Spar Group encountered multiple obstacles during the SAP rollout, particularly at its KZN distribution centre.

After more than a year of battling with SAP software glitches, the international wholesaler and distributor of goods Spar Group is now trying to deploy "a more cost-effective warehouse system."

Spar today released its interim financial results for the six months ended March 31, stating that the company is still experiencing SAP integration problems.

The company says: “Following the first regional launch of SAP ERP and warehouse management system at the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) distribution centre in February 2023, the business experienced several integration issues.

“Of these, two remain: the negative gross margin impact caused by buyers having less visibility of pricing and subsidies, and inefficiencies of the warehouse management system.

“With respect to the gross margin issue, further developments and designs are being implemented to improve the pricing screens and will be productionised in September 2024.

“The decision has also been made to implement a more cost-effective warehouse management system that is better suited for our business.”

Spar Group has lost millions of dollars as a result of these software glitches.

The group’s transition to SAP caused a number of go-live and integration challenges, which had a detrimental impact on distribution operations.

The company operates more than 13 600 outlets in 48 countries and four continents.