El Corte Inglés
SOTI MobiControl successfully manages over 18,000 devices for the biggest department store group in Europe
Headquartered in Madrid, El Corte Inglés is the biggest department store group in Europe with more than 85 years of history. This heritage is demonstrated operationally by being industry leaders, setting trends, fostering change and creating new concepts. They employ over 81,000 people in their 87 branches and pride themselves on their commitment to their customers to adapt to their needs and trends while being innovative.
The Challenge
Mobile technology is critical to the success of El Corte Inglés retail operations, but the company’s mobile technology was outdated or non-existent. Their previous mobile device management system was not sufficient for the retail giant with a high margin for error and decreasing staff productivity. El Corte Inglés did not have full control or traceability of their inventory in-store or in their warehouses. If a device was needing repair, the maintenance and service ticket for the device was time-consuming for the store and IT administrators.
As the biggest department store group in Europe, El Corte Inglés requires proper technology to ensure they don’t run out of stock. They developed an app and started using mobile applications within individual stores to check if there was availability of stock and for servers to take orders at the in-store restaurant.
In the past, the MDM they were using couldn’t give El Corte Inglés the continuity they needed to properly manage all devices in every store and warehouse. Device updates would have to happen manually within each of their over 350 locations. El Corte Inglés needed to move their devices to one solution to keep up with the needs and demands of their customers.
The Solution
In 2015, Moinsa, a trusted partner of El Corte Inglés, conducted a trial of SOTI MobiControl to manage the fleet of devices and El Corte Inglés were impressed with how powerful it was. Not only could SOTI MobiControl manage their Zebra devices but also their barcode printer and mobile payment devices (POS). Now, SOTI allows El Corte Inglés to protect their devices, data and workers with security features such as Kiosk Mode to over 18,000 different devices used within their stores and warehouses.
While they used to lack control and management over device features and the ability to manage multiple device types and operating systems, this was now seamlessly possible with SOTI MobiControl for their Android devices that are being used in stores, and on Windows devices in their warehouses.
They could easily push updates to their applications, allowing for a consistent experience from store to store for customers and workers. If a device needed to be moved from one store to another, it was easy and automatic. This eliminated time-consuming challenges for IT administrators and staff working in the stores.
The Result
Since integrating SOTI MobiControl, El Corte Inglés now has a better experience loading applications. Access to unauthorized networks or load applications are blocked when they are not permitted by the company.
In addition, the issues experienced with apps failing has decreased, as has the number of help desk tickets – by 35%. El Corte Inglés has complete visibility over their operations and distribution across all stores and warehouses. SOTI MobiControl remote support is another incredible benefit. IT personnel can diagnose and fix device problems quickly, no matter where the user is located. They can view how much battery is left on a device and send a notification to ensure it's charged, eliminating downtime during shifts.
