General Optica SA Believed to be the first installation of JDA MMS 4R5 to go live outside the USA

Astech has a longstanding relationship with General Optica that dates back to when General Optica was part of the Vantios Group, which also included Salmoiraghi & Vigano in Italy, and Dollond & Aitchison in the UK. The companies have worked together since 1998 and Astech has been responsible for General Optica's year 2000 compliance program and Euro migration. Rather than find a local firm to manage implementation projects, General Optica turned to Oxfordshire-based Astech Consultants Limited.

General Optica identified that its existing business management software required updating to further achieve operational efficiencies, as Lali Brucart, the company's IT Director explains:

“We use JDA’s centralised merchandising system, MMS, and recognised that upgrading to 4R5 was essential and so - given that there isn’t a suitable local company in Barcelona –we turned to the UK and Astech to help us achieve a smooth implementation.”

Euro Implementation

As well as Euro compliance and support for triangulation (cross border transactions via the Euro), MMS 4R5 also provides General Optica with a sound basis for further development of the company’s channels to market, particularly in respect of e-commerce, on-line ordering and automated stock replenishment.

Danny Turner, Director of Astech is delighted with the way the project progressed:

"General Optica was a very successful implementation, all the more satisfying for being, we believe, the first installation of MMS 4R5 to go live outside the USA."

Astech supplied support cover to ensure that the transition to the Euro went smoothly. Perhaps the most significant challenge in introducing a new currency is to win user acceptance for it and for staff to receive the training necessary to ensure that business continues unhindered. Once live on MMS 4R5, staff at General Optical head office began working and reporting in Euros immediately. All prices were converted into Euros with prices levelled out to prevent consumers from having to work with awkward Euro figures. Going live with the new currency five months ahead of its physical introduction allowed General Optica to confront the many cultural and training issues well in advance of the currency hitting the streets. The currency migration proved almost problem-free as a result.

Success

without Astech the upgrade implementation would have been very, very difficult

Lali Brucart, General Optica

Lali Brucart believes that the upgrade was very worthwhile:

“The upgrade implementation has been a very large and challenging task and without Astech would have been very, very difficult - perhaps impossible. They have again proved themselves very capable, experienced and knowledgeable. My only regret is that they have yet to open an office in Barcelona!”

General Optica is one of Europe’s foremost optical retailers with 140 stores across Spain and Portugal, and an annual turnover of over £64m. Astech Consultant's Euro implementation for General Optica was selected as a finalist in the 2002 European Retail Solutions Awards category for "Best Euro Implementation".