For more than a century, Jashanmal National Company has been a retail giant across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. But with more than 150 stores and a sprawling distribution network, its on-premises retail management system could not keep up with the pace of expansion. With a strategic shift to Dynamics 365 Commerce, supported by Intwo, JNC not only streamlined its vast operations but also enhanced security and operational efficiency.
Jashanmal National Company (JNC) is a pioneer in the retail industry since 1919. It operates a vast distribution network extending to more than 1,000 outlets, representing 34 brands, and 150 stores across the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and in Saudi Arabia. JNC has been a trusted name, bringing international fashion, home appliances, and various other consumer goods.
With its ongoing success and expanding operations, JNC pushed the limits of its outdated retail management system. “In our line of business, with the industry evolving fast, we needed modern features and functions that our legacy technology just couldn’t provide,” shares Amar Kumar Padhi, Head of Information Technology (IT) at Jashanmal National Company. “Our on-premises retail system couldn’t support our large distribution network.” To support the scale and innovation required in its business, JNC started to look for a more comprehensive solution.
JNC chose to migrate its retail management operations to Dynamics 365 Commerce. This decision was influenced by the company’s familiarity with Microsoft solutions, thanks to its long-term use of Microsoft 365, and the need for better localization support across different countries. Padhi says, “Our first goal was to ensure a smooth transition from our legacy platform and maintain business continuity without disruption.” To achieve this, JNC reached out to Microsoft partner Intwo for help with migrating to the cloud.
The implementation was challenging because the team had to migrate and adapt outdated features and solve scalability issues inherited from the legacy system.
Previously, JNC had also relied on monolithic operations, which could not handle several operations at the same time, making it harder to scale. “As we increased the number of stores, we found the existing service had limitations on how many operations we could perform in parallel,” explains Padhi. In contrast, Dynamics 365 offers microservices architecture, which breaks tasks into smaller, flexible parts that can work together. “Dynamics 365 allows us to handle more tasks at once and expand with ease,” adds Padhi.
To ensure business continuity, JNC opted to develop customizations to retain features that were familiar to its staff. “Intwo helped us implement the Retail Transaction Authorization System, which is used for one-time password-based approval requests of exceptional point-of-sale transactions via SMS or email,” shares Jojo Joseph, Team Lead, Retail Solutions at Jashanmal National Company. “We also migrated integrations with third-party systems, such as Mall Management and Tourist Tax.” This bespoke approach ensured that Dynamics 365 Commerce catered to JNC’s unique operational needs and enabled staff to continue using familiar and functional features.
After a smooth implementation, it was time to onboard employees. “There was reluctance from some users accustomed to the legacy functionality. But our staff soon realized that the new environment was more intuitive and effective. And no one misses the old system now,” explains Padhi. “With help from Intwo, we conducted a series of training sessions for JNC employees, got their feedback, and had them practice with the new system.” JNC involved cashiers and store managers, taught them how to use Dynamics 365, and gave them an opportunity to engage with the system through small assignments.
This hands-on approach ensured around 700 users across 140 stores were on board before going live.
Today, all of JNC’s customer interactions, from data collection to checking stock on hand, are done in Dynamics 365 Commerce, and it’s being used by JNC’s entire staff. Dynamics 365 is integrated with JNC’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) services, data warehouse system, and Power BI reporting. “We now have one central portal, and my team has more control over integrations, giving all of our staff better visibility,” highlights Joseph.
An integrated environment also enables JNC to automate certain tasks, increasing processing speed and reducing manual workload. “One major achievement is the Dynamics 365 integration with our human resources (HR) system,” Joseph mentions.
Previously, there was a manual process for staff transfers from one store to another. It required multiple manual approvals. Now, once HR approves it, the access is seamlessly synced and managed automatically by Dynamics 365. This has significantly reduced the IT workload.
With more automation, centralization, and visibility, workflows are easier to execute. As a result, JNC has stabilized its retail operations, especially in stores with a high volume of transactions. “With Dynamics 365, we don’t see any limitations in what the system can do. We have overcome most of our previous challenges. Our employees know that we are using the best-in-class solution. Most importantly, we no longer have a ceiling on how far we can scale,” Padhi adds.
The Dynamics 365 Commerce system has also positively impacted JNC’s customer experience. For example, thanks to improved workflows, customers can easily purchase an item in one store and return it to another. “Downtime used to affect our customer experience because getting the system back up could take a couple of hours,” Joseph recalls. “With Dynamics 365, we enjoy better uptime and reliable offline capabilities, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted service to our customers.”
JNC has been able to enhance its system security with the move to Dynamics 365. “With our legacy system, we sometimes had to delay updates due to resource issues,” explains Padhi. “But on the cloud, Microsoft has a set update cycle, which ensures that critical updates are applied, and security isn’t compromised. This builds trust in the platform, creating stability and preventing any potential security issues.”
Reflecting on JNC’s partnership with Intwo, Padhi appreciates the critical role played by the project team and Intwo’s prompt support. “The project team, whether on-site or working remotely, did a fantastic job,” he notes. “Intwo has not only facilitated our smooth transition to Dynamics 365 but has also been supporting and maintaining the system for us so that we can do so much more with Dynamics 365 in the future.” Looking ahead, JNC has ambitious plans to further enhance its retail operations. For example, JNC has begun exploring artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, to augment staff productivity. “Key areas of focus include automating manual processes to streamline operations and exploring new features to integrate within Dynamics 365, such as loyalty programs,” Padhi shares. “We’ve laid a modern foundation for our retail operations, which is great. Now we need to build further on it.”
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