Company: Hillzeez
Country: Australia
Industry: Retail – Sporting Goods
Hillzeez Down South Surf Shops are a multi-store one stop shop for all of your surfing and skating needs. For over 20 years, this Perth based business has been supplying novices and hard core fanatics the latest and greatest equipment from surfboards, wetsuits and bodyboards, to skateboards and all of the associated accessories.
Challenge
- Comprehensive integration between Retail, Inventory and Accounting functions
- Enhance inventory management to reduce stock- out and overstock situations
- Improve customer management and retention
With three stores spread throughout Busselton and Bunbury, Hillzeez had already been through the process of implementing SAP Business One with the Infinity point of sale solution written by Triquestra. The goal of the SAP Business One implementation was to provide visibility of activity across stores on real time basis, allowing for more accurate inventory requirements, and hence lower on-hand balances and associated costs. In the short term, this solution appeared to be working well, however it was not long before inadequacies in the integration between Infinity and SAB Business One began to cause problems. Whilst the business could persist with the current solution, Glenn Callegari, Managing Director says:
“I felt that the integration and support were not established enough to provide this business what it needed. The integration was written and supported by Enprise. The POS software was owned and supported by Triquestra. Essentially I needed 3 parties supporting 3 products on the same page.”
With these inherent integration issues, Hillzeez faced 3 strategic problems in choosing to persist with Infinity as their point of sale solution.
- Inability to utilize SAP Business One patches and upgrades
- Lack of understanding of each component by each party
- Lack of understanding of the retail environment
As a result, Hillzeez was forced to look for alternatives. CitiXsys’ iVend Retail solution became a clear choice.
Solution: iVend Retail
Benefits
- Seamlessly integrated environment with iVend Retail and SAP Business One.
- Centralized pricing control across retail stores with flexibility for discounts and promotions
- Improved customer management with Gift Certificate functionality
As described by Glenn:
“Some Retail software applications offer a lot, but any features they may have aren’t of any use if not supported by a seamless integration. It’s important to understand and remember that integration is bidirectional. To have a true centralized environment, SAP Business One needed to be able to control the Retail features and settings that any Retail solution offered. The Retail solution needed to transact efficiently, accommodate the demands of a modern retail environment, and replicate this data back to SAP Business One, mapping to all tables and fields with ease. Sounds simple enough, but to find this in the market has been a long search. iVend, a product built for SAP B1, seemed a logical choice.”
On selecting the CitiXsys iVend solution, Hillzeez perceived some immediate benefits to their business.
An integrated environment
All features the POS solution offered could be embraced knowing full well it was an ‘add-on’ to the SAP Business One product and thus fully supported by it. These features could be configured, manipulated and controlled by SAPB1.
A seamless solution
iVend offered great visibility real time into store operations, whilst ‘building the financials’ in SAP Business One with accuracy in the way it mapped back to the GL.
Mapping of GL Accounts
The ability to map payment types to correct GL code, for both AR invoices and AR Credit Memos. On implementation of the iVend solution, Glenn describes additional improvements Hillzeez have been able to achieve:
Gift Certificates
The issue of Gift Certificates is simple. Serialized tracking and redemption has improved. The ability to draw down balance works well and allows customer to retain the same voucher until it is fully redeemed. The ability to lookup a voucher balance and voucher use is simple.
Centralized control of pricing at the POS
Update price lists through hierarchies and expansions within SAP Business One, and realize the potential of Promotional Pricing module within iVend, which offers increased centralized control across all stores.
Laybys (Layaways)
Laybys are fully supported and very easily comprehended by staff and customers.
Refunds
Visibility into refunds issued by staff has improved. Invoices can be scanned into the computer improving sales control and easy look up.
General Ledger Mapping
Reliably map to the General Ledger as balances in the GL can easily be supported by POS events. There are no transactions failing or debiting or crediting the wrong account. Each Accounts Receivable invoice posting in SAP Business One is a direct reflection of what happened in iVend, including discounts given, Business Partners, price lists and payment means. The ‘End of Day’ till balancing has become an easier task to complete, with visibility into each transaction that builds the payment type balance being reconciled. Hillzeez gained great implementation success by having the capability to run the iVend solution in parallel with the Infinity solution. This enabled them to be able to completely test the solution and its integration with SAP Business One, long before the product went “live”. Management in each store was able to workshop the solution, and then train the staff members as required on a test database. This provided valuable feedback into the General Ledger mappings. Whilst immediate and positive results from implementing iVend Retail have been significant, the company’s technology investment will continue to provide future benefits. With integration and functionality issues now resolved, they can focus on growing their successful business, helping us all look good whilst we surf and skate.
“I’ve worked with many support partners on many solutions, and without hesitation, I can say CitiXsys has met my expectations in areas where many previous ‘support’ partners haven’t. They take an interest in your business processes and don’t expect you to compromise for the sake of the product. If you are not happy in an area that you feel has not met your expectation, they will act to remedy it at once, taking the approach that if one client wants this today, it will most likely be another client expecting it tomorrow. Remote support is no issue; it is like they are on your doorstep anyhow.”
Glenn Callegari, Managing Director
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