When a manufacturer of fine bed linen started to experience dramatic growth in its online sales, it looked for an integrated business system which enables easy management of stock and customer records. Thanks to the flexible new system, Abode Living is enjoying a simple to use, highly capable system which provides the accurate real-time information which is crucial to manage the business effectively.
Founded in 1991, family owned Abode Living is Australia’s leading manufacturer of luxury bed linen. What sets the Abode Living products apart is the family’s close relationship to the manufacturing and design process. The factory, office and warehouse are right behind the showroom.
Situation
Abode Living was using a point of sales system called ERP Australia to stay on top of stock, customers and its retail store. “Then our website took off dramatically, but it wasn’t connected to our stock control or our customer records,” says Ben Adair, Abode Living operations director, during an interview with SmartCompany.
The limitations of its existing system meant the company was unable to calculate gross profit margins, it couldn’t link the system with its website, and it could not readily update or improve required functions.
As the company prides itself on selling the best quality products, and providing customers with made to order items, shipped within 24 hours, he says a greater level of efficiency was needed from its business management software.
Adair continues, “We wanted a system where a customer could order in-store or online and it would be processed with the same account. And likewise, for stock, where we could update a record in one place, for example prices, for both in-store and online.”
With this understanding, the company commenced the search for a new all-in-one system.
Solution
Abode Living looked at a number of systems and discovered many looked great but weren’t flexible. “As soon as you needed to customise something or add functionality, it either gets expensive or it won’t let you do it,” Adair observes.
He says the company’s market examination led it to MYOB Exo. “Exo has everything we need without being too complicated and it is flexible.”
The company contacted BizPro to implement Exo. “The biggest challenge was learning where the new functions are, but BizPro has been very helpful on that front. It took about 3 months for our staff to become confidant using Exo. There were a few small issues but they were resolved quickly.”
A phased implementation of the solution is being taken, as Abode Living is both a retailer and manufacturer. With the retail component completed, the process of scoping the manufacturing component is presently underway.
Results
Adair is happy with the choice of MYOB Exo, pointing to ease of use and completeness of functionality. “Since connecting our Exo system to the website, our stock figures are reported in real-time on the website. Customer details are also synched in real-time,” he points out.
“We also built some customised reports that were important our business, along with a number of other minor customisations to increase functionality.”
With the retail component of the MYOB Exo solution in place, Abode Living has benefited from reduced double handling of information, which also removes opportunities for errors, while it has gained customised reports specific to the business needs. The system delivers improved functionality and stock control, with accurate figures available ‘on demand’.
One of the biggest contributions Exo has made to Abode Living is giving the company peace of mind. “Exo has provided us a high level of confidence in the figures and confidence in knowing that we can get the customisations we need going forward.”
