Stadium AB helps ensure smoother shopping experience for consumers

Business challenge

As a highly customer-centric company, Stadium is focused on closing the gap between customer expectation and service. In support of that vision, Stadium set out in 2007 to create a home shopping Web site, with the goal of promoting a growing product assortment. The online experience was intended to provide the same level of service and support as in physical stores.

However, the move into e-retailing introduced a number of process integration challenges for Stadium requiring both enhanced capabilities and a move towards automation and centralized management. Most integration was handled by dedicated programming and direct connections to databases or via file transfer protocol.

First and foremost, Stadium identified an immediate need to capture sales and inventory data from stores and share this with their central enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Stadium required a solution that could create and support complex process integration for e-retailing. Their new processes required cross-channel integration with a broad range of application systems, including their store operations, Web site, warehouse and ERP system. Further, the new processes needed to provide the scalability necessary to build future, larger communities of service providers as the company grows internationally.

Solution

Stadium selected IBM to provide the process integration platform as the backbone to their multi-channel retail program.

Sterling B2B Integrator has fully integrated 14 different internal and external processes, including the company’s essential corporate systems, such as the Web site and ERP for customer order processing, warehouse management for inventory status and customer order fulfillment, store operations for collection of customer orders, and Point of Sale (POS) data.

Sterling B2B Integrator also enables the Web site to provide real-time interaction with service providers to finalize shipping and delivery details, so that Web site customers can choose where they want to collect their purchases – from a local Stadium store or their local post office. Purchases can also be delivered directly to their homes.

Key benefits

Sterling B2B Integrator provides a fully integrated cross-channel purchasing process that helps ensure Stadium customers receive a smoother shopping experience and consistent cross-channel customer service. Virtually all process management has been centralized to help maximize performance for customers, as well as for the company itself.

Now customers receive the same level of outstanding service and support, almost regardless of which channel they choose to do their shopping. Through ‘click and collect,‘ with multiple delivery options, as well as returns managed via all delivery channels, Stadium has been able to significantly improve upon the customer experience and increase customer satisfaction,” emphasizes Hedvall.

Stadium has experienced a surge in online activity, as customers are now able to purchase a broader range of products. For example, smaller stores cannot stock large items, such as canoes or fitness equipment, but now these products can be purchased online and shipped directly to a home address. Furthermore, Stadium has been able to take advantage of more frequent online promotions to boost sales and help maximize seasonal product lines. These new capabilities have directly contributed to a growth in sales.

Stadium will launch its home shopping Web site in Finland and Denmark in 2009. Hedvall concludes “When we decided to launch our new home shopping Web site, one of the most important considerations was how to centrally manage the integration of a complex range of systems and services providers. We selected IBM because of their long experience in B2B integration, and we are confident that Sterling B2B Integrator will fulfill our future requirements and support our strategy for growth.”

In 2008, Stadium AB was recognized as “E-commerce Retailer of the Year” at the annual Swedish Retail Awards.