Canadian co-op builds toward streamlined merchandise management

Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) is planning inventory of home and building products across all its member retailers.

Saskatoon-based FCL, which is owned by more than 170 autonomous retail co-operatives across western Canada, is going live on the Mi9 Retail unified commerce platform for merchandise management, business intelligence, and point of sale. On behalf of its home and building solutions (HABS) business, FCL will leverage the Mi9 merchandise management system to plan inventory holistically across all member associations.

FCL intends to ensure inventory is managed properly throughout its entire lifecycle and obtain the ability to control stock turn and prevent over-ordering in season. FCL's will also standardize in-store inventory processes and support co-op management around customers, contractor pricing, authorized signers, and returns, with estimate/quote enhancements. 

As a result, FCL seeks to have independent retail co-operative members will benefit from improved product assortment planning. The first store went live in July 2019 and the remaining stores will be live on the new system in 2020.

"With the Mi9 solution, we found a platform to modernize the systems of our HABS members to drive growth and streamline their processes," said Walter Roth, director, retail solutions at FCL. "With a number of the member associations having different processes, we wanted them all to have the ability to order, stock, and sell different merchandise in a more efficient manner across all locations."