FCUK get a performance boost

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: FCUK get a performance boost.

French Connection is a highly successful fashion group. Its four principal brands are FCUK, designer brand Nicole Farhi, TOAST and Great Plains.

The group has its own stores in the UK, Europe and North America, and supplies retailers, licensees and franchises round the world.

Stock management accuracy over 99%
In recent years the Group has streamlined its stock management and distribution operations.

First they replaced their outdated, slow, error-prone manual pick ticket systems with in-house applications linked to the AS400 system.

Then they looked for terminals to survive prolonged use in the warehouses and read barcodes through the plastic covers over the garments.

Codeway recommended the Datalogic Falcon RF mobile computer with its comfortable form factor, multiple function key operations, and programmability for the new applications.

After exhaustive tests, FCUK installed 200 Datalogic Falcon computers in its warehouses. A year later it moved the whole operation to a new distribution centre serving the whole of the UK and Europe.

The distribution centre now handles over 12 million items every year, with the Falcons scanning each one in picking and packing. Accuracy is now well over 99%, compared with 85% for the old manual system

Instant action and information in the shops
Facing some tough challenges in its retail stores, FCUK commissioned Retail Business Solutions (RBS) to develop a new point of sale system.  Codeway were asked to work with RBS to supply mobile solutions for in-store applications *such as
*stock look-ups,
*stock transfers,
*stock takes
*cycle counts,
sale mark downs.
Each store now has 1 or 2 Datalogic Falcon and Pegaso rugged PDAs. Accuracy and quality have greatly improved.  The terminals have halved the time taken to complete sale mark downs and all other critical tasks.

Promotions are now turned round much faster, and staff can tell customers the price and availability of any item instantly.

Service
Doug Gardner, IT manager for FCUK, says Over the years, we have built an excellent relationship with Codeway. They have done a great job for us both in the UK and the US."

"They are always responsive, professional and quick to address any issues as soon as they arise. Combined with their ability to work closely with our software design suppliers, they are our preferred supplier for our hardware needs."