How thinkbridge Transformed A Leading Optical Retailers Operations Across Asia with Strategy-Led Digital Execution

The Challenge

The ERP migration was technically complete, but operationally, Hobli was still in a hybrid state—hamstrung by outdated processes and limited visibility. Our discovery phase surfaced five key challenge areas:

1. Excel as the Operating Backbone: Despite the LS Central and BC rollout, nearly all day-to-day functions—approvals, purchase planning, reporting, and data entry—were still managed via Excel files. These were manually compiled, error-prone, and impossible to trace across 70+ locations.
2. Inconsistent and Delayed Data: Store-level updates trickled in at inconsistent intervals, often via emailed spreadsheets or phone calls. Reports were consolidated days after the fact, limiting leadership’s ability to act in real time.
3. No Central Visibility or KPIs: Regional managers and central office leadership lacked a single source of truth. With over 70 stores, visibility into sales, inventory, staff issues, and performance was fragmented—making proactive intervention almost impossible.
4. Lack of Structured IT Delivery: Hobli had no formal process for prioritizing and delivering enhancements to their LS Central or BC environments. As a result, development was reactive, untracked, and often misaligned with business needs.
5. Disconnected Frontline Teams: Store managers and operations staff were unable to interact with digital systems in a mobile, real-time manner. Daily tasks still relied on pen-and-paper logs or spreadsheets shared at the end of the day.

The result was a digitally upgraded core, wrapped in legacy operating habits—a setup that threatened to dilute the ROI of the ERP migration.

The Solution

Our approach was rooted in thinkbridge’s belief that real transformation starts with clarity. We delivered value in two tightly integrated phases:

Phase 1: Digital Consulting & Strategic Road mapping

We began with a 4-week intensive consulting engagement that included site visits, stakeholder interviews, process mapping, and systems assessment. This gave us a 360-degree view of where the real blockers were—not just technically, but culturally and operationally.

Key actions:

• Mapped core retail and operational processes across finance, inventory, store ops, and approvals.
• Audited usage gaps in LS Central and BC and identified duplicate efforts driven by spreadsheets.
• Identified automation candidates across high-frequency, low-complexity workflows.
• Defined a digital maturity curve to guide adoption priorities across Hobli’s network.
• Developed a 12-month transformation roadmap, aligning business needs with IT capability

By the end of this phase, Hobli had a clear, prioritized blueprint to transition from a manual, Excel bound operation to a data-driven, mobile-enabled retail platform.

Phase 2: Execution & Tactical Enablement

Armed with a shared vision, we moved swiftly into implementation—focusing on impact-first, lightweight, and scalable solutions that could deliver business value within months.

1. IT Delivery Framework

We established an agile, sprint-based delivery model to support all enhancements to LS Central and BC:

• Defined intake processes, prioritization gates, QA checks, and deployment protocols.
• Created cross-functional squads for faster collaboration between IT, store ops, and finance.
• Set up reporting and feedback loops to continuously improve delivery velocity.

This model gave Hobli a repeatable, transparent process for building and launching digital capabilities.

2. Power BI for Real-Time Visibility

We designed and deployed role-specific dashboards for store managers, regional leaders, and the executive team:

• Sales and inventory KPIs updated daily, eliminating the need for emailed spreadsheets.
• Exception-based alerts for low stock, underperforming locations, or delayed approvals.
• Self-service analytics capability, enabling leadership to drill down without IT involvement.

This shifted Hobli from reactive analysis to real-time, insight-driven action.

3. Power Apps for Workflow Digitization

We developed mobile-friendly Power Apps for high-impact use cases:

• Purchase Approvals: Replaced multi-step email threads with a structured, role-based approval app. Reduced cycle times from 48–72 hours to under 6 hours.
• Store Operations: Enabled store staff to log sales, issues, and footfall via mobile apps directly integrated with the core system.
• Territory Manager App: Field leaders now capture visit logs, stock discrepancies, and action items from their phones—streamlining field operations and enabling faster head office support.

These apps eliminated over 50 spreadsheets and significantly improved accuracy, speed, and accountability.

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