Czech e-grocer meets expansion goals with Azure’s cloud technology

Partnering with grocery providers and retailers, Košík is a customer-centric e-grocery company that operates under a reseller business model. Since its founding in 2015, the company has been driven by technology, digitalization and automation. Its ambition to scale across Europe motivated Košík to update its business strategy in 2020.

Adopting a cloud strategy

Building up its own hardware infrastructure was one of the many dilemmas Košík faced when it decided to expand its business into the Bulgarian market. To avoid this obstacle, the company opted for a new strategy—running everything in the cloud. The move not only removed roadblocks but enabled Košík to have a shorter time-to-market and lower operational costs.

On the back of this success, the company decided to extend its cloud strategy to all its operations, including its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and eShop. Košík chose the Microsoft Cloud Platform, which included Microsoft 365 as its basic office solution. “It was a kind of natural step forward,” recalls David Pěknic, Chief Technology Officer at Košík.

Moving everything to the cloud has stimulated the company to update several of their internal processes. However, the benefits have been enormous, as Košík can easily scale its infrastructure on demand, and in real time.

Seamless integration into Azure

One key change that made a huge difference in Košík’s operations is ERP integration into Azure. The company uses SAP S/4HANA to manage its operations, and with Azure, it can scale up digital resources during peak periods like the Christmas season. “The timing of migration of SAP S/4HANA to Azure was very well thought through,” shares Pěknic. “We started early November and stabilized our systems just before Christmas time. During the Christmas rush, we had enough resources to process orders in our warehouse and with our ERP. Actually, the Christmas right after our migration was the first Christmas that our ERP didn't fail.”

With this successful migration, the company was also much better prepared to deal with unprecedented demand brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if Košík was not 100% automated at the start of lockdowns, the SAP S/4HANA integration into Azure helped the company save considerable time and ramp up operations. Because of its quick scale-up, Košík became the preferred choice in the Czech market during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The change brought not only efficiency, but also transparency. “SAP S/4HANA integration into Azure is literally helping us to automate and save time,” Pěknic affirms. “It also lets leadership see what it takes to really deliver an order of grocery to the end customer.”

Teams for a hybrid-work environment

Apart from the migration to the Cloud Platform, Košík has been using Microsoft Teams to deal with the challenges posed by remote and hybrid-work environments. It functions as a chat channel, company intranet, videoconferencing tool, and even a performance management tool. The tool’s many uses has made it essential for productivity and collaboration within Košík’s new normal. “Teams is a cure for everything in Košík. If you don't know what to do, go to Teams and you will find it,” Pěknic says.

Performance management and predictions

Košík hopes to be fully automated by July 2022. That doesn’t mean their digitalization finishes there. The company is already looking for solutions and sources of inspiration to improve its performance management. It also wants to make better predictions on upcoming orders, to better manage its supply chain.

Košík’s experience with Microsoft has shown the company how true partnership works. “Microsoft was able to educate us on the benefits of the cloud, and then execute on those promises,” says Pěknic. “I think that’s the key factor to our success.”