Weber BBQ Grills

Grill manufacturer Weber starts first flagship store with LS Retail

Early 2014 marked the beginning of a new era for world-famous grill manufacturer Weber, as the company opened the world's first Weber original store. Located near Hackescher Markt, in the heart of Berlin, the Weber concept store provides the ultimate brand experience on over 500 square meters. Visitors are treated to the full range of Weber products as well as everything else relating to the brand. One particular highlight is the integrated Weber Grill Academy Original. Consumers can immerse themselves in the world of Weber and watch experienced grill-masters demonstrate the real "Weber way" of grilling.

First time into direct sales

A store was absolute uncharted territory for Weber: for the very first time the brand for charcoal, electric and gas grills went into direct sales. At the flagship store in Berlin, customers can purchase the entire Weber-product range directly from the manufacturer. Sophisticated logistics guarantees best availability of the Weber assortment worldwide, but to act as a retailer is a new experience for Weber. To protect from “burns” in sales and logistics, Microsoft Dynamics and LS Retail partner Kumavision took care of the implementation of LS Retail's retail management ERP and POS software. Weber chose Kumavision not only because of the LS Retail software solution, but also for its practical retail expertise and competence to deal with the requirements that this first flagship store required. As all Weber sales points worldwide already use Microsoft Dynamics, LS Retail software came as a natural first choice as the retail management and POS system for the new store.

A challenging implementation

"There have been two major challenges in this project,” says Günther Grimm, project manager operations at Weber. "Firstly, Weber has no experience in retail. Secondly, there was only a very short time period before the opening of the flagship store.” And this was no understatement: There were just eight weeks between the first workshop and the go-live of the flagship store. So priorities had to be assigned, regarding which functions and features would be necessary by opening day, and what might be postponed to be implemented later. "Because of this challenge, it was very pleasant for us that Kumavision responded with flexibly to meet our specifications, especially when the Weber team came up with new requirements only a few days before the opening," Grimm says.

External stocking warehouse

Stock control was one of the indispensable requirements from the start. The store in Berlin Mitte has only a very small amount of stock due to limited storing space (around 20 m²). So only the most necessary items are kept there. Furthermore, as Grimm says, "Customers don’t want to carry one of our larger grills through the pedestrian zone. Therefore, the availability of all items is ensured by a buffer stock outside the city area of Berlin.”

Great benefits with LS Retail software

Mobile POS giving real time access

With the help of mobile POS devices, the Weber sales staff can check each item's availability in real time both in-store and in the buffer stock. The staff can also easily initiate the delivery process after customers make their on-the-spot order. Each item can then be delivered directly to the customer’s car or sent to their home address.

Guided sales

LS Mobile POS offers even more significant value to the retailer: during the sales process both the customer and sales staff can access additional information like product details or images. The store also features a large video wall system displaying product versions and specs to support the sales staff. No matter what the customer needs, each item can be easily found, reviewed and added to the order. "So there is much flexibility and fluidity during the selling process, without any disturbing break to find the necessary information, while the staff assists each customer," says Grimm.

Continuous replenishment

The LS Retail software solution is more than a POS software. It covers and simplifies all typical retail store operations. Weber is planning to implement the LS Retail software Replenishment feature, so that continuous restock can be guaranteed directly out of the system. For this purpose, the system not only has a connection to the buffer stock and the central German stock, but it is also synced and connected to the ERP system at the German headquarters, giving them a complete overview of their business. The clear structure of the LS Retail software back office solution gives Weber the ability to centralize data management. For example, new items or price changes are automatically decided and sent to all POS devices directly from the headquarter office. Reports offer an analysis of sales data which helps management identify trends in a timely manner. In the near future, administration of customer data will be used to establish the integrated LS Retail Loyalty system.

KUMAVISION on site

Günther Grimm, project manager of Weber Germany was very satisfied with the Kumavision cooperation.  The implementation took place very quickly, and the Kumavision staff went on-site a week before the opening, to do the setup and training for the sales staff.  "Kumavision specialists have been available on-site for questions and technical support, which contributed significantly to the successful opening of the first store" said Grimm. "So, even though we were still working on the software until the last minute before the opening, everything went smoothly. Everything worked out much better than we expected.”