A Cloud-based Procurement Management System: 6X Lower Costs, Smarter Retail Inventory Control

A leading Japanese retail chain operating a network of over 2000 stores in Japan and over 3250 stores worldwide convenience stores faced challenges with its outdated goods procurement management system. Having been in use for over a decade, the system struggled with scalability, leading to inconsistencies in inventory data and potential data loss while goods/stock importing. To address these issues, the client sought a modern, automated solution to streamline inventory management and optimize goods procurement processes from suppliers.

Customer’s Requirements  

The existing system could no longer support the company’s procurement needs. Employees managed goods import data using separate Excel files and emails, leading to several operational challenges with the existing system:

• High risk of stock/goods discrepancies due to inventory and goods import data being calculated and uploaded manually to the system from multiple files. 
• Inefficient workflows and inability to utilize historical data. As the inventory management/ importing data is uncentralized, it was hard to reuse historical data/documents for different reports when needed, resulting in consuming excessive time and resources. 
• Fragmented data and high operational costs due to lack of system integration.
• Limited scalability makes it difficult to add new features, and utilize new technology to adapt to business growth.

Given VTI’s strong technical expertise, three years of collaboration with the client, and high know-how experience in retail, they trusted VTI to deliver a full-cycle solution.

Our Solution – Full-cycle development of a Cloud-based Procurement Management System

VTI handles full-cycle development, and rebuilt the procurement management system to enhance automation and efficiency: Requirement definition → Basic system design → Detail design → Development → Unit testing (UT) → Integration testing (IT) → System testing (ST), to Maintenance. 

How VTI Approach:

• Optimized system design based on a thorough business process review.
• Automation of manual tasks to reduce workload for procurement teams.
• Cloud migration for improved scalability, cost savings, and system reliability.

Some key system features:

• Supplier (Maker) management
• Inventory tracking (numbers of goods imported from different suppliers) and stock control (in-stock and goods sell-out data)
• Forecasting and stock replenishment recommendations for new periods of goods imports.
• Real-time stock vs. supplier invoice comparison 

Technology Used

• Cloud-based infrastructure (AWS) for lower costs and better scalability.
• Serverless framework to ensure high performance with minimal infrastructure costs.

Project Scope

• Headcounts: Upto 30 personnel
• Duration: 6+ months

Results

The new system delivered significant improvements:

• Cost reduction: Migrating to a Cloud-based system cuts initial and operational expenses by 6 times.

• Increase Efficiency: Automated workflows reduced procurement-related (inventory management, goods importing, stock replenishment forecast) work hours by 50%.
• Data accuracy: Fewer manual errors improved inventory tracking and order accuracy.
• Increase effective order forecast: The system leverages past data to give suggestions on order forecasts for the next procurement period.

With VTI’s expertise, the client successfully modernized their procurement management, reducing costs, improving efficiency, and strengthening their competitive edge in the retail industry.

The Future of Retail: Smarter Procurement, Stronger Operations

As the retail industry continues to evolve, businesses must embrace digital transformation to stay competitive. A modern, data-driven procurement management system is essential for reducing costs, improving efficiency, and ensuring seamless operations.

VTI empowers retailers with innovative, scalable solutions that enhance inventory management, streamline procurement, and optimize operational workflows. By leveraging cloud technology and automation, we help businesses achieve greater accuracy, agility, and cost savings in their supply chain processes.

>> Level-up retail procurement process/ inventory management with VTI’s advanced digital solutions.