SPORT 2000 on a journey to EDI

Upgrad EDI for SPORT 2000

At the Austrian sporting goods retailer SPORT 2000, automated data ensure swift merchandise availability, both offline and online.

#DeinZielvorAugen (your goal in sight). This is the hashtag used in all SPORT 2000 communication channels. It has been created to showcase the athletic goals of the company’s clients. When it comes to introducing and upgrading Electronic Data Interchange, this company headquartered in Upper Austria has always had a very clear goal in sight. As early as 2011, being a true trailblazer in the industry, SPORT 2000 paved the way for this technology and chose the route of standardization. This means that as a first step, all business partners were identified via the GS1 standard GLN (Global Location Number) and all articles were identified via GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) or EAN. This step opened up new avenues for SPORT 2000 for reaching its goal, which includes swift and automated communication processes with external suppliers as well as suppliers within the company’s own supplier network. This is the area where EDITEL has been providing its in-depth expertise for the past ten years.

Automated data thanks to EDI for smooth operations at SPORT 2000

As a member of the EDI working group “sporting goods retailers” spearheaded by GS1 Austria, EDITEL started by creating and implementing EANCOM/EDIFACT interfaces in a collaborative process. The focus was primarily on correct article master data. Thanks to the electronic price catalog PRICAT and the elimination of manual entries, these are now in the system, always up-to-date and largely error-free. For this purpose, SPORT 2000 runs its own in-house data clearing center that focuses on the accuracy of master data and their distribution to specialized retailers as well as on increasing the automation level for existing processes. After all, as Holger Schwarting, the managing director of SPORT 2000 Austria, put it: “Even back then, we knew for a fact that smooth operations presupposed automated data, which ultimately ensures that products are correctly and swiftly made available to our clients without the need for any manual work.” Things soon gained traction and additional processes such as orders (ORDERS), order confirmations (ORDRSP), despatch advices (DESADV) and invoices (INVOIC) were introduced. The basis for future VMI concepts (vendor managed inventory), which are increasingly gaining ground as a result of ever higher expenses for storage space and the resulting scarcity, will be message types such as sales data reports (SLSRPT) and inventory reports (INVRPT).

Embrace e-business and launched the online shop

The relevance of these automation steps taken at SPORT 2000 was highlighted by newly developed business models designed to meet clients’ needs for ever faster merchandise availability. In 2020, the company also decided to embrace e-business and launched shop.sport2000.at. For online retailing, accurate data are crucial because they need to be available in real time. SPORT 2000 has seen similar success with its “extended counter” concept. Whenever an article is not available at a store, vendors can access the entire vendor network in a swift and straightforward process. Customers will then receive the merchandise in the mail. “Thanks to EDI, it takes just a click of the mouse for all our vendors to know what, when, and where specific articles are available,” said Mr. Schwarting, emphasizing the benefits of this concept. For this to always work without a glitch, Mr. Schwarting said it is key to have a “reliable EDI partner such as EDITEL who is flexible and can connect new vendors to the automated process without delay while supporting us with innovative ideas.” With this goal in sight, EDITEL will continue ensuring secure data communication processes at SPORT 2000.

In brief

• Introduction of business partner and article identification via GLN and GTIN
• Data communication based on EANCOM/EDIFACT interfaces
• Technical connection of business partners
• Support for the rollout and onboarding process
• Ongoing assistance for process improvement