Prima employs more than 2,000 employees. With their own production and quality assurance, special attention is given to product development and the selection of the highest quality domestic raw materials.
In addition to the domestic market, Prima’s furniture is also present in markets across the EU.
Business case
The biggest challenge in furniture manufacturing and retail today is adapting to changing customer habits and expectations. Every retailer must put the customer in the center of all business decisions and needs IT systems that can support this.
Prima was using an outdated version of Microsoft Dynamics ERP that has been patched multiple times over the years, but never updated entirely. This caused slow system performance and many data errors, which had to be manually corrected. As the business expanded, the operational costs reached unacceptable levels. The system also couldn’t be connected to an eCommerce, had a lot of architectural compromises and left the company unable to follow the latest trends in consumer behaviour.
Solution
To solve all these challenges and to support the company’s growth, Prima decided to implement a new software solution, and started a detailed market research to find the right one.
At that time, local IT company BE-terna had just successfully finished implementing LS Retail software in a comparable industry in Serbia. After an on-site demonstration of the system’s advantages, Prima decided to implement LS Retail’s unified commerce software.
Discounts, loyalty, cash register, and pricing were among the functionalities that Prima was looking for, and which determined their selection. With the new solution, Prima intended to optimize the manufacturing process, get accurate data for their reporting, and lean on the technology that would propel further company growth.
The project was organized as a standard four-phase process: analysis, design of the customizations, development, and production. The company decided to stick to the standard solution, as it would be easier to connect with other systems, and because LS Retail software is proven and has already been implemented for many customers. However, some customizations were necessary, mostly due to local legislation and specific retail processes. For example, they needed to develop the reservations system so that, when a customer buys furniture, they first purchase through an order/invoice until the furniture is delivered to their address.
During this project, Prima has developed considerable confidence in BE-terna. “One of the key elements of this project’s success was the great communication and confidence that was developed between the Prima and BE-terna project teams,” a representative from Prima said.
Benefits
Prima Commerce is very satisfied with LS Retail software and see it as an enabler of future company growth in the region. “The new business solution ensures high speed and system stability. The business can rely on data flows and all information from the system. In the case of minor adjustments to the local legislation, this modern retail solution will enable us to support the further growth of the company in the region, which is one of the company’s strategic goals.” says a Prima representative.
In the future, Prima will be looking at the possibility to manage all the manufacturing facilities within one system through the retail network, logistics and wholesales. They can rely on LS Retail and BE-Terna to gear them for many more years of growth.
