Hermes Fulfilment, the e-commerce unit of the Hermes Group, has developed a new IT platform to meetthe individual needs of its business customers, with the German fashion boutique SinnLeffers
successfully integrating the platform with its operations as the first pilot customer.Based on standard SAP software, the IT platform has been set up in a modular way and can beseamlessly linked to all customer systems.
As an e-commerce partner of SinnLeffers, Hermes Fulfilment handles storage, picking,distribution and returns handling, along with payment management and customer care, managing allthe main logistics operations from its site in Löhne, North-Rhine Westphalia. At the request ofSinnLeffers, the online sales channel has been designed in a way that stock can be re-allocatedeasily between the online shop and retailers at any time.
“With the increasing movement of goods, larger product range and increasing number ofclients, the fulfilment processes are becoming increasingly complex. That is why full-servicee-commerce solutions with all underlying process modules now require a standardised yet open ITplatform which is stable in its basic structure but flexible when it comes to details,” EnricoBumann, Head of IT at Hermes Fulfilment, said.
To meet these requirements, the company has decided to modify its IT system, based on SAP.Its modular structure allows clients to add or deactivate certain functions and process modules,depending on their needs.
“What is special about our integrated solution is that its architecture not only displaysthe components of fulfilment but of all trade and logistics processes in an IT-technical manner,and this both for distance trade as well as for the counter trade and multi-channel sales,” Bumannadded.
The connection of SinnLeffers to Hermes’ new IT platform went over smoothly. “HermesFulfilment tailored the standard software to our needs and requirements in an optimal way,” WilkoPeters, Head of E-Commerce at SinnLeffers, explained. “The conversion took place on the agreed datewithin a few hours, without a negative impact on operations.”
With the modernisation of its IT system landscape and the conversion to SAP, HermesFulfilment has realised a long-term strategic goal, the company’s CEO Dieter Urbanke, stressed. “Inthe future, we will be able to integrate our customers even faster and in a more flexible way. Inthe medium term, all of our corporate sites and customers of Hermes Fulfilment will switch to thenew platform. The integration of new clients will take place in parallel.”
Hermes Fulfilment, set up in 2006 as the group’s warehousing arm, operates four logisticscentres with some 5,000 employees and is fully integrated into the Hermes Europe network.
