Soft Solutions announces that MAF Carrefour went into production with ibs CATEGORY to enhance capabilities for their category management strategies, to provide continuity throughout the category management and buying process of the company. The extension to include ibs CATEGORY accelerated Carrefour´s business integration of its buying centers and will give them a better visibility about their category performances and tracking their actual purchases and supplier negotiations versus targets set.
MAF Carrefour has selected Soft Solutions ibs CATEGORY Management after using efficiently ibs DEALS since 2004 to manage its vendor negotiations purchases. The project started for Dubai and will expand in the next stages for the other countries of the group. The study phase was launched on September 2007 and it was delivered to MAF Carrefour and went into full production on August 2008.
ibs DEALS manages the purchase negotiations for more than 4000 vendors in seven countries, and generated more than 14000 contracts in 2007. The acquisition of ibs CATEGORY in addition to ibs DEALS from Soft Solutions´ Suite will enable MAF Carrefour to strategically manage their categories and supplier negotiations in a common solution across the company.
"Soft Solutions is a partner who is reactive and capable of addressing our category management business needs rapidly. Their multiple client references, project methodology and the professional commitment of their team were key success factors in our project." Comments an official source from MAF Carrefour. "We greatly appreciate working with the Soft Solutions´ team, whose true passion for the retail business and understanding of our strategic challenges assisted us enormously during this legal transition," adds the source.
"The success of this project can be attributed to good teamwork and professionalism from both the MAF Carrefour and Soft Solutions teams. Key user involvement from the beginning of the project was also a major factor in accelerating the implementation and adoption of our solution," says Nehme Taouk, CEO of Soft Solutions. "We are confident that we meet their requirements in terms of business, time, expertise and quality due to our product maturity and experience in delivering complex projects the past 20 years," adds Taouk.
ABOUT SOFT SOLUTIONS
Soft Solutions is a leading provider in global retail intelligent solutions in merchandise management and decision support. Its clients are multi–divisional, multi–format Tier 1 retailers and manufacturers including Carrefour, CVS, Canadian Tire Retail, Capelli New York, Mosmart, Auchan, Group Louis Delhaize, B&Q, Kingfisher, Pinault–Printemps–Redoute, and Galeries Lafayette. With consistent delivery of measurable top and bottom line business results, Soft Solutions is uniquely positioned to provide global best practices and industry–leading solutions for the fast paced, competitive environment of retailers worldwide. For more information, please connect to www.ibs–softsolutions.com.
ABOUT MAF CARREFOUR
The Carrefour MAF Hypermarkets spread over the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Oman and Kuwait. Established by MAF Holding Company, the hypermarket chain entered into a joint venture with France–based Carrefour, the second largest retailer in the world. MAF Carrefour will open 20 new hypermarkets in the region by 2011.
