Software AG > Case Studies > Building the New Era of Luxury Retail with IT Portfolio Management in the Cloud

Building the New Era of Luxury Retail with IT Portfolio Management in the Cloud

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Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
  • America
Country
  • United States
Product
  • Alfabet
  • Enterprise Architecture Management powered by Alfabet
  • IT Planning and Portfolio Management powered by Alfabet
Tech Stack
  • Cloud-based platform
  • Microsoft Access
  • Visio modeling tool
  • PowerPoint
Implementation Scale
  • Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
  • Cost Savings
  • Productivity Improvements
  • Digital Expertise
Technology Category
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
  • Retail
  • Consumer Goods
Applicable Functions
  • Business Operation
  • Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
  • Supply Chain Visibility
  • Retail Store Automation
  • Demand Planning & Forecasting
Services
  • Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
  • Software Design & Engineering Services
About The Customer
The customer is a leading multinational luxury fashion group that has grown over the years through acquisitions. The company was started by six leatherworkers in a New York City loft in 1941 and has since become an international powerhouse through several major acquisitions in the past decade. These acquisitions, worth more than $3 billion, have posed a risky prospect in the luxury fashion business, where competition is coming from all directions. The company's IT leadership team wanted the Information Systems (IS) teams to have visibility into their portfolios to be able to develop project plans and future IT strategies to support the company's ambitious business transformation goals.
The Challenge
The multinational luxury fashion company faced challenges due to rapid expansion and major acquisitions. The company was under pressure from global competition and growing costs. The company's IT leadership team wanted the Information Systems (IS) teams to have visibility into their portfolios to be able to develop project plans and future IT strategies to support the company's ambitious business transformation goals. The piecemeal process in place at that time involved manual updates to a Microsoft® Access® database, visualization in the Visio® modeling tool and PowerPoint® for presentations. Information on the portfolio was updated twice a year— not a good basis for road mapping and investment decisions that needed to be made on the turn of dime.
The Solution
In 2014, the luxury fashion group turned to Alfabet, the only comprehensive solution in the industry for managing IT planning and enterprise architecture. With acquisitions on the horizon, the company asked for help from Software AG Global Consulting Services to achieve faster gain with less pain and harness Alfabet as an agile, cloud-based platform for all that would follow. Now, as part of a wildly successful digital transformation, Alfabet is the company’s gateway to next-generation planning, system transparency, omni-channel consumer experience and supply chain optimizations. Alfabet is also at the heart of the luxury fashion group’s initiative to save $100 million in IT costs in just three years.
Operational Impact
  • The company was able to surmount accessibility and scalability hurdles, improve collaboration across brands, and achieve better transparency, foresight and agility in planning IT expenditures.
  • The company now has strategic alignment between business and IT and a delivery structure to ensure appropriate cost measures and processes.
  • The company has the means to drive continuous improvement of operational effectiveness within IS.
  • The company has a reliable, secure and scalable operating environment.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Planned $100 million in IT savings in just three years.
  • The company has extended its license through at least 2020.

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