images—from a so-called “brandbank.” If this is unsuccessful, it automatically generates a form requesting the missing product information and sends it to the supplier or another responsible person for correction.
Both suppliers and colleagues receive automatic email notifications about any changes that affect them.
These processes are carried out through multiple system integrations, with the xFLOWer process engine controlling the workflows and transferring data across systems.
Precise Execution
Process deadlines are critical because the systems involved also control the stores’ daily operations. The speed and reliability of the interfaces are therefore particularly important. Once a product listing has been approved, it must pass through every relevant system within a maximum of 24 hours. xFLOWer completes this within the specified deadline.
Approximately 200 participants are involved across the processes. In addition to managing interactions between systems, an individual process may require the coordination of several dozen people.
Another important feature is that the system also manages listings by product type. For example, if a particular yogurt is available in 12 flavors, the system combines them into a single approval step after automatic validation. This means the approver can approve otherwise identical products in one step rather than 12 separate times, saving both time and effort. Naturally, these cases are defined in advance, since products within a group that initially appear identical may still differ. In such cases, individual product approval remains necessary, and each product must be approved separately.
Conclusion
The workflow-based product listing system developed for our client manages and consolidates a large volume and wide variety of product data across multiple databases and systems while meeting tight deadlines. The system has now been operating to our client’s satisfaction for more than a year. With xFLOWer, a problem that was previously cumbersome and resource-intensive to address can now be managed comprehensively and largely automatically.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Client:
Auchan
Project objective:
Product listing with a workflow system
Start of collaboration
2020