Brands For Less boosts employee experience with Oracle Cloud Applications

Brands For Less (BFL) Group is one of the world’s leading off-price fashion, homeware, and toy retailers. The business launched in Lebanon in 1996, when the group’s cofounders introduced a unique off-price business model—buy branded products for less. In 2020, BFL moved its headquarters to the United Arab Emirates, while also expanding its operations across the Middle East and Europe.

BFL’s  mission is to offer customers a wide variety of designer brands and trendy products at up to 80% off retail prices. The group has become known for its unique “Treasure Hunt” model, ensuring stores always have something new to discover.

During the height of the pandemic, BFL continued to serve customers, keep operations running, and maintain a positive work environment for its employees.

However, BFL’s operations were based on legacy, in-house applications. The company decided to embark on a large-scale digitization strategy. It wanted to expand its online presence and invest in cloud applications.

To keep up with its fast-growing business, BFL Group required a strategic and unified back-office system. It discovered that Oracle’s innovation and leadership in the cloud supported the company’s goals.

The company adopted Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM).

After switching to Oracle Cloud applications, the teams  noticed immediate improvements and no longer feared data loss, because data was automatically saved in the cloud. Employees also appreciated the flexibility provided by moving from on-premises applications to the cloud, especially during the pandemic, when most employees had to work remotely.

After deploying Oracle Cloud ERP, BFL reduced operational costs, while enabling its employees to provide better customer experience. Oracle Cloud’s modern Procure-to-Pay process helped streamline processes and increase efficiency through improved controls and reports. The teams also significantly improved budgetary controls, selection of goods and services, as well as creation of quotes, purchase requests, and purchase orders. It automated accounts payable invoices and payments.

Moving to the cloud also helped BFL integrate its many operating companies and multiple currencies into one unified report. Additionally, BFL was able to complete its monthly financial reporting 50% faster, owing to a single cloud platform. Oracle Cloud ERP helped increase overall productivity, enabling the financial team to make decisions quickly to support the expanding business.

Furthermore, Oracle Cloud HCM and Oracle Cloud Payroll enhanced the HR department's collaboration and operations. Oracle Cloud HCM also helped maintain data confidence, with positive responses recorded across all teams from various regions of operations. With increased efficiency and built-in controls, cycle times dropped, and managers allocated more time for core responsibilities.

Prior to adopting Oracle Time and Labor, employee attendance tracking had been a time-consuming process, because attendance sheets were manually completed by the HR department into the legacy system. Then, discrepancies that needed additional manual confirmation were sent via email to the various departments. Employees now track their own hours, access attendance reports, and are accountable for resolving discrepancies. Employees can also view their pay slips, which brings improved clarity to payroll.

BFL enhanced its operations with Oracle Cloud HCM, which proved to be a superior workforce management system. In the future, BFL aims to speed up recruitment processes, attract top talent, and streamline the candidate experience with Oracle Recruiting.