SPAR Italy Partner, Aspiag Service’s retail management solution enables operational functions to be carried out on the shop floor, improving both accuracy and efficiency. The app .onRetail has been rolled out in over 560 DESPAR, EUROSPAR and INTERSPAR stores in the Northeast and Emilia-Romagna regions.

This solution seamlessly integrates the mobile app with warehouse management systems, assisting retail teams performing a wide range of activities, such as placing orders with the Distribution Centre (DC) or a supplier, managing returns or material goods handling. The app provides statistics on items that are unsold, ordered, en route or on promotion.

“The new app rollout has completely changed and improved our processes at retail level, allowing retail staff to communicate instantly and more effectively with our central office”, Maurizio Usan, Retail Organisation Manager at Aspiag Service, explained. “Our 4,000 colleagues now have a much clearer and more complete view of order processes, being viewed on their mobile device. They no longer need to look up documents on paper or go to their back-office computers.”

The rollout of the Android solution to 238 company owned and 327 independently owned SPAR stores began in 2018 with a pilot following one hundred store employees which led to fine-tuning the app for wider rollout, making it useful and user-friendly.

Training was given to store managers both in a classroom environment and online, illustrating the new software tools and new ways of organising retail operations management, Nicola Trescato, Project Manager for retail IT at Aspiag Service, explained. Retail colleagues can look up a wealth of constantly updated information, helping them perform daily tasks in faster and more accurate way.

“The large implementation scale provided us with an opportunity to further develop our .onRetail app, ensuring even higher performances in terms of managed devices and the amount of data that is available when offline”, added Giovanni Bonamigo, Marketing & Innovation Director at Aton, developer of the solution.

The app has radically changed order management, eliminating detection errors by store staff, who typically send out more than 390,000 orders weekly, involving more than 33 million products. The retail app has also led to significant reductions in both stock levels and wastage as a result of better tracking of expiry dates. By being able to look up information easily on their handheld device while on the shop floor, 20% fewer printed lists were used when compared to the previous system, with measurable environmental savings in the first half of 2019.

Placing the needs of its employees as a priority, DESPAR Aspiag strives to continuously meet the needs of its employees through innovation and believes that their goal of 100% digitalisation of the retail operations management will be a key enabler.

Source: DESPAR Partner, Aspiag Service

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About SPAR Italy

SPAR International first granted a licence for the operation of the SPAR Brand to SPAR Italy in 1959. The first store opened in the latter part of 1960 and with it, SPAR became the first partnership of retailers and wholesalers to operate in Italy. SPAR Italy, known locally as DESPAR Italia, licenses regional partners, all of whom work together to grow the brand across the country.

The DESPAR Partners operate stores under three formats: DESPAR Neighbourhood Supermarkets, EUROSPAR Supermarkets and INTERSPAR Hypermarkets. Many of the larger format stores are company-owned, reflecting the scale of investment required. While the majority of the company’s turnover is acquired through these larger format stores, the independently owned neighbourhood supermarkets remain a key part of the business.