Outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu has implemented Intranet Dashboard (iD) across its 80 stores in New Zealand, Australia and the UK to improve internal communications through more timely and efficient information sharing. Kathmandu selected the platform over SharePoint after the company discovered it offered most of the features it needed straight out of the box for a fraction of the price.
Information systems general manager Bryan Moore says the system was also much less complex, making the decision a “no-brainer.”
Following Kathmandu’s sale three years ago, internal communications was identified as a key issue.
The company was using phone and fax to communicate with its remote staff, which was proving difficult, and at times ineffective.
“The intranet lets us channel information to our stores through the one gateway and governs the style and timing of our communications,” says Moore.
“It provides a huge opportunity for us to engage with the sale force. Ultimately, we wanted to make sure that everyone is on the same page and aware of promotions, events and related activities. iD gives us one version of the truth.”
The new intranet is also operating as a business intelligence tool by enabling it to gather more feedback and data from its 80 stores.
“iD has tools inbuilt that allows us to take timely feedback from our sales force and provide a holistic view of business activity,” adds Moore.
Phase one of the iD rollout has gone live with a second phase to follow in a few months time, which will see further functions added into the intranet.
According to Kathmandu, staff feedback to date has been positive with a survey revealing sixty percent of employees rate the new intranet as “fantastic.”
