C&A reduces planning time by 66% and boosts scenario planning

When a company offers around 10,000 different products in almost 200 classes of goods, from 900 suppliers in 40 different countries, planning is likely to be a challenge. The more than 27,000 staff throughout Europe, plus 450 buyers, designers, trend scouts, and stylists in the head offices alone, also contribute to the extreme complexity of C&A’s planning process. C&A previously used an Excel planning system that was a big drain on time and resources. Data quality was an issue within the current system, and the cumbersome process meant that the team could only plan 12 months out.

Having investigated different solutions, it became clear that Jedox would be the best fit to help C&A improve its performance and planning. The intuitive Excel-like interface, the seamless integration of external data, and the option to start with a cost- (and risk-) free trial version were further powerful arguments for C&A to opt for Jedox. After completing a trial, C&A built out a driver-based planning and variance analysis, which was deployed through head office. The cornerstone of the current solution is driver-based planning, which empowers C&A to carry out cost planning in 400 individual stores operating in Central and Eastern Europe. While the cost planning revolves around drivers such as turnover, working hours, regions, and items sold, the smallest and perpetually overlooked costings are also taken into account: every plastic bag is factored into the costing. Even costs for power, cleaning, and facility security or surveillance are part of the equation. Detailed planning for property costs is now carried out, factoring in turnover and rent per square meter, then calculating this against index-based increases.

C&A saw an immediate lift in the speed at which it could gather and consolidate its data with Jedox. A telling advantage of Jedox is the speed at which the planning cycle can now be completed. C&A has automated data collection and consolidation to the level that it now completes the planning cycle in a third of the previous time, with a marked increase in data quality. This increase in quality frees up even more time, as it negates the need for endless checking of results. This gain in efficiency has made planning for multiple scenarios possible for the first time, and the team has expanded planning from one year to three years.

Before Jedox, individual plans could only be brought together with great difficulty in the regional reporting. Any minor changes at the end of the planning process used to be a headache, but they were crucial and needed to be made often. The Jedox solution means these changes are no longer threatening, and C&A now easily consolidates individual planning areas into regional reports across the division. Gerald Zemann, Project Manager Controlling at C&A, is thankful to have a solution in place that makes the process smoother, more efficient, and more accurate. “By including local planning costs and decentralizing the reporting, we encourage responsibility, involvement, and commitment down to the lower levels. This directly correlates with the overall increase of efficiency that came with Jedox,” said Zemann. Variance analysis at C&A now sees a higher level of detail through the Jedox solution. Better data quality also means variance analysis costs much less. Using monthly rolling forecasts, instead of yearly forecast periods, is a central goal in designing future analysis processes in Jedox. “With Jedox, we are independent and no longer need to rely on external help. Jedox’s solution really suits our needs. It makes life easy for us in Controlling, and our next step is to build an improved forecasting solution with Jedox,” concluded Zemann.

In addition to the new planning process, the team built a Jedox-based personal cost planning system with built-in self-service that includes salary comparisons, as well as estimated personnel costs. C&A can now develop simulations quickly and easily, as part of the new scenario planning capabilities. The system is used at headquarters and during contract negotiations.

Jedox’s Excel-based solution really suits our needs. It makes life easy for us in Controlling, and our next step is to build an improved forecasting solution with Jedox.

– Gerald Zemann, Project Manager Controlling at C&A