Australian footwear retailer, Spendless Shoes will implement Manhattan Associates’ Warehouse Management Solution to reinvent its outdated supply chain operations and adapt to current and future changes in the market.

Spendless Shoes chose to introduce the Manhattan solution to its distribution centre in Adelaide, South Australia, due to previous challenges with not having company-wide visibility of inventory, as well as ongoing changes associated with the pandemic including online growth and lockdowns.

“While our previous systems served us well in the short-term, they were quite manual, reaching end-of-life and unable to adapt to the sudden changes in the market we have been experiencing,” Spendless Shoes independent technology program management and advisory chief information officer, Kathryn Pearce said.

“With plans for Manhattans’ WMS now underway, the strategy is to focus on future-proofing our operations by streamlining our productivity and gaining business-wide visibility into shipment, inventory, and fulfilment.”

The big benefit of the system’s deployment, scheduled for completion by the end of 2021, will be increased stock visibility which will open up availability for sellable stock. The new system will also allow Spendless Shoes to manage inventory tactically by hand-picking any number of tailored shipments to be delivered to individual stores each week rather than larger lots that were uniform across multiple stores and scheduled for routine timeframes.

“Having the visibility to see and the ability to plan how big our shipments will be, and where they will be going, will come as a huge benefit to us, especially when an increasing level of business is now online,” Pearce said.

“Previously, in preparation for large sales events such as the Black Friday Sales, it would typically take us at least three weeks to fulfil our inventory. Now, with Manhattans’ WMS, we will have the ability to flex up our online and in-store operations as and when it is needed, creating greater stock availability, and the capacity to streamline operations to fulfil orders at twice the rate as before.”

With Manhattan Associates’ WMS, Spendless Shoes will also have the capability to manage and hold stock deliveries until they are able to be transported again in the event individual stores are closed during a lockdown.

Manhattan Associates managing director, Raghav Sibal said, “We are very pleased to be working with iconic Australian brand name Spendless Shoes to help innovate their supply chain operations so they’re ready for whatever the future might bring.

“The volatility of the current retail market, and the sudden changes that continue to challenge supply chain operations because of the pandemic, means that retailers need to have a game-plan in place to remain resilient and well-prepared for future uncertainties. With Manhattan’s WMS, retailers can gain a new level of visibility and control of operations, which helps to optimise their supply chain and distribution strategy.”