Sari Road, first store to go live on Arch.

Arch Retail Solutions has embarked on a global expansion strategy beyond its traditional southern African footprint. As part of this, Al Raya, a supermarket chain in Saudi Arabia, contracted Arch to implement the suite of Arch solutions in the group (51 stores, a DC and three bakery production centres).

Al Raya Supermarkets was founded in 1991 in Jeddah as a pioneer in the supermarket business. Al Raya Supermarkets has grown to become a robust network of supermarkets across the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, establishing itself as a household brand from the border with Jordan to the border with Yemen. The head office of the group is in Jeddah.

Arch in operation at Point-of-sale.

A multi-disciplinary team, consisting of a core of Arch personnel, working closely with the Al Raya team, did all the planning and pre-work from July to October 2023. The early part of the project involved custom development to address the operational needs of Al Raya. Great care was taken to ensure all eventualities were covered before implementation commenced. The first store, Al Raya Sari, went live in November 2023 and the roll-out was completed in February 2024.

The full suite of Arch retail management solutions is now deployed in Al Raya:

• Arch Enterprise, an ERP solution centrally controlling the operation.
• Arch Retail, in-store solution driving operational efficiency and, ultimately, profitability.
• Arch Mobile, management capability for quick on-the-floor management intervention.
• Financial integration – seamless flow of operational data from Arch Retail to SAGE Evolution.
• Integrated EFT to local banks.
• Integrated telco/virtual services to local mobile companies.
• WMS integration into the DC.

The completion of all 51 stores was celebrated at head office with a cake sporting both the logos of Al Raya and Arch. Says Paul Gleed, Project Lead from Arch: “The project’s success can largely be attributed to the excellent collaboration between the Arch and Al Raya teams working around the clock to ensure success.”

Cake to celebrate the completion of Arch roll-out.

Arch Retail Solutions is proud to be the solution of choice at Al Raya and trusts the business partnership will go from strength to strength.