SPAR Holding BV makes it fast and fresh with Dynamics 365

From one store in the Netherlands in 1932 to nearly 14,000 stores in 48 countries and regions on four continents today, SPAR is the world’s leading voluntary food retail chain. SPAR International is a group of independent wholesalers and retailers working in partnership under the SPAR Brand to bring high-quality, good-value fresh foods to nearly 15 million consumers around the world.

As a member of Superunie in the Dutch market—a supermarket cooperative representing 11 independent retail organizations in the Netherlands—SPAR Holding BV (SPAR) is proud to be the local food store of choice, offering Dutch consumers a wide selection of quality, fresh foods and friendly, personal service.

The complexities of convenience

Dutch customers shop at more than 350 SPAR neighborhood convenience stores including 200 SPAR express stores located in petrol stations, and others located in city centers, inside transit stations, and at universities. Managing product distribution and sales for such a large, multi-format retail operation is a complex business. Every day, SPAR Holding manages orders, shipments, and overnight deliveries of high-demand foods like prepared sushi, seasonal fruits, and fresh vegetables. Around 80% of the orders are for mainstay items on the Superunie master list that most stores keep on their shelves. The rest are specialty items targeted to a store’s specific location and customers. These specialty orders tend to be in smaller quantities than standard orders but still require the same availability and quick turnaround as high-volume items. “Stores moved away from an overly customized disconnected order system and now use our Dynamics 365-driven standard processes. It can handle all their special requirements,” says Edwin Brekelmans, Supply Chain Manager at SPAR Holding BV.

Bagging a modern, connected solution

Replenishing stock and providing customers with the specialty items they expect to see on their local store’s shelves requires modern and efficient business systems that can accommodate complex supply chains and fast turnaround times. SPAR’s legacy order and fulfillment system was past its sell-by date.

SPAR Holding BV was ready to modernize, and it selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management as its new ordering and fulfilment solution. As a cloud-based, always up-to-date platform, Dynamics 365 not only fit today’s needs, but more importantly, could grow with the company for years to come.

The implementation team designed a new, optimized process workflow template to boost efficiency for all distribution formats and ensure scalability into the future. And because Dynamics 365 is made to work seamlessly with the portfolio of third-party tools SPAR workers already relied on, adoption of the new system would be painless, without major disruption to the business.

Dynamics 365 streamlines food ordering

In late 2019, SPAR Holding BV went live with Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management. The solution automates many previously manual processes and shares critical order and inventory information with integrated third-party apps.

Early each morning, thousands of orders for more than 150,000 unique SKUs—many of them highly perishable—flow into Dynamics 365 from stores across the Netherlands through a third-party order entry app. Dynamics 365 processes the orders, and at 9:30 AM, generates the first of the day’s more than 5,000 purchase orders. These include fresh food orders that must be placed with suppliers by 11:00 AM—just 90 minutes later—to ensure delivery the following day. Fresh food items are set for cross-dock or direct delivery, while orders for non-perishable goods are fulfilled directly from SPAR’s distribution center.

Restocking the shelves

To keep the warehouse stocked, SlimStock manages demand planning, assessing inventory availability, and replenishment needs. Through an integration with SlimStock, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management generates more than 6,000 orders for nearly 60,000 product lines from nearly 4,000 suppliers—daily. Dynamics 365 intelligently adjusts pricing throughout the purchasing and selling cycle, accounting for tax requirements and discounts associated with each order.

With orders flowing efficiently, the next stop is Dynamics 365 Finance, which manages billing for stock and other charges. Dynamics 365 processes an average of 5,000 supplier payments per week, keeping SPAR’s accounts up to date. An integration with Axtension Invoice Processing and ISP Next automates supplier invoice entry and matching. Easy integration with ISP Next automates other cost-related invoices too.

Big impact, happy shoppers

The Dynamics 365 solution, which connects and unifies complex operating and finance activities, ensures that reporting is streamlined and accurate. And it isn’t just ordering and fulfillment that have benefited. With powerful business forecasting, automated accounting, and monthly reporting capabilities, Dynamics 365 is a game-changer for SPAR Holding BV finance managers. Customers are happier, too, when the products they want are on store shelves when they want them. “Dynamics 365 helps us maintain our promise to our customers to be the ‘King of Convenience Stores,’" explained Maryanne Tummers, Core Applications Manager at SPAR Holdings.

Here are a few of the ways Dynamics 365 keeps SPAR’s checkout lanes humming.

Touchless store replenishment

Dynamics 365 integrates with other apps to automate ordering, demand planning, and warehouse operations. The efficient and touchless process allows SPAR’s three planners to easily manage more than 150,000 SKUs. They have a clear and complete view of supplier details and order history. Order workflows are optimized for stores with perishable items prioritized for quicker delivery, so they arrive fresh. Customers trust they’ll consistently find the freshest fruits, vegetables, and take-out foods at their local SPAR store.

Automated invoicing

With so many store invoices to manage, SPAR has seen tremendous benefits from its new automated invoice capability. The system automatically assigns unique customer pricing and tracks special discounts. SPAR’s finance and accounting teams have an ongoing automatic record of workflows, pending transactions, and invoicing history. Finance managers are more productive, see fewer errors in their financial records, and value the extra time automation affords them by eliminating manual tasks.

Optimized deliveries

With Dynamics 365, SPAR has a flexible integration framework that seamlessly connects Microsoft Azure and third-party components. For instance, Azure Application Insights allows the company to monitor the flow of transactions, especially during the critical 90-minute window for order processing and supplier ordering, ensuring on-time delivery to stores.

Still expanding with Dynamics 365

SPAR Holding BV is ripe for expanding, offering even more customer convenience, and possibly adding a wholesale arm. Svetoslav Petrov, Dynamics 365 Product Lead Consultant at SPAR Holdings adds, “Dynamics 365 gives us the flexibility we needed. Now we have a solid cloud solution that gives us that agility and scalability to grow with SPAR.” With the automation and data analysis capabilities of Dynamics 365 in its shopping cart, the organization is well positioned to further optimize its business processes and gain an even deeper understanding of its franchisees' and customers’ needs, now and into the future.