The specialist retailer of games and toys has chosen Hardis SC Network to simplify collaboration between its own shops and carriers, digitise goods receipt at the shop, manage claims with carriers and monitor transport performance. The solution also enables shops to track the dispatch of their pallets from the central warehouse in real time.
Hardis Supply Chain, a software company specialising in supply chain management, is implementing Hardis SC Network, the collaboration and visibility platform, in King Jouet’s own shops. The solution is integrated with Hardis WMS in the central warehouse and enables retail outlets to verify the compliance of deliveries, handle claims in collaboration with carriers and calculate transport service levels. Following a successful pilot phase, Hardis SC Network is now in use in the chain’s own shops in France and Switzerland. The roll-out in Belgium and Luxembourg is expected to be completed in September 2026.
Limited insight into transport service levels
King Jouet is a family-run business specialising in the sale of games and toys. The chain comprises nearly 400 company-owned and franchise shops. Since 2008, the 42,000 m² central logistics warehouse in Rives, near Grenoble, has been managed using Hardis WMS, which handles both B2B and e-commerce flows.
Deliveries to the shops are carried out by around ten transport partners, who in turn work with freight forwarders. As there were no tools available to share data between the various parties, King Jouet did not have a consolidated overview of the level of transport service.
“Each carrier managed service levels and claims in its own Excel file, which made it difficult to monitor overall performance. This created a ‘grey area’ between the goods leaving the warehouse and their actual receipt at the shop,” explains Abdelatif Karali, Director of Product & Supply at King Jouet.
Hardis SC Network plays a central role in King Jouet’s retail operations and transport performance
After reviewing various solutions on the market that did not meet its requirements, King Jouet opted for Hardis Supply Chain’s proposal: the development of a mobile application based on the Hardis SC Network platform, which is linked to Hardis WMS in the central warehouse. As shop staff already had PDAs, the investment offered an attractive balance between cost, functionality and operational benefits.
At this stage, the solution meets three of King Jouet’s requirements:
- Digitisation of goods receipt in-store and reporting of any discrepancies identified, such as differences between the number of pallets received and the expected number, or deviations from the scheduled delivery date. The transport teams monitor the correct arrival of the pallets and take action when shop teams report a problem via the mobile app.
- Centralised claims management: using the Claim Management solution on the platform, shop staff can create a claim, document it and add photographs. The claim is then forwarded to King Jouet’s logistics and transport teams and to the carriers. Via an integrated chat function, all parties involved can communicate and collaborate until the claim has been fully resolved.
- Real-time tracking of shipments to shops: teams at the points of sale can see whether the pallets have left the warehouse and preview their contents in advance.
“Hardis WMS provides us with the dispatch date and Hardis SC Network with the date of receipt. This enables us to calculate the overall service level and the service level for each carrier. Using dashboards, we can share the results in real time with our transport partners and identify areas for improvement. Feedback from the shops has also been very positive,” says Abdelatif Karali.
A phased roll-out across Europe
A pilot scheme in around ten shops made it possible to validate the solution before the phased roll-out began. The solution is now in use in all 250 of the company’s own shops in France and all 19 of its own shops in Switzerland. Implementation in Belgium and Luxembourg is due to be completed in September 2026.
In future, King Jouet aims to be able to check the accuracy of deliveries in even greater detail, right down to the level of product references and the number of units that the retail outlets have ordered from the central warehouse.
“The project with King Jouet demonstrates that Hardis SC Network can support new transactions and record events that are not supported by business software such as WMS or TMS solutions: confirmation of receipt by the consignee, reporting of claims and mobile stock management. Our solution addresses the need to consolidate data from multiple systems and improve collaboration between all parties in the logistics network,” says Alban Cocolon, Solutions Manager at Hardis Supply Chain.
About Hardis Supply Chain
Hardis Supply Chain, a subsidiary of Hardis Group, develops cloud software that helps companies transform their supply chain into a powerful driver of commercial and operational performance.
The modular and scalable platform comprises solutions for warehouse management (WMS), order management (OMS), transport management (TMS) and interconnected logistics networks. Using advanced artificial intelligence, data analytics and in-depth logistics expertise, Hardis Supply Chain connects and orchestrates processes between warehouses, factories, shops and urban hubs.
Hardis Supply Chain supports more than 2,000 locations in over 25 countries and works with leading retailers, manufacturers and logistics service providers worldwide to create smarter, more flexible and more sustainable supply chains.
For more information, visit https://www.hardis-supplychain.com/nl.
Would you like to find out more about this case study and other innovations in retail supply chains? Visit King Jouet at ICT&Logistiek from 3 to 5 November at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht. Register for free here.
