Focused on clean, environmentally friendly products, the company distributes renowned brands from France, Italy, Bulgaria, the United States, and South Korea, through over 20 retail locations across Thailand. All About You also sells through its online shops, social media platforms, and online marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada.
Business case
For about five years, All About You relied on Business Plus, a local accounting software, and an in-house POS software built on Oracle. “The lack of integration between our front and back-end systems resulted in inaccurate inventory data,” says Ms. Naruedee Mekpanuwat, Product Director at All About You Co., Ltd. The in-house POS system required constant maintenance and customization to keep up with evolving business requirements, causing frequent technical issues. “Our previous POS system couldn't support our business needs, particularly around Lot Expiration Control, promotions, and reporting.” As a result, the staff at All About You had to undertake numerous manual tasks to make up for these gaps.
Recognizing the negative impact on their business operations, the management team at All About You realized the system could not support their future expansion plans. “With only 3-5 retail branches at the time, we were concerned that these problems would hinder our business growth,” says Mekpanuwat. This prompted the management team to begin searching for a more efficient software solution, capable of supporting the company's expansion goals.
Solution
“In the early stages of our search for a new system, we explored and reviewed several software solutions and even considered upgrading our existing POS system,” says Mekpanuwat. “However, after thorough evaluation, we found that none of these options fully met our needs for minimal customization, integration with eCommerce, and connection between our front-end and back-office operations.”
With these requirements in mind, All About You decided to select LS Central because it extends Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP with in-depth retail-specific functionality on a single platform. “We selected these systems after several detailed demos that showed their capability to address our specific challenges,” says Mekpanuwat. “These included handling various and complex promotions for the cosmetics business and real-time point calculation for our loyalty program.”
Another key factor in choosing LS Central was its ability to support barcode utilization, including Lot information, which is crucial for traceability.
Local LS Retail partner AVision handled the implementation of LS Central. All About You began by gathering insights from each business department about their operations and specific needs. “This stage was challenging, we worked closely with AVision to design workflows that aligned with our business procedures,” says Mekpanuwat. “Next, we prepared the master data for the new system, which was relatively straightforward since we could import data from the previous system.” Throughout this phase, All About You was involved in system testing and user training and prepared the necessary hardware for practical testing.
Mekpanuwat describes the experience with IT partner AVision as remarkable. “AVision provided exceptional support throughout the implementation process. From the start, they helped us understand the limitations of our previous system and how the new one would address these issues.” The team at AVision ensured the team at All About You understood the implementation process, constantly fine-tuning and providing valuable input. “During the go-live period, AVision went above and beyond by assigning a dedicated team to oversee operations and offer guidance in every step, including outside of regular working hours,” says Mekpanuwat. “This level of commitment ensured a seamless transition for all departments, including sales and warehouse.”
Benefits
Since implementing LS Central, All About You now enjoys:
- Efficient data analysis and strategic marketing planning. “LS Central enables us to conduct rapid data analysis, providing a comprehensive understanding of our overall business in a timely manner,” says Mekpanuwat. “This data can be utilized for efficient strategic planning and decision-making, especially in marketing and promotion strategies.” With more precise and readily available data, the marketing team can understand consumer behavior, helping them plan new marketing initiatives, and develop promotions with efficiency and accuracy, to directly boost sales and revenue.
- Increased productivity and efficiency. After implementing the new system, All About You has seen a noticeable change in the efficiency of their store staff, particularly during the sales process. “Searching for member information has been streamlined, resulting in quicker and easier access,” says Mekpanuwat. “This enables our store staff to promptly retrieve customer data and create personalized promotions for specific target groups.”
- Real-time inventory visibility and reduced waste. With the Lot Expiration Control functionality in LS Central, All About You can identify which products need to be sold first, optimizing warehouse management and operational efficiency. “This effectively minimizes leftover inventory concerns and ensures timely depletion of items nearing expiration, preventing issues related to expired stock,” says Mekpanuwat.
- Increased sales through marketplaces. By creating an API to link to popular marketplaces, the company can now automatically receive orders and process them seamlessly, just like those placed through their other channels. “In the past, it took 10 staff members to handle order reception and data entry, but now, just 2 staff members can efficiently manage all daily operations,” says Mekpanuwat.
- Faster order fulfillment and delivery. “Verifying transactions and getting ready for shipment now takes us less than half a day, which is 50% quicker than with our previous system,” says Mekpanuwat. As a result, products can be shipped either on the same day or the following day.
- Increased transaction volumes. The company can now handle more orders. “During notable festivals or special promotions like Pay-Day, we seamlessly process up to 3,000 orders per day, compared to 200-300 orders previously,” says Mekpanuwat.
- Powerful reporting capabilities. Previously, generating sales and operations reports took at least one week, whereas now, with LS Central, it only requires less than a day, which facilitates faster decision-making and strategic planning.
