The Client

Jula is a DIY retailer offering products for all kinds of professional and DIY projects. Jula has a presence in Sweden, Norway and Poland.

The Challenge

As a rapidly growing retail business, Jula reached a point where continued expansion would only be possible with a new set of tools for tracking and planning.

The Results

By using the platform, Jula is getting the infrastructure needed to integrate its various business system – including PIM, ERP and CRM – into one streamlined process. The software stores all information from input on product managing, customer relations, campaigns to supplier collaborations.

“We were simply getting too big to continue using just spreadsheets, and needed a smarter way of working. PLM makes the process much more efficient and faster, helping us reach our goals for continued growth without the need for extra staff”
Magnus Sigurd, Business Development Director, Jula

Leading DIY (Do-It-Yourself) retailer Jula has been one of Sweden’s fastest growing companies over the last 10 years. That level of success also brings new challenges, and Jula reached a point where continued expansion would only be possible with a new set of tools for tracking and planning.

Challenge

Jula specialises in low-cost quality products for the do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiast and professionals alike, ranging from shower curtains to power tools for the home, car or garden.

The company’s growth has been staggering, as it doubled its number of retail stores to more than 80 over the last three years. Jula has no plans of slowing down and wants to keep expanding its presence both in Scandinavia and beyond.

But management realised that its existing work processes would struggle to facilitate further growth. The implementation of a PLM solution to manage workflows efficiently became inevitable – both because of Jula’s growth and longtail strategy.

“We were simply getting too big to continue using just spreadsheets and needed a smarter way of working. We have thousands of different products to keep track of throughout their lifecycle. PLM makes the process much more efficient and faster, helping us reach our goals for continued growth without the need for extra staff,” says Magnus Sigurd, Business Development Director at Jula.

In particular, the mentioned “thousands of different products” add up to an assortment including 14,000 different products. The assortment consists of Jula’s nine own brands alongside its multitude of outside suppliers. Thus, keeping track of everything is a massive challenge and adds further requests to the proposed software solution.

Jonas Gejer, CEO at TECHNIA, observes: “The bigger a company gets, the bigger the demands get.”

He further addresses certain challenges: “The combination of a broad range of products, lots of ad campaigns, fast business decisions and very high demands mean that you eventually get to a point where working in spreadsheets or a setup with non-integrated systems simply isn’t sufficient. PLM gives you a full overview of the past, present and future.”

These days, retail companies also face stricter legal requirements than ever, while the demands and expectations from customers continue to grow as well.

To address those challenges, the company turned to a PLM software, and chose TECHNIA as its strategic partner along the journey of implementation. Together, they optimized every work process from finding new products to promoting them in advertising campaigns.

Solution

Jula’s PLM solution is based on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform from Dassault Systèmes. As Dassault Systèmes’ competent partner, TECHNIA operates as a single point of contact for all aspects of the implementation, software, business consulting, configuring the solution, data loading, training and change management and support services.

By using the platform, Jula is getting the infrastructure needed to integrate its various business system – including PIM, ERP and CRM – into one streamlined process. The software stores all information from input on product managing, customer relations, campaigns to supplier collaborations.

For Jula, that overview is crucial.

Like most retail companies, Jula must be able to keep track of a product’s origins and content while also offering information about its specifications to customers through a multitude of channels in-store and online. And its advertising campaigns can often be planned up to six months in advance, meaning exact timing is needed to prevent unnecessary storage costs.

With the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, everyone in the company can stay up to date at all times and see exactly what needs to be done at any stage in the process.

Gain

For TECHNIA, this process is about more than just helping Jula implement the new system.

TECHNIA is also helping ease the transition by serving as a consultant to show how every different part of the platform can be used to serve the company’s needs. The right tools are only effective if they are used in the right way, which is why it’s so important to have a partner that knows the industry first-hand.

With in-depth knowledge in 3DEXPERIENCE Platform as well as in the retail industry, Jula was able to implement the software solution successfully.

“We have people with a background in retail and we know how the industry operates. We want to be a true partner throughout this journey. As a customer, it’s really difficult to envision how you will be working a year from now with the new processes made possible by PLM. As a consultant you want to do everything you can to help ease the transition,” says Anna Liljedahl, senior advisor for retail at TECHNIA.

Photo Copyright: Jula

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