Words Manish Kumar
NEW DELHI (India CSR): In what experts are calling a landmark transformation in regional retail operations, the KOJ Group has reportedly achieved major operational and financial gains following the implementation of Oracle’s Order Broker ERP system across its 800+ store network. The initiative, steered by retail systems expert Devender Yadav, is now being cited as a textbook case in executing high-stakes omnichannel transformation.
According to Yadav, the project’s scope extended far beyond conventional software deployment. “We weren’t just plugging in a system—we were rebuilding how we fulfilled customer expectations,” he said.
The initiative integrated the new Order Broker platform with KOJ’s legacy Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, e-commerce websites & mobile apps, and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). The real challenge, Yadav explained, was orchestrating new operational workflows across a complex network of over 800 stores. This involved transforming traditional in-store operations into an omnichannel model—one that supports picking, packing, and dispatching online orders, while also enabling customers to place orders for out-of-stock products in-store and have them delivered to their doorstep from the nearest store or fulfillment center
During implementation, the biggest challenge encountered by the team was to definethe optimal fulfillment rules—such as sourcing from the closest store versus the one with the most inventory—proved to be especially challenging. “Managing real-time data flows across systems and ensuring a frictionless experience for both internal users and customers was a massive hurdle,” Yadav added.
The payoff from the project, however, was clearly measurable. Most notably, KOJ Group achieved $1 million in annual operational cost savings, driven by improved inventory utilization and greater fulfillment efficiency. A major milestone was the establishment of a unified inventory view across more than 800 retail locations, providing real-time stock tracking that proved central to the overall transformation. Additionally, internal metrics—while largely proprietary—reportedly reflected significant improvements, including shortened order-to-delivery timelines, reduced order cancellation rates due to stockouts, an increase in omnichannel order fulfillment through ship-from-store and click-and-collect models, and enhanced inventory accuracy across the network.
Yadav confirmed that one of the biggest pain points was aligning disparate systems. “Each platform—POS, WMS, e-commerceplatform—had its own data language. Getting them to talk to each other seamlessly required intense integration effort,” he stated.
Change management also emerged as a formidable challenge. With thousands of retail staff needing to adapt to hybrid workflows, the company invested heavily in communication, hands-on training, and support. “We had to drive home the message that this wasn’t just a tech upgrade—it was a shift in how the business functioned,” said Yadav.
He also highlighted data integrity as a major pre-launch hurdle. “Cleaning and validating inventory data across 800 stores before go-live was painstaking. But it had to be done right the first time,” he noted.
Further underlining his thought leadership in this domain, Yadav has authored a research paper published in the All Multidisciplinary Journal, which explores operational efficiencies in ERP-driven ecosystems. Read the paper here.
Coming from the expert’s table, Yadav emphasized that a unified inventory is no longer a feature but a “prerequisite” for modern retail operations. “Without it, true omnichannel fulfillment is simply unworkable,” he stressed.
He further argued that such transformations demand more than technical implementation. “It’s an organizational shift. Retail staff become fulfillment operators. IT, operations, and customer service must work as one unit,” Yadav explained.
Looking ahead, Yadav outlined several key trends poised to shape the future of retail operations. He emphasized the rise of AI-powered optimization, where algorithms will not only focus on minimizing costs but also incorporate factors like delivery speed, customer lifetime value, and even carbon footprint into decision-making processes. Another major shift he pointed to is the demand for hyper-convenience, with increasing pressure on retailers to offer same-day or even sub-hour delivery options, particularly in dense urban markets. Yadav also highlighted the growing importance of sustainability-driven logic, noting that eco-conscious sourcing and fulfillment strategies will soon become critical to maintaining positive brand perception among environmentally aware consumers.
Finally, he predicted the advancement toward truly unified commerce, where online and offline experiences—including shopping, loyalty programs, payments, and customer service—will seamlessly converge into a single, integrated platform to meet evolving customer expectations. His firsthand advice for businesses? “Secure top-level sponsorship, start with data standardization, train like your rollout depends on it—and above all, keep your eyes on the customer experience. That’s what ties it all together.”
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Manish Kumar is a news editor at India CSR.
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