Beyond Technologies and SAFO deploy SAP S/4HANA Retail® and SAP CAR® in record time!

MONTREAL, Oct. 11, 2017 -- The SAFO Group, a major player in logistics and food distribution in the French Caribbean and Guyana, joined forces with Beyond Technologies to implement SAP S/4HANA Retail® and SAP CAR® in order to support their rapid growth.

With 90 convenience stores, 14 supermarkets, 1 hypermarket, 3 wholesale stores, 2 brand-name agencies, 7 all temperature logistics platforms and a network of over 2,000 suppliers, SAFO rapidly faced numerous major challenges: several geographical areas to be managed, including general and specialized distribution, different store formats, as well as the management of two new brands (FNAC® and Picard®).

With these more complex commercial activities, the limit of their IT systems was quickly reached, particularly because of their lack of responsiveness restricting the opening of new stores. Therefore, the SAFO Group decided to acquire an integrated system that would offer greater operational efficiency, increased productivity and cost control, all in less than three months!

The SAFO Group consulted four software vendors and integrators before selecting SAP and Beyond Technologies for the following reasons:

• Best practices and project accelerators adapted to Retail
• Project management expertise with agile methodology (SAP Activate®)
• Comprehensive user-friendly solution (SAP Fiori®)
• Commitment to start the project very quickly and deliver it in less than three months
• Flexible and scalable solution to support their growth
• Reconciliation of several heterogeneous operational models around a common solution

“We were very excited to take on a challenge of this size and once again leveraging our Retail expertise. We are pleased to have helped SAFO improve its operations as well as its supplier and partner relationships,” said Gregory Hermel, Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Technologies France.

The results are already outstanding:

• Production launch in 11 weeks
• Autonomous SAFO teams fully trained for in-store operations
• The latest SAP® solution (SAP S/4HANA Retail®), intuitive user experience (Fiori®) and mobile in-store solution

“We took advantage of the blank page offered by the addition of two new brands, FNAC and Picard, to change the software and operational model. Our move to SAP was a strong strategic choice that allowed us to lower the cost of opening new stores while also simplifying future openings,” said François Huyghues Despointes, General Director of SAFO. “Working with Beyond Technologies, we have succeeded in transforming our information systems into a competitive lever, while respecting a very tight delivery schedule. Beyond Technologies is a trusted partner that accompanies us brilliantly in our growth.”

About SAFO Group
SAFO, a logistics and food distribution company in the French Caribbean was created in 1962 by Gérard Huyghues Despointes, whose visionary idea allowed the creation of a complete cold chain to the Caribbean and Guyana. The group is the leading franchisee of food brands in the Caribbean, operating several large retail chains (Carrefour Group, FNAC-Darty Group and Picard Group). SAFO continues its development in all its businesses: distribution, non-domestic catering and logistics.
http://www.groupesafo.com/

About Beyond Technologies
Beyond Technologies is a professional service firm, specialized in SAP solution integration and business process optimization, particularly in the retail sector. Founded by a team of consultants with more than 20 years of experience in integrated management systems, the firm knows how to leverage best practices in Retail and SAP solutions to deliver sustainable and real benefits to its customers.
www.beyondtechnologies.com

Media contact
Kurt Ramcharan
Marketing and Communication Director
[email protected]