The billion-kronor company Cervera has recently completed a successful replacement of several systems and put a number of technical improvements in place. Behind this substantial effort is a collaboration between the company and Commerce Mind, who have helped with both strategic advisory and part of the hands-on work. 'You can rely on Commerce Mind and that should not be underestimated,' says Cervera's Head of IT Rasmus Andersson.
The successes had followed one another and revenue had risen to well above a billion when Cervera's leadership in the early 2020s realised it was high time to do something about the company's POS system. The retailer needed a new and sharp solution that could meet the ever-stronger pressure from consumers, but which of all the options on the market should they choose?
It is hard to find anyone who can give a sober view on the various options. So it was really nice to meet Commerce Mind. They call a spade a spade and look at the different solutions for what they actually are. We get their honest view on the advantages of A, B or C," says Rasmus Andersson.
We had looked at the different solutions from a functional perspective but we had no developers internally. We needed someone with slightly deeper technical expertise to look at the APIs and the technical documentation to see whether these systems would hold up to the needs and volumes we have.
When the work of reviewing the different POS systems was about to begin, Cervera got a fixed contact at Commerce Mind, who came to work continuously on the new engagement. But it did not take long before the collaboration between Cervera and Commerce Mind grew into new and even bigger areas.
From new POS system to new systems landscape
In 2021, Cervera got a new owner in the form of the Norwegian kitchen group Homeco, which also owns two other retail chains. After the work of finding a new POS for Cervera had begun, Homeco decided to review several other of the company's systems while the review was in progress anyway.
Homeco of course had their systems landscape from before, and when Cervera then was going to replace the POS system, they took a bit more consideration of how the group's systems landscape should look going forward. We were sitting with many home-built solutions we had built over many years and were therefore forced to take a slightly bigger grip, says Rasmus Andersson.
Rasmus Andersson, Head of Technology at Cervera, Kitchn & Tilbords
Since Commerce Mind came into the picture, Cervera has changed PIM system, got a new ERP and a new finance system, set up new e-commerce environments, reviewed the site's look, moved the company's data and of course got a new POS solution, which was what was on the agenda from the start.
What matters in a situation like this?
It is important that we get the systems to meet our functional requirements, that they really work in practice, not least when it comes to high pressure like during Black Week. So we had to take a technical overall grip.
Another aspect is that we cannot shut down during the implementation. Everything has to be done while the business is in full swing, which is one of the biggest challenges.
"Has incredibly broad expertise"
For Cervera it has been of great joy to be able to get help from a company that both has the technical expertise required to help with strategic advice and can therefore act as a sounding board, and has the possibility to do parts of the work themselves, says Rasmus Andersson.
Commerce Mind has helped us in so many ways. I probably thought at the start it would be a collaboration where they were an advisory party when it comes to development and technical details, but the collaboration has become very "hands on" and the team at Commerce Mind has incredibly broad expertise. They can do most things themselves, which is very nice.
Commerce Mind currently spends around 50 percent of a full-time position at you at Cervera. How would you describe your collaboration?
"It feels like dealing with colleagues, and that is what I think is so nice. We have worked with larger consulting firms before, and then it is often a bigger team you talk with, and it has to be status meetings and workshops. But here it is a Teams call with our contact at Commerce Mind. It is very easy to work that way. You get a completely different relationship this way.
It took just over a year to implement the new systems. But in a rapidly growing retailer there is almost always new development to take on, and according to Rasmus Andersson the collaboration between Cervera and Commerce Mind will continue for the foreseeable future.
Now we have quite a bit that we need to get done to get a stable environment, and Commerce Mind is an important piece of the puzzle in that work, not least now when we are looking at more synergies in the group. There their input is valuable.
We are good at seeing what we want to achieve and what requirements we set for systems and integrations. But it almost takes a developer to say how things should be built for maximum effect. And since we do not have any developers internally, it is very good to have Commerce Mind on board.
Beyond contributing with advice and carrying out implementation of systems and integrations, Commerce Mind has built integrations on Cervera's behalf. The company has also developed the open source solution Nexus that several of their clients have been able to use.
How important is Commerce Mind's independence in relation to other vendors?
It is super important. It means you can trust what they say in a different way, it does not become a lot of sales talk.
Flexible arrangement
The arrangement between Commerce Mind and Cervera works so that Commerce Mind carries out as much work as needed and invoices accordingly. Even though the companies currently have an agreement of roughly 50 percent of a full-time position, there is no requirement from Commerce Mind to be able to bill a certain number of hours. A flexibility that provides great value, as Rasmus Andersson sees it.
It has been super good to be able to use Commerce Mind in a flexible way, adapted to our needs. When we have had a higher workload we have been able to bring in more help, and when it has been a bit quieter we have been able to reduce the effort. This flexibility has really been valuable to us.
Why do you think that as a retailer you should get help from Commerce Mind?
This journey has really shown the value of having partners that are engaged and present when needed. Commerce Mind has shown a strong will to build long-term relationships and has been both an advisory partner and a practical resource when it has been needed. Their support has been invaluable to us.
So you would recommend them to others?
Absolutely. I feel we have got the most out of the internal expertise we have in combination with Commerce Mind's expertise.
Rasmus Andersson finally highlights that Commerce Mind's team has worked with many different companies and therefore has good insight into the range of technical solutions and how they work in practice.
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