Technology firm Celtech has launched an IT collaboration among some of its UK co-op clients, enabling them to benefit from sharing knowledge, processes and solutions.
Based in Dublin, Celtech has worked with UK co-operatives for a number of years to develop its ab-initio software application, which provides the core trading platform for a number of high profile food retail co-ops and department stores.
The system manages sales, stock, cash and membership transactions, while taking into account features which distinguish a co-op business from other retail businesses.
“The concept behind the co-op collaboration was that co-ops could share ideas and share costs where possible,” said Darragh Fanning, founder and managing director of Celtech Software Group.
“Our ab-initio software could be subsequently be enhanced further as this collaboration can provide strategic input to our development roadmap.”
The new collaboration means that, by deploying a single instance of the total co-op solution, once a feature is provided for one co-op customer, it is subsequently available for all.
Celtech successfully integrated with the Co-operative Retail Trading Group (CRTG), giving ab-initio the capability to take electronic product and promotional data on a daily basis from the Co-Op Head office in Manchester and automatically update this information for its independent co-op customers. It will identify which products are relevant for the particular society and provide information to assist with product ranging in-store.
It has also enabled space planning through integration with Galleria, which feeds off ab-initio’s master data and out to its POS module which enables clients to take in space plans from the Co-operative Group, feed them into Galleria if required and then integrate into the store ranging functionality that exists within ab-initio.
The system also has real-time stock reporting, promotions management options and membership capabilities, among others.
