Worldwide Chain Stores
Leveraging Retail and Supply Chain with Next-Gen Solutions

As the year 2015 draws to a close, providers of retail and supply chain management solutions find themselves in a world where technology advancements allow them to better cater to the ever-increasing demand of end-consumers. Capitalizing on the growing need for flexible, agile IT solutions and services is Worldwide Chain Stores (WCS). Headquartered in Surrey, UK, WCS offer its customers innovative supply chain solutions which include purchasing, warehousing with integrated labour management and mobility, all of which run using flexible, scalable, modern technologies. Combining the power of technology and strong industry expertise, WCS helps clients optimize operations and meet business goals.

“Our main focus is to optimize warehouse efficiency which in turn provides superior customer performance,” says Joshila Makan, CEO of WCS. She further states, “In view of challenges to improve our supply chain and reduce costs in an ever-changing market, we offer the ability to boost communication, improve transparency and drive costs down as well as provide overall efficiency.”

As a company with a long heritage with IBM going back to mainframe and iSeries, WCS teamed up with IBM once again, using the IBM innovation center to deliver supply chain solutions on IBM Express Runtime and Linux on POWER. The company has also added a responsive design to handle multiple devices, using additional technologies to various Cloud platforms, operating systems and software stacks.

WCS has three core products: Purchasing, Warehousing with integrated Labour and Mobility. The purchasing module drives reduced inventory, increases service levels and profitability and enforces company disciplines. The module also gives buyers and management the ability to control the purchasing function, supports configurable pricing and helps maximize profit.

The Warehouse module’s core function is to support complex distribution operations without heavy implementation service overheads. In addition to covering all traditional processes from receipt of goods to dispatch, all in real time, WCSWarehouse Management includes dynamic slot allocation, optimized space utilization with minimized labor, inventory control including cycle counting, comprehensive scheduling and planning, task interleaving, support for value-added services and q.a. monitoring.

Our main focus is to optimize warehouse efficiency which in turn provides superior customer performance

The Mobility module with Supply Chain Intelligence bridges the gap between the warehouse and the customers, providing end-to-end visibility while saving time and money in the process.

WCS, with its partnership with IBM, has added value to its clients’ work environments and increased operational efficiency. With an eye on the SMB marketplace, WCS wanted to integrate their new solution suite with IBM Express Runtime and enable it on multiple IBM hardware platforms. As a company of limited proportions, enabling their new solution suite with IBM Express Runtime and on the Linux on POWER platforms presented a challenge. The enablement was important not only for their long-term goals, but also, more immediately, to meet the requirements for implementing the first installation of the new software suite with a 3PL, Lloyd Fraser. Today, the solution has been tested and proven to be enabled for IBM platforms, earned IBM technical validations, and has been successfully implemented. “Along with on-site access to the systems we needed, and assistance with the rigorous testing that was required, IBM gave us invaluable guidance and advice for improvement.

”Speaking about their roadmap, Makan says, “We want to emerge as pioneers in our space, so growth takes precedence for us.” “WCS possesses the supply chain skills and technology which invariably lead to an increase in productivity and achievement of clients’ objectives,” affirms Makan on an ending note.