Upgrading from Sage 50 to Sage 200
Nobody puts BabyStyle in the corner; Wholesale and distribution company goes global with help from crucial upgrade
A Customer Success Story
Project background
The client
Babystyle are a wholesale and distribution company specialising in prams, pushchairs, nursery furniture and accessories. They work with high street department stores such as John Lewis, Mothercare, Toys R Us and Boots, as well as small independent retailers.
Babystyle’s turnover has risen to approximately £9 million a year, largely due to the launch of their own brand, Oyster, which accounts for three quarters of their business. Due to the success of the Oyster brand, they are targeting new global markets including South Africa and the Middle East.
Greater financial control
The challenge
With the soaring popularity of its products and often long order-times from expecting parents, Babystyle was facing tens of thousands of orders from national brands and independent retailers, overloading its existing Sage 50 software.
Having outgrown Sage 50, Babystyle appointed Solutions for Accounting and CRM, from a recommended shortlist of ‘Top 10 Sage Business Partners’ to upgrade their system.
Our experts at Solutions recommended upgrading to Sage 200, which would allow data to be centrally accessed by Babystyle’s accounts, customer service, parts and repairs and warehouse teams. Dispatch notes and invoices could also be driven directly from the warehouse, further building efficiency into the company’s practices. The addition of Spindle would enable automated email invoicing – moving the company closer to ‘paperless’ operations.
Solutions’ Approach
Andrew Rollinson said “The switch to Sage 200 and Spindle was a big upheaval but didn’t result in much downtime. Representatives from Solutions spent time training our staff so they understood the changes, they didn’t just leave us to it. They came up with solutions to any issues and the transition went smoothly.”
Babystyle’s employees are now accessing the new Sage 200 system as the ambitious company introduces its Oyster products to lucrative new global markets.
Solutions provide ongoing support to Babystyle, ensuring its financial provision is well equipped to handle growing demand from around the world.
“The type of industry we are in moves very fast in terms of fashion trends and parents’ requirements,” explained Andrew. “Solutions work with us and are very progressive in suggesting systems we can integrate into our Sage 200 solution to future proof it as we grow our brand in an ever-changing market place.”
We felt that Solutions really understood what we were about. They seemed to be more in touch with the day-to-day running of the company and really listened to our concerns about how a system switch would affect our members of staff.
Andrew Rollinson, FD of Babystyle
To learn more about Sage 200, then please contact our experts today.
