Cărturești Bookstores: Charisma allows us to think and act out of the box

The company
Cărturești bookstores, the brand under which Direct Client Services operates, offer the Romanian public more than just books, they offer an experience in itself. The twenty bookstores, each with a unique architectural concept and elegant interior spaces, provide culture and literature enthusiasts with a very rich selection of books, music, and art films. Additionally, Cărturești bookstores delights readers with aromatic teas, soft background music, book launches, and exhibitions of appreciated artists.

The situation
In 2011, the company's management decided to implement an IT system to monitor the company's activities with real-time reporting, to integrate retail functionalities with back-office management, warehouse management, BI and CRM, a system capable of supporting the increase in the number of stores while maintaining a high level of service.

"At Cărturești, Customer Experience is a continuous challenge for us. For us, it means always being a little better than people expect, given globalized expectations. In this context, information is vital. To offer a beautiful experience to customers, it is important that things work as efficiently as possible in the back office. Technology needs to be able to take on more and more tasks. That's why we chose Charisma," said the CEO of Direct Client Services.
 



The solution
The solution provided by TotalSoft first and foremost brought integration of back-office activities with warehouse management, reporting, and sales, supporting the streamlining of the entire flow. Automatic product selection through a simple barcode scan has led to quick sales transactions and automatic inventory updates, eliminating "out-of-stock" situations, as well as faulty inventory management.

And the challenges don’t stop here. In 2016, Cărturești Bookstores, with the support of Charisma, already made available info points for customers to search their favorite titles and authors and prepared for the launch of a loyalty cards system. "When they arrive at a bookstore, people want to find out immediately if the book they are looking for is in stock or they can find it in another bookstore A significant challenge when dealing with 100,000 items with low values that are sold throughout the year. In this context, Charisma plays a crucial role, helping us streamline and optimize processes behind the scenes, enabling us to provide quick and accurate responses to customers" says the General Director.

The operational processes supported by Charisma are complemented by the business analysis and reporting tool, Charisma Analyzer, which provides detailed information on financial and non-financial performance indicators. Based on this data, the company can develop actions that continuously improve the quality of services and offerings and support the business expansion process.

"Often, we face challenges that no one else in the market is facing, but similar companies in other countries are. Working with Charisma, a customizable product, allows us to think and act out of the box, providing us with a unique partnership that I don't know where else we could have found," concludes the General Director

Video testimonial made in 2022.