PARIS and ATLANTA, Oct. 8, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Leading supply chain solutions provider, Manhattan Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq:MANH), today announced that 3 Suisses France, one of France's foremost catalogue and online retailers and part of the 3 Suisses International Group, has selected Manhattan Associates' supply chain platform to modernise its French and international multi-channel fulfilment operation. The Manhattan Associates solution will be deployed at 3 Suisses France's five distribution centres (DC) located in Croix, Northern France, which together total more than 140,000 square meters of warehousing space. The solution implementation will be jointly led by Manhattan Associates and SI3SI, the IT services subsidiary of 3 Suisses International (3SI) Group's Textile and Household Goods Division.
Founded in 1932, 3 Suisses France originally ran a mail-order service for woollen knitting yarn manufactured by the spinning plant owned by the Toulemonde-Destombes family. 3 Suisses France has since become one of France's leaders in multi-channel distance selling, offering customers a wide range of goods including clothing, cosmetics, household items, audio visual equipment, computer and office supplies as well as a range of financial products, all of which can be bought via the internet, by mail-order or over the phone.
Each year, 3 Suisses France delivers more than 17 million consignments to its customers, representing a total of more than 60 million individual items. With a presence on the Internet since 2000, the multi-channel retailer now generates 30% of its revenue through this increasingly important channel. 3 Suisses France's supply chain is characterised by a round-the-clock distribution operation that is supported by 20 regional distribution hubs from where goods are delivered either directly to customers' homes or to a network of 3,500 'Relay Points' (in-store collection points found in convenience stores throughout France). 3 Suisses France also has activities in Germany and in Belgium, where distribution is managed independently.
3 Suisses France had previously used a proprietary supply chain system, developed by SI3SI, the IT services subsidiary of 3SI Group's Textile and Household Goods Division. Despite being very stable and reliable however the system became too difficult to maintain and develop. 3 Suisses France consequently decided to adopt a third party solution that could both manage its supply chain operation and support its overall business objectives. Amongst a range of criteria, the new solution had to demonstrate a high level of configurability to address several specific requirements of 3 Suisses France's fulfilment operation, including the way it prepared orders and the manner in which it managed its packing process. The promise of being able to implement in a very short time frame from appointment was also a critical factor in 3 Suisses France's selection of Manhattan Associates.
"Manhattan Associates' supply chain platform is a highly configurable solution and so they could deliver exactly what we were looking for," comments Jean-Luc Vandenbussche, logistics manager at 3 Suisses France. "We were also swayed by the level of expertise, experience and professionalism demonstrated by the Manhattan Associates team during the selection process. We felt that the Manhattan Associates' solution, approach, and staff, combined with the project management expertise of our own IT services subsidiary, would give us an extremely high level of confidence in delivering a successful project that would help us achieve our over-riding objective of enhancing our customers' service experience."
"We're delighted that 3 Suisses France has selected our supply chain platform," said Henri Seroux, managing director of Manhattan Associates in France. "3 Suisses France is already a well known brand in France and is gaining popularity quickly in international markets. This is due in large part to the quality of its products but also to the service levels its customers experience when they buy. We will clearly have a part to play in the future service experience of 3 Suisses France's customers and are confident that our solutions will provide the company with a sustainable competitive edge."
About 3 Suisses France
3 Suisses France is part of the 3 Suisses International (3SI) Group. The 3SI Group strategy is focused on its core business and its expertise in multichannel distance selling via the Internet, telephone and catalogues. The 3SI Group offers the largest variety of products in the distance selling industry. It has developed its specific expertise in very different fields: clothing and household goods, cosmetics, financial services, office supplies and business services.
Each of the Group's companies builds its own brand equity for the family of products and target clientele it has chosen. The Group is pursuing its international growth and is now established in 15 countries in Western and Central Europe and Asia, employing more than 12,500 people in total. For more information, visit www.3suissesinternational.com.
About Manhattan Associates, Inc.
Manhattan Associates(r) provides global supply chain solutions to organizations that consider supply chain software, processes and technology strategic to market leadership. The company's software portfolio includes five key Supply Chain Solution Suites: Planning and Forecasting, Inventory Optimization, Order Lifecycle Management, Transportation Lifecycle Management and Distribution Management. These solution suites are enhanced by Platform Applications -- including Supply Chain Intelligence, Supply Chain Visibility and Supply Chain Event Management -- that organize and deliver the information and processes needed to optimize supply chains across functions and locations within and outside an enterprise. A Supply Chain Process Platform provides a unifying architecture that fosters agility and scalability while minimising solution implementation, evolution and support costs. More than 1,200 customers worldwide use Manhattan Associates' global supply chain solutions to enhance profitability and build sustainable competitive advantage. For more information, please visit www.manh.com.