Pick n Pay’s relationship with Endoxa started way back in 2009 when it brought in Andrew Armstrong and his partners Dr Geoffrey Long (who earned his PhD in mathematical modelling) and Surducan to innovate key manual processes, starting with the data capturing of invoices. By obviating the need to capture data manually, Pick n Pay was able to reduce costs not only for itself, but also for its suppliers. “When it comes to paperless processes, we are at the forefront of South African retailers,” says Lea. Fast forward to 2021, and Endoxa governs and supports all of Pick n Pay’s relationships with 7,000 vendors across Africa. “The platform supports our corporate and franchise stores’ relationships with everything from mom-and-pop operations to huge multinationals,” says Johan Grobler, Head of Commercial Finance at Pick n Pay. Creating an article, for example, used to take three weeks. It now takes 48 hours. There have been similar time and efficiency savings when it comes to adding a new vendor, a process which used to involve physical meetings, paper handovers, and other slow and fallible steps but now takes place 100% digitally. “The interactions all still exist,” explains Grobler. “They are just much more efficient now. We don’t have to worry about lost emails or missed phone calls anymore.” And on top of the incredible savings in efficiency, Endoxa also provides Pick n Pay with reams of priceless data. In the past, suppliers would call Pick n Pay asking, “When will our new product be listed?” Now they simply log into the Pick n Pay Supplier Portal to track the progress themselves. This level of transparency across the electronic supply chain has virtually eliminated the need for phone calls and emails. And it’s reduced the number of ‘discrepancy documents’ by up to 70%.