How we designed and implemented a complete digital transformation to improve organizational inefficiencies.
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Check Out the Techin5 Auction Solution Video
The Challenge
The client, a family-owned international wine retialer and auction house with a long-standing history of success, was facing a variety of difficult IT issues causing them not to ship product timely and accurately. We learned from our first project, Withum’s 2-Day Diagnostic, that their highly complex system design and setup was no longer able to support operations effectively, was providing poor customer user expeirence, and was exposing the company to unnecessary risks.
Withum Solution
After completing a comprehensive Operational Retail Assessment, we recommended a complete digital transformation. We looked at the keys to all business successes, people, processes, technology and data to devleop a new, low-cost, scalable approach for the future. Our IT modernization plan included:
- Conducting a fit-gap ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) analysis to determine the best solution to replace the current systems
- Revising and formalizing a cost-effective CRM (Customer Relationship Management) process
- Analyzing Distribution and Logistics to determine if a Third Party Logistics provider was more viable along with improving internal Warehouse Management system into a Modern ERP System Platform
- Consolidating or not to consolidate the many eCommerce platforms and websites was included in the roadmap
- Simplifying the Human Resource compliance and Benefit Administration processes to a PEO relationship.
- Integrating and connecting disparate systems using workflows and automation to improve productivity
- Improving access to reliable data to enhance reporting and make informed and actionable decisions with supporting data with new Forecasting, Planning and Analysis software
- Providing tailored software demonstration with organization-specific use cases to c-level and functional leadership
- Putting together a vendor cost analysis and setting up product demonstrations
- Organizing user adoption and training workships for new and existing technologies
In shore, we proposed a mix of technology and services geared to drastically modernize, improve operational and communication inefficiencies and provide structure and discipline to organizational processes.
The Result
We helped our client develop a clear vision of the future, complete with a strategic and time-sensitive roadmap. Our modernization roadmap covered the implementation of:
Company Finances
- Technology to streamline basic accounting functions
- A financial planning and analysis tool (FP&A)
- Systemized supply chain procedures, specifically pay processes and inventory integration
- Enhanced reporting, budgeting, and information consolidation
IT Processes
- A fully implemented and secure architecture design
- An information management plan to address access, auduting, data retention, etc.
- A strategy to expand the IT department to handle more overhead as the company grows
Customer Service
- An effective customer routing system to handle incoming calls/chats more efficiently
- A temporary CRM system until a more robust tool is chosen
Marketing
- Access to additional data to assist in marketing efforts and provide a 360-customer view
- A new CRM system to reduce operational inefficiencies and remove data risks with data stored in many locations
- Introduced process with supporting policy and procedure to better manage Unapproved Sales Orders to cause faster inventory turns
- Training workshops on new structured processes and existing technology
Warehouse and Operations
- Improved communication/workflow to alert warehouse for specific client logistics across the world
- An effective tracking method for storing and sending products to clients
- An optimized container/licensing plate receiving process in order to decrease ship time
- Optimize and put in place policies and procedures to optimize freight costs
Retail Sales
- A faster sales cycle with fewer internal roadblocks
- Improvements to collaborate selling practices, both internally and with vendors
- More accurate reporting from SAP
- A better integrated POS system to manage inventory and optimize sales
HR and Training
- Governance over roles, responsibilities, policies and procedures
- Improved transparency and access to experts during off work hours
- Reduction in benefit costs for employees and employer and more access to providers.
Podcast Spotlight
The auction process consists of several phases and is a unique blend of sales, valuation, e-commerce, and warehousing that makes this a distinct model. In this episode, Walter Merkas and Kim Gordon break down the process into pre-auction, auction and post-auction to give our listeners insight into elements you need to consider in all three phases to accomplish a smooth operation – no matter the type of auction house.
Don’t miss out on new episodes from Withum’s Take Me to the Cloud podcast! Listen and subscribe on Google Podcasts or Spotify.
Withum’s Management Consulting Team to learn more about improving your organizational inefficiencies.
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