The Porsche of IT Providers
How Mey Handels GmbH from Albstadt has been managing time tracking, workforce scheduling, and day-precise budget planning across 31 stores and 150 employees with SEAK since April 2019.
Mey at a Glance
Founded in 1928 as a textile manufacturer in Albstadt, Mey has become a globally recognized name in premium underwear — offering women's and men's lingerie, loungewear, and men's swimwear. Mey Handels GmbH entered retail in 2010 and now operates 31 points of sale across the DACH region.
Team
around 150 employees across all locations – typically 4 to 6 per store
Locations
31 points of sale: 22 company-owned stores, 7 factory outlet centers, 2 multi-brand stores (Mainz and Salzburg)
SEAK customer since 2019
Time & Attendance, Workforce Scheduling with Day-Level Budget Planning, Employee Self-Service Portal
Numbers, Data, Facts
Points of Sale in the DACH Region
Branch Staff
Mey drives workforce management and personnel deployment with SEAK
The Challenge
As the company's retail division grew to 22 stores and around 150 employees, manual processes quickly became a bottleneck. Workforce scheduling, time tracking, and budget planning were all still handled by hand and through Excel spreadsheets — as Patricia Bodmer puts it plainly: "That simply wasn't sustainable anymore."
Four specific pain points were holding them back:
Excel-Based Planning
Staffing and budget planning relied on spreadsheets — and with every new store added, the maintenance burden grew exponentially.
Manual Time Tracking
Time entries were maintained manually — inefficient and increasingly time-consuming with every quarter.
Monthly Budget Planning
Budget was allocated on a monthly basis — with no differentiation between high- and low-traffic days, and no adjustment for promotional activity.
Lack of Transparency and Error Vulnerability
Employee availability was nearly impossible to see at a glance, and errors in Excel logic compounded across stores.
Patricia Bodmer – Retail Operations Manager – Mey
"Workforce scheduling, time tracking, and budget planning were still being done manually or with Excel spreadsheets. That simply wasn't sustainable anymore. With 22 stores and around 150 employees, everything had become too time-consuming, too opaque, and too error-prone."
The Decision: Three Vendors Evaluated — SEAK as the Premium Choice
Mey evaluated the market and assessed solutions from three software vendors. The choice was clear: SEAK. As Patricia Bodmer puts it succinctly: "It quickly became obvious that SEAK is the Porsche of this software market." For a brand like Mey — a manufacturer of premium underwear — that level of excellence was a deciding factor.
The Execution: Day-Precise Budgeting and Strength-Based Deployment
SEAK fundamentally transformed the budgeting process. Instead of a monthly budget, each day now has a dedicated hour budget — calculated from frequency forecasts and the planned revenue targets set by the Head of Retail. The planned daily revenue determines how many sales associates need to be scheduled, while store managers retain full control over the specific deployment of their teams on the floor.
A second core element is strength-based scheduling: the system makes each employee's strengths and development areas visible through clear, data-driven metrics. This enables store managers to assign staff more strategically — whether to sales, merchandising, or product care — placing each team member where they deliver the most impact. The system also brings fairness to the scheduling of less popular shifts and time slots, making it easy to distribute these less desirable assignments transparently and equitably across the team.
What the software actually covers
Daily Budget Tracking
Instead of a fixed monthly budget, get dedicated hourly budgets for each sales day — calculated from planned revenue and traffic forecasts.
Daily Frequency Forecast
The system calculates the expected footfall for each day and automatically suggests appropriate hourly staffing budgets.
Availability at a Glance
Store managers get a clear, real-time view of staff availability for every day and every hour — no digging required.
Strengths-Based Deployment
Back every staffing decision with data — identify each employee's strengths and weaknesses to deploy them where they deliver the most impact, whether in sales, merchandising, or stock care.
Warning: Staff-Plan Mismatch
The system alerts you when staffing levels are too low to support your planned revenue targets — a critical advantage in high-touch, premium sales environments.
Preferred Days and Times
Employees are scheduled on their preferred days and times whenever possible — easier to manage than ever before.
Justice Factors
Shifts on unpopular days or at unsociable hours become visible and are distributed fairly — with a measurable positive impact on workplace morale.
Clear, Effortless Vacation Planning
Vacation planning is handled with exceptional clarity — a feature that Bodmer specifically highlights in the interview.
Patricia Bodmer – Retail Operations Manager – Mey
"Previously, we planned on a monthly basis — now we have a budget for every single day. This is possible, in part, because the SEAK system calculates targeted frequency forecasts and the appropriate hourly budgets for each individual day."
The Result: What Has Changed Since Then
Higher productivity, greater fairness, overtime under control – the ideal shopping experience in premium retail
The impact is felt across four dimensions: business performance, employee satisfaction, team communication, and the premium shopping experience for customers.
Business Management
Employee Satisfaction
Communication with Teams
Premium Shopping Experience
Patricia Bodmer – Retail Operations Manager – Mey
"We now have greater fairness when it comes to scheduling shifts on less popular days or at less desirable times. As a result, team morale and collaboration are even stronger than before."
Which building blocks Lloyd uses
Patricia Bodmer – Retail Operations Manager – Mey
"SEAK sets the bar high – in the best possible way. Just like today's demanding retail customers. That's exactly the kind of software partner I need. The support is seamless, fast, and straightforward. Reliability, on-time delivery, expertise – keep doing what you're doing."
Let's talk about whether SEAK is the right fit for your business
In a 30-minute introductory call, we'll assess where your business stands today, identify which modules are the right priority for your situation, and outline a realistic implementation roadmap.
Alternatively, you're welcome to reach out via our contact form — we'll get back to you promptly. Or give us a call at: +49 40 238 348 – 000
The Trade Trusts SEAK
From fashion and food retail to building materials and specialist trade: retailers across Germany rely on SEAK to manage their workforce.
Premium Linens from Albstadt – Since 1928
Founded in 1928 as a knitting manufacturer in Albstadt, Germany, Mey has grown into an internationally recognized premium brand for women's and men's underwear, lingerie, and men's swimwear. A large share of its fabrics are produced in-house at its own knitting facility in Germany, using only the finest, highest-quality cotton varieties — including organic cotton from Peru, hand-harvested without the use of defoliants and requiring significantly less water than cotton grown in other regions.
Alongside its commitment to rigorous environmental standards, Mey places equal importance on fair production conditions. The majority of its garments are manufactured at a fully integrated production facility in Germany and Europe. In 2010, Mey launched its own retail operations. Today, its retail network comprises 22 branded stores, seven factory outlet centers, and two multi-label stores in Mainz and Salzburg — 31 points of sale in total, staffed by approximately 150 employees. Since April 2019, Mey has relied on SEAK for its workforce management and staff scheduling software.