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Dunelm

Dunelm looks to CIBER to support rapid growth

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Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Ltd , the fast-growing UK home furnishings chain , currently with 76 stores, has selected SAP retail systems specialist CIBER to implement SAP. Dunelm will benefit from rapid implementation by selecting CIBER’s novaRetail, a ready-made software solution for small to medium-sized retailers, which is based on SAP ERP2004 for Retail.

Aimed at retailers seeking a more innovative approach to SAP implementation, novaRetail includes the integrated components necessary for managing the retail enterprise (including the warehouse and supply chain).

According to CIBER UK’s managing director, Roy Tomlinson, “70-80% of retail processes are the same from retailer to retailer so we have incorporated these common processes as templates into novaRetail. As a result, retailers adopting novaRetail can expect development times to be cut dramatically and costs cut by up to 50%. For the first time, retailers can take advantage of ERP for the same costs and timescales as best of breed.”

Rapid growth at Dunelm has put pressure on existing IT systems, which were procured to handle a much smaller business and will soon struggle to support the larger company. Moreover, existing systems are not integrated, so data sits in different areas, preventing the company from having a single, automated process to support their business. Trefor Jones, CIBER ’s Project Manager at Dunelm, said that “Their new system landscape will support the business, end to end, from selecting and procuring products right through to selling them in store. SAP, in the form of novaRetail, will also help Dunelm automate many existing manual processes, with a scaleable solution that will help support their growth plans.”

About Dunelm

Dunelm was founded over 20 years ago in Leicester by Bill and Jean Adderley. The first shops were relatively small high street units covering a number of towns in the East Midlands. Today, it is one of the most successful home furnishings retailers in the UK and is enjoying rapid growth.

Today’s portfolio of over 70 stores comprises mainly superstores, spread across the UK. The company has plans for significant growth over the coming years through further new openings.
In the three years to June 2004, Dunelm increased sales by 77%. Sales in the 2004 financial year were £239 million, 29% ahead of the previous year.

About CIBER UK

CIBER is a leading SAP consultancy providing world-wide support for a range of clients renowned in the international business community. As a SAP Alliance Partner and Special Expertise Partner for SAP in a variety of sectors, the company performs classic SAP implementations and also holds a leading position as a consultant to the specific sectors of Retail & CP, Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Automotive as well as Utilities & Telecommunications. We have maintained our reputation as the world's leading SAP Retail implementation partner ever since being the first Partner to implement SAP Retail when it was first launched in 1996.

CIBER is part of CIBER, Inc. (NYSE: CBR), a leading international systems integration consultancy providing clients with global delivery services on a project or strategic staffing basis, in both custom and enterprise resource planning (ERP) package environments, and across all technology platforms, operating systems and infrastructures. With offices in 17 countries, annualized revenue run rate of approximately $950 million and approximately 8,000 employees, CIBER's IT specialists continuously build and upgrade our clients' systems to "competitive advantage status." CIBER is included in the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P Small Cap 600 Index. www.ciber-.com/uk

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software solutions. Through mySAP Business Suite, people in businesses around the globe are improving relationships with customers and partners, streamlining operations, and achieving significant efficiencies throughout their supply chains. Today, more than 19,600 companies in over 120 countries run more than 62,000 installations of SAP® software. With subsidiaries in over 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." www.sap.com