Problems with new data system: Lidl blows 500 million euros
The Lidl brand plate at a branch. Picture: BR/Herbert Ebner
Lidl has been expanding for years. The discounter from Neckarsulm now has branches in almost all countries in Europe and is now also growing in the USA. A new merchandise management system was needed to provide an easy overview of the increasingly complex business processes and to control the stores, purchasing and logistics. That was the decision made in 2011.
System is not suitable for high-turnover countries
Software from the Walldorf-based operating software group SAP was to be adapted to Lidl's needs. So far, however, the new system has only been introduced in the small agencies in Austria, Northern Ireland and the USA. This has shown that the SAP version developed by more than a hundred IT specialists is not suitable for high-revenue countries. Now Lidl has stopped the project. In a letter to the staff of the newspaper "Heilbronner Stimme" it was stated that the actual "goals" could not be achieved "with justifiable effort". Experts believe that the project has already cost more than half a billion euros - for costly IT consultants and SAP licenses, for example. Lidl now wants to further develop its old merchandise management system.
Problems with new data system: Lidl blows 500 million euros
The Lidl brand plate at a branch. Picture: BR/Herbert Ebner
Lidl has been expanding for years. The discounter from Neckarsulm now has branches in almost all countries in Europe and is now also growing in the USA. A new merchandise management system was needed to provide an easy overview of the increasingly complex business processes and to control the stores, purchasing and logistics. That was the decision made in 2011.
System is not suitable for high-turnover countries
Software from the Walldorf-based operating software group SAP was to be adapted to Lidl's needs. So far, however, the new system has only been introduced in the small agencies in Austria, Northern Ireland and the USA. This has shown that the SAP version developed by more than a hundred IT specialists is not suitable for high-revenue countries. Now Lidl has stopped the project. In a letter to the staff of the newspaper "Heilbronner Stimme" it was stated that the actual "goals" could not be achieved "with justifiable effort". Experts believe that the project has already cost more than half a billion euros - for costly IT consultants and SAP licenses, for example. Lidl now wants to further develop its old merchandise management system.