With its 115 stores, a popular e-commerce known for its wide range and fast deliveries, and its one million loyalty members, VITA AS is one of Norway's largest beauty retail chains.
The chain has been around since the early 1980s and went through a tougher period in the late 2010s which ended with reconstruction. The new owners, Jotunfjell Partners, came into the picture in 2019 and laid the foundation for many improvements and investments to rescue the future operations.
Challenges for VITA
The technical system platform that VITA had during this time led to several challenges that many retail companies can relate to.
- Some key systems were old and end-of-life and had many customisations, which made it difficult and complicated to update the solution. VITA faced significant challenges when trying to make updates to their then-current platform as they had to spend a lot of time fixing things that fell apart after an update before they could be back in full operation.
- The platform lacked support to provide an omnichannel-experience for the customer. As a result, customers could only return many of the products in the same store where they were purchased, and the points collected by the customer could only be used in physical stores and not online.
The Solution
When VITA was looking for a new platform, it was important to solve the challenges they had faced, and the focus was on finding a system that could meet VITA's requirements for automation, improved customer experience, and increased loyalty through more personalisation, as well as contributing to creating a unified shopping experience across all channels.
VITA mapped its requirements against different systems and then chose LS Central with Business Central in the cloud as a SaaS solution (Software as a Service).
Thanks to its new platform, VITA can take advantage of benefits such as:
- Regular updates to the latest version of the solution with reduced complexity. This minimises the need for large and complex upgrade projects.
- The fact that the solution is always updated means that VITA always has access to new functionality in the solution.
LS Central SaaS provides us with a platform where we can stay current and receive continuous updates, and where we don't have to worry about technical debt again.
–Kristian Sonnenberg, CIO, VITA AS
Bedege as a partner
At the time of the implementation, the SaaS solution was relatively new and there were no large retail chains as reference cases. Bedege, which has extensive experience with the solution and is one of LS Retail's most experienced partners, was entrusted with carrying out the implementation.
Kristian Sonnenberg, CIO at VITA, says:
We needed a partner that would understand not only ERP, but also what is going on in our stores specifically.
Regarding the rollout of the new checkouts in VITA's stores, he says:
We rolled them out quite quickly. It took 6 weeks to roll out all the POS. The implementation went smoothly, and the best part is that our daily operations were not affected at all.
The Bedege team is excellent. They are a true retail company. They have also been very flexible, thinking outside the box and accommodating our needs.
–Kristian Sonnenberg, CIO, VITA AS
A system support for the future
Bedege currently supports VITA's stores through our in-house support which is open from 06:00 to 22:00 every day of the year. Thanks to this, stores and central operations always have the opportunity to get assistance when they encounter problems in their daily work. In addition, Bedege manages the solution and ensures that it is regularly updated and tested in conjunction with this.
Selection of VITA's solution:
- The SaaS version of Business Central with LS Central which includes ERP, inventory, Retail Management, and POS in one unified commerce platform. This solution gives VITA the ability for central control of prices, offers, and promotions for physical stores and e-commerce.
- In order to compete in the beauty industry, it is important to have the right products available at the right time. For this reason, LS Replenishment, which is part of the solution, is valuable for VITA and contributes with automation and forecasting in product replenishment. Each store receives a purchasing suggestion thanks to this and can then make adjustments as needed.
- The add-ons Tasklet and ShipIT for streamlining the warehouse with handheld devices and integrated transport booking, and Exflow for Accounts Payable Automation.
- Integration with the loyalty platform Voyado. The effect of this is that all customer data is centralized in a customer data platform, which leads to VITA being able to offer better personalized offers to its members.
- Integration with Autostore, a system for robot-controlled picking in the warehouse.
Vita continues to develop its operations and has expanded its offering with related services such as eyebrow treatments, make-up advice, manicures, and hairdressing services, and looks bright to the future and the opportunities with its new platform.
LS Central SaaS allows us to create a better customer experience across all channels. We have simplified product returns, customer service, and now that we have a foundation, we will continue to launch new products for our customers.
–Kristian Sonnenberg, CIO, VITA AS
Want to know more about how Bedege can help your business take the next step in digital transformation? Contact us today for a consultation.
