“The Retail Express implementation was a 12/10 experience for me!
It’s worlds apart from the support we’ve received from any other software vendor.”
– Anna Conaghan, Project Manager at Magazine Designer Clothing
Return on Investment Summary
A New Zealand Multi-Store Success Story
With a passion for good design, great quality clothing and a true belief in the transformative power of fashion, Linda Savage opened Magazine Designer Clothing’s first store in December 2007.
With a dedication to offering a stunning range of styles in size 10 to plus size and providing exceptional service from expert stylists, Magazine has successfully expanded to now operate 10 locations across New Zealand as well as a flourishing online store.
The Need for a Software Solution Purpose Built for Multi-Store
As Magazine expanded its number of stores, they found their previous POS software just was not able to handle the complexities of a multi-outlet operation and was increasingly hitting limitations.
“Reporting and data management was becoming a real problem in our old POS system – especially as the volume of data grew as we expanded. It wasn’t possible to get the reports we needed without having to manually export and merge everything together. We were spending lots of time on manual admin which obviously wasn’t the best use of our investment in staff. There was also no ability to identify any change in customer data which was really restrictive for both reporting and marketing.”
– Anna Conaghan, Project Manager at Magazine Designer Clothing
“When it came to trying to get a resolution to these issues or any other form of support, we got passed from one person to another with no one taking ownership.” Anna continues.
“Once you’re operating multiple stores it quickly becomes apparent that you need software built for the complexity that presents. You also need a level of support from a software partner who really understands such retail operations. That’s why when we discovered the capabilities of Retail Express it became a clear choice for us to make the switch” Anna concludes.
Efficiently Implementing New POS Software Across All Stores
Migrating to a new POS system across multiple stores can seem a daunting prospect for any retailer. But Anna believes that the guided implementation service from Retail Express was what truly sets the solution apart from other software companies and makes such transformation an achievable goal for growing retailers.
“Daniel, our dedicated Success Manager at Retail Express, was always on top of everything at every stage of the roll out. His background in retail meant he understood all the operational aspects we needed to cover off. He ensured our data, hardware and staff training plan was all fully and correctly prepared for go live.” says Anna.
The Magazine implementation is the perfect example of how an effective software transformation project should be managed. Anna’s operational expertise and complete dedication to the project’s success was complimented by the comprehensive implementation service that Retail Express offers. By working in a true partnership, Magazine have been able to see the benefits of their investment as quickly as possible.
“With other software vendors my experience has been you’re left to your own devices and end up get passed from one person to another with no one taking ownership. With Retail Express it’s totally different. We simply would not have been able to roll out new software across all our stores in one go if it were not for the guided implementation service and dedicated Success Manager Retail Express provided to us.”
– Anna Conaghan, Project Manager at Magazine Designer Clothing
Achieving a 75% Reduction in Purchase Order Administration
By switching to Retail Express, Anna and the Magazine team can bulk upload all their purchase orders per supplier in one go. Previously, they had to manually create a product file then a purchase order file for each store. The time saving since switching to Retail Express has been a game changer:
“With Retail Express, it has reduced purchase order processing time by 75%! What used to take me 3-5 months to complete the first season was processed and barcoded in 4 weeks. That’s freed up so much of my time to now focus on more strategic and value-adding activities.”
– Anna Conaghan, Project Manager at Magazine Designer Clothing
Reduced Administration Errors And Easier Stock Transfers
Retail Express has also helped to introduce more structured systems for in-store staff that reduces processing errors for lay bys (which then result in payoffs) and stock transfers.
“Retail Express guides our staff through a more rigorous step-by-step process than the basic system we had in place before. It means staff are now more confident that they won’t have to go back and fix up errors later.” says Anna.
“With our old software, inter-store stock transfers had to be done manually and usually required numerous phone calls between locations. With Retail Express, it’s so easy for staff now – they just click a few buttons, and the system takes care of the rest, including making sure inventory is correctly adjusted between the locations. That’s the difference that having software designed for multi-store retail makes.” Anna concludes.
Alongside rolling out Retail Express across all their stores, Magazine also successfully integrated Retail Express with their Shopify online store.
“It was a pretty massive transformation project for us to change our POS software and ensure a smooth transition with our Online store, to ensure we had no downtime and no lost sales. We were absolutely delighted and massively impressed by how smoothly everything went. The Retail Express implementation service again played a massive role in that success” says Anna.
“We are able to leverage all the stock from all our stores online and use each outlet as a fulfilment location to improve home delivery speed. Which is a better customer experience and drives more online sales due to greater inventory availability and product choice” Anna concludes.
“We’ve been able to halve our Shopify order processing times thanks to the direct integration with Retail Express. This is another massive productivity gain for us. It means our staff can focus on higher value activities and therefore we get the best return on our investment in labour.”
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