Today, it stands as one of India's foremost packaged tea companies. In addition to its extensive product range, Wagh Bakri also operates tea lounges and kiosks where customers can taste the finest teas.

Business case

Before moving to LS Central, the company used a customized local solution called Centramation for over 1.5 years. "We sought an integrated system to seamlessly manage both front-office and back-office operations," says Mr. P. Desai, Member of the Board at Wagh Bakri Tea Group. "The main challenge with our solution was that it was a standalone POS solution, which was not scalable enough to handle our growing business needs.” Inventories never matched, causing ongoing issues with stock levels, and reports could not provide real-time data, making it impossible to make timely and informed decisions. “Reconciling sales figures with finance was a nightmare and we regularly had operational issues disrupting our business processes,” says Desai.

Solution

Wagh Bakri Tea Group evaluated several solutions before selecting LS Central as the best fit. "LS Central's capabilities were exactly what we needed to streamline our operations," says Desai. "Scalability was crucial for us, given our ambitious expansion plans."

Local LS Retail partner Trident Information Systems managed the implementation, including integrating with food aggregators and payment gateways. Even though there were some challenges with taxation, Trident and the LS Retail team helped Wagh Bakri Tea Group get through them. “The Trident team has been very supportive and flexible throughout the process, we worked quite in tandem and went live with all stores in a big bang manner,” says Desai.

Benefits

LS Central has significantly streamlined several critical processes for Wagh Bakri Tea Group, including:

• Streamlined inventory management: Stock levels are now optimized and precise, reducing the risk of stockouts. “The system efficiently forecasts daily needs based on previous sales data, improving supply chain accuracy and reliability,” says Desai.
• Enhanced customer loyalty: The Member Management functionality in LS Central offers the possibility to create personalized promotions for different types of users, therefore boosting customer engagement.
• Mobile POS capabilities: Employees can manage operations on the go in physical stores using handheld devices, offering continuous oversight and flexibility.
• Automatic order receival: Orders from food aggregators and marketplaces are automatically received on the POS, streamlining the process, and providing better oversight.
• Payment tracking: Sales made at the POS are instantly reflected in the ERP, enabling reliable financial reporting and informed decision-making.

These improvements are reflected in the company’s key metrics:

• Order accuracy: Purchase orders are now 100% accurate and processed to the head office within 30-40 minutes.
• Z report: The report, which previously took until the next day, is now instantly available with LS Central.
• Forecasting: Daily forecast needs are based on sales trends from the past four weeks, allowing for more responsive inventory management.
• 24/7 operations: Tea lounges can send and track requests around the clock, ensuring smooth, continuous operations.