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ORGANIZATION

Founded in London in 1975, the leading miniature wargames manufacturer Games Workshop now has more than 500 retail stores worldwide and annual revenues of over £445 million. Its products, which have a passionate global following, are sold online, at its own stores, through over 6,500 independent retailers, and at pop-ups and trade shows.

CHALLENGES

Games Workshop needed to replace its legacy platform with a new best-of-breed order management system capable of managing fulfillment through the company s four major warehouses – two in the UK, one in the US, and one in Australia. Because some items are not stocked in all four warehouses, coordination between them is crucial.

The company s legacy equipment included point of sale systems that lacked Internet connectivity. One of the key changes that Games Workshop sought was an upgrade that could improve the customer experience by supporting click and collect and ship from store functionality. Games Workshop s wide and growing range of products presented a particular challenge. New themes and characters are constantly being introduced, generating a long tail of diverse and unique product lines that have been created over Games Workshop s long history. What s more, due to the materials used, some older products cannot be shipped. The product line also includes virtual items such as subscriptions and gift vouchers, as well as made-to-order items that were offered in the past but are now produced only if enough orders are placed for them. That means that in some cases, an order can be placed but not fulfilled for several months, adding significant complexity around lead times. In addressing these challenges, Games Workshop was eager to have the new implementation up and running in advance of the holiday season, requiring a speedy discovery process and deployment.

SOLUTIONS

FLUENT COMMERCE

To meet their needs for an updated solution, Games Workshop implemented Fluent to coordinate fulfillment across all channels, including D2C, retail store replenishment, and trade shows, as well as the distribution of inventory between the company s warehouses in the US, UK, and Australia.

RAPID TIME TO MARKET

In response to Games Workshop s request for a fast deployment, Ayata completed a highly accelerated discovery process. The result was a transformative implementation that provided Games Workshop with a rapid time to market while supporting the complex functionality the company required.

FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The implementation now provides Games Workshop with a solid foundation upon which to add new functionality as needed, including the ability to partition stock across various business types to ensure that high-demand items are available where and when they re required.

RESULTS

Ayata responded to Games Workshops need for a rapid deployment with an accelerated process that went from starting discovery to development in under two weeks.
The Fluent implementation gives Games Workshop the ability to support click and collect and ship from store at its locations worldwide.
Games Workshop now has a single view of all inventory across its US, UK, and Australian warehouses and its more than 500 retail stores.