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Musgrave instructs PMC to manage EPoS selection

PMC brought invaluable market insight to bear on our search for a new solution that will deliver a step change in the shopping experience we deliver to our customers. Their ability to drive out our complex requirements and focus on the right criteria for selection gave us confidence in our decision-making.”

Musgrave Group operates or supports over 3,000 local food stores across Ireland, the UK and Spain, with a combined total of over 5,000 POS lanes.  It delivers the sourcing, sales, marketing and supply chain expertise which enables local entrepreneurs to go head-to-head with the international supermarket chains.  

The Business Challenge

Over time, Musgrave Group’s operated stores and partners have implemented a range of different EPoS applications and hardware solutions.  The resulting fragmented nature of the estate presented challenges in a number of areas, especially around support and communications.  Musgrave concluded that there were significant benefits to be gained from implementing a single software and hardware solution across the entire estate.  These benefits included:

• Lower cost of supporting a single solution and standardised hardware which could be passed on to its partners.
• Lower capital costs as a consequence of buying for the entire group, resulting in lower set up costs for partners.
• More efficient and streamlined communications with stores.
• Better management and implementation of promotions.
• Consistent customer experience across the estate.

 Having made the decision to implement single solutions for EPoS software and hardware, the next task for Musgrave was select the appropriate solutions and suppliers.  Musgrave Group concluded that it wished to work with a specialist partner to manage the selection process.  After discussing their needs with a number of potential consulting partners, Musgrave decided that PMC was best placed to manage the process for them.  

The Solution

PMC assigned a team consisting of a lead consultant and subject matter experts (SMEs) and deployed its’ proven 5-stage selection methodology to identify, collate and validate Musgrave’s functional requirements. The engagement began with PMC consultants holding multiple stakeholder interviews alongside store visits to the Retail Brands, to understand the key business drivers. This provided a balanced view of the organisation and the system requirements, enabling PMC to provide a clear set of defined requirements for the Musgrave selection team to sign off.  These requirements then formed the basis for a formal Request for Information (RFI), which was sent to a “long-list” of potential suppliers. 

The RFI responses were scored and evaluated and a short-list of potential suppliers was established.  These suppliers then received a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) covering all of the requirements areas in more detail as well as the required commercial model. 

Throughout the process, PMC’s consulting team managed the supplier liaison, arranged solutions demonstrations and supported the Musgrave team during their supplier evaluations.

Result

PMC’s proven selection approach and industry insight enabled Musgrave Group to reach an evidence-based decision as to which supplier and solution best met its needs.  PMC continued working with Musgrave Group during the subsequent commercial discussions to ensure that appropriate service level agreements were built in from the outset and the implementation project was set up for a successful delivery.

Tony Mather further commented, “PMC delivered a well managed process which helped us arrive at the right decision and much faster than we would have achieved on our own.  Their insight and advice throughout the engagement was invaluable in helping us shape our view of what we needed and ensuring that the suppliers’ proposals addressed those needs fully and in a way which facilitated fair and pragmatic assessment and comparison.”