Case Study
THE WAREHOUSE
The Warehouse cuts budgeting inefficiencies with IDU
ABOUT THE WAREHOUSE GROUP
The Warehouse Group (TWG) is one of the largest retailing groups in New Zealand with $3 billion in sales. TWG consists of six core retail brands: The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, Torpedo7, 1-day and TheMarket. They have 260+ retail stores, online stores as well as distribution centres throughout New Zealand. They also have two overseas sourcing offices located in China and India and in total across the group they employ over 12 000 people.
THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
As one of New Zealand’s largest retail groups, The Warehouse faced a daunting budgeting process. Their ERP system’s native module proved cumbersome, forcing the finance team to revert to spreadsheets. Reconciling information from nearly 200 different sources was inefficient, time‑consuming, and prone to errors. Ownership of numbers became unclear, and the finance team spent late nights consolidating data rather than focusing on strategic planning.
The reliance on spreadsheets created a lack of transparency and accountability, while the sheer scale of operations — spanning six retail brands, 260+ stores, and thousands of employees — amplified the complexity. The Warehouse needed a solution that was robust, intuitive, and capable of supporting both financial and non‑financial managers with ease.
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THE SOLUTION
In 2008, The Warehouse implemented IDU‑Concept, choosing an international supplier over local options. Despite initial concerns about remote support, IDU delivered a smooth, hassle‑free implementation. Consultants set up the system virtually in South Africa before arriving onsite, ensuring costs were controlled and the rollout was seamless.
The IDU solution proved reliable, robust, and easy to use. Non‑financial managers quickly adopted the system with minimal training, while the finance team gained real‑time visibility and streamlined processes. By eliminating inefficiencies and reducing reliance on spreadsheets, IDU empowered The Warehouse to manage budgets more effectively, saving time and improving accountability across the organisation.
A PARTNER IN SUCCESS
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“Supporting The Warehouse from South Africa showed the strength of IDU’s remote implementation model. Delivering a seamless rollout and empowering managers across such a large retail group highlights the reliability and impact of our solution.” – Kevin Phillips, CEO, IDU
“The product is very reliable, robust and easy to use. It’s made an enormous difference to the management of our budgets and cut out lots of late nights and processing time.”
Tim Mangold, Finance Manager, The Warehouse
THE RESULT
Streamlined budgeting process, eliminating inefficiencies and late‑night reconciliations.
Smooth international implementation, delivered on time and cost‑effectively.
Rapid adoption by non‑financial managers, requiring minimal training.
Reliable, robust system, reducing support needs and enhancing confidence in financial data.
