Alinéa, the furnishings and decorations retailer, is expanding rapidly and has decided to track its procurement orders and manage its upstream merchandise flows in real time. It has chosen DDS Shipper, the international transport and commerce software published by DDS Logistics, to provide the solution.


Best known in the ‘young habitat’ market, Alinéa has been constantly successful since opening its first store in 1989 and now has 17 points of sale in France. The company takes a forward-looking view concerning its logistics and transport needs. The furnishings and decorations specialist is installing the professional transport management application DDS Shipper to handle all its import streams. Several modules are already installed at its Miramas depot (near Marseilles): TMS Import/Export, Tracking & Alerts, Control & Invoice and International Payments. The aim is to have full and detailed real-time tracking and management of its upstream merchandise flows, so as to be able to assess the efficiency of its suppliers and service providers throughout the chain.

Complete control of upstream flows thanks to DDS Shipper

The furnishings and decorative articles sold by Alinéa are imported from Asia and Europe, or produced in France. “As we expand, the number of containers is obviously bound to increase. Thanks to this system from DDS Logistics, we will have detailed, real-time visibility of our upstream flows, from the order to the suppliers through to delivery at the depot, with transport costs calculated as well” explains Véronique SOULIER, Alinéa project leader.

From the merchandise being released by the suppliers through to reception at the delivery hub, the system will allow Alinéa to keep a check on its physical and document flows, manage its quality controls from the outset, track shipping and transportation, schedule deliveries from the depot and compile statistics. The retailer will be able to track the various stages of the shipping process, via a web portal, in real time. The system will send an Alert in the event of any incident.

The Control & Invoice module will allow Alinéa to pre-bill a service and to verify it after reception by automatic reconciliation with the invoice issued by the supplier. This function makes it possible to issue payment orders and to prepare for recording the suppliers’ invoices in the accounts. Lastly, Alinéa will be able to track all letters of credit dealt with by its bank.