Nooz Optics, a France-based eyewear brand, was facing significant operational challenges despite its global success. The company, known for its innovative sunglasses, reading glasses, and children’s eyewear, had four successful Shopify-powered websites in multiple regions, including Europe, UK, Canada, and the USA. However, its internal systems were struggling to keep up with the increased orders, manual workflows, and a lack of visibility. The company was spending a significant amount of time and energy on time-consuming manual processes and stop-gap spreadsheets. This was not only inefficient but also affected the company's Trustpilot score, which was at a low of one.

Arthauss, a family-run online furniture brand, started from a spare bedroom in Lincoln, UK. The founders, Katarzyna Konwinska and Rafal Konwinski, identified a market gap for affordable, quality furniture and decided to fill it. They launched Arthauss with a rudimentary website and quickly earned a solid reputation, especially for their unique Arti range of wardrobes and popular pull-down Murphy beds. The brand grew exponentially, moving into a 4,000 sq ft unit with a showroom and upgrading to a powerful Shopify website. However, as the business expanded, managing the operations became increasingly challenging. The team was spending a significant amount of time on repetitive manual tasks, which was hindering their ability to focus on long-term growth.

Harriet Hastings, the founder of Biscuiteers, saw the potential in launching an ecommerce gifting business for biscuits while on holiday in New York. She had a vision of creating a product that was easily postable, had a longer shelf-life, and offered limitless design opportunities for corporate clients. However, she faced several challenges. One of the early challenges was ensuring the biscuits could be sent by post without breaking. Another challenge was managing the growing business as it generated sales from multiple platforms. Hastings realized that she needed to completely reconfigure the business and needed a software program that could pull all these strands together and help her to keep a close eye on stock and orders.

Coes, a British formal wear company with a century-long history, was facing a significant challenge in the wake of the pandemic. The shift towards online shopping and the rapid evolution of e-commerce put pressure on the brand, known for its exceptional in-store service, to adapt or risk being left behind. The company, which operates six UK retail outlets and a Shopify Plus-powered website, recognized the need for a stronger online strategy and a complete overhaul of its operational infrastructure to meet increasing consumer expectations. The existing provider, MS Dynamics, was pushing an unsuitable upgrade, and the lack of customization was causing more problems than solutions. The brand was experiencing growing issues around sales visibility and stock accuracy, and an over-reliance on manual workflows and unreliable integrations.

Naturecan, a CBD health business based in Stockport, was founded by former Myprotein CEO, Andy Duckworth, and entrepreneur Paul Finnegan. The company, which started in 2019, has seen rapid growth, with sales expected to exceed £11 million in 2022 and projected revenue for 2023 to be over £18 million. Despite its success, Naturecan faced a significant challenge. With a large percentage of its sales in Asia, Europe, and the United States, the company was dealing with orders coming from multiple platforms globally. This situation necessitated a robust back office software system to improve efficiency and closely monitor stock levels.

Unimart.com, a multimillion-dollar retail outfit based in Costa Rica, experienced a 350% growth since the pandemic. The company, which started in electronics sales, quickly expanded to cover a full roster of categories. Their business model is complex, consisting of Shopify Plus-powered direct-to-consumer sales, a B2B arm for corporate customers, and a separate API stream supplying brand loyalty programs. Initially, Unimart.com used a traditional legacy ERP provider to consolidate its multichannel processes. However, the company soon faced issues with disjointed data transfers and found the system ill-suited to their business model. Alternative legacy ERPs were considered but were deemed financially unviable due to their all-in-one nature and clunky connectivity. The decision to switch to Brightpearl came at the start of 2020, just before the pandemic-induced sales surge, which further strained Unimart.com’s existing systems.

USA Lab, a Michigan-based lab equipment brand, experienced rapid growth, quadrupling in size within a few months. The company, which specializes in B2B equipment for labs and universities and DTC equipment for hemp and CBD production, began to face challenges with overselling and inventory management. In an attempt to address these issues, USA Lab opted for Cin7, a retail operating system platform. However, the platform failed to deliver on its promises, leading to further complications for the fast-growing brand. The company's experience with Cin7 highlights the risks associated with opting for a 'cheap fix' when it comes to retail operating systems.

Baby & Co, a British nursery retailer established in 1982, experienced a 40% year-on-year growth which led to an increase in operational complexities. The family-run business, based in Bristol, specializes in strollers, prams, nursery furniture, and nursery equipment from premium brands. The company, which operates a webstore powered by Advanced Shopify, was bogged down by manual processes due to its growth. The business was faced with the challenge of managing stock across multiple locations and the enormous administrative task of manually adding all sales and customer data. Additionally, Baby & Co needed a new system to be operational within six weeks, ahead of HMRC’s ‘Making Tax Digital’ deadline.

Bells of Steel, a Canadian fitness brand, experienced a rapid surge in demand during the pandemic. The shift to online shopping, particularly for home fitness equipment, overwhelmed the company's team of seven. The founder, Kaevon Khoozani, was faced with a critical decision: sell the company, stay small, or scale up. He chose the latter, hiring 39 new staff, opening a larger warehouse in Toronto, a retail store in Indianapolis, and adding 3PL in LA to cover West Coast demand. However, the rapid expansion brought about operational challenges. The company's workflows became increasingly complex, leading to financial losses. The back-end operations, made up of a patchwork of software with little cross-communication, were plagued with manual inventory management and accounting inaccuracies. The lack of visibility, especially in inventory, negatively impacted the company's margins and decision-making capabilities.

Bond Touch, a multichannel DTC brand, experienced a surge in demand for its innovative 'emotional wearable tech' bracelets soon after its launch in 2017. To cater to the growing demand, the company expanded its operations by launching additional Shopify storefronts in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the US, and setting up several extra warehouses. However, this rapid expansion led to operational chaos. Managing large order volumes across various channels using only manual workflows and spreadsheets became an overwhelming task. The complexity of operations increased significantly with the addition of extra web stores, warehouses, stockists, and Amazon sales. The company, headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, with operations based out of California, considered various solutions, including Netsuite, Skubana, and TradeGecko, but none could offer the scalability, flexibility, and functionality required by the brand.

Cleva, a UK-based DIY brand, has been experiencing a rapid growth since its launch in 2016, doubling in size every year and achieving a 100% year-on-year growth rate. However, maintaining this growth post-Covid presented a significant challenge. The company had to deal with the fluctuating online demand that affected many businesses in the wake of the pandemic. Cleva had to ensure that it could continue to meet the demand for its products, which range from vacuum cleaners to outdoor power tools, and are sold both B2C and B2B via various online platforms. The company also faced the challenge of managing its operations efficiently as it expanded its product range and opened a second warehouse.

Dakota Stones, an online gemstone specialist, was in search of a backend solution that could match the innovative features of its front-end e-commerce platform, Shopify. The Minnesota-based brand, which operates four webstores including Goody Beads, serves a diverse range of wholesale and direct-to-consumer customers. The challenge was to find a solution that could seamlessly integrate with Shopify Plus, which the brand switched to in 2021, and provide robust retail functionality to support its growing business.

Driveline Baseball, a multichannel B2C company specializing in data-driven baseball performance training, faced a significant challenge in managing its complex retail operations. The company initially used Brightpearl for its operations, but due to the need for several custom integrations, including 3PL providers, which were not available on Brightpearl at that time, the company decided to switch to an alternative solution provider. However, the alternative solution turned out to be expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating, failing to meet Driveline's unique needs. The company was struggling with ongoing supply issues and unpredictable consumer demand, with excess stock becoming a major problem.

FurnitureBox, a Wiltshire-based online furniture retailer, experienced a significant 267% increase in revenue over the last year, making it the fastest-growing business in the South West. However, this rapid growth led to logistical complexities. The company was spending excessive time on manual tasks such as processing orders, managing a busy warehouse, and handling spreadsheets. Dispatch had no courier integration, phone orders lacked scalability, and it was costly to manage the change in process that came with every new platform or channel. With a lean staffing model and a growth target of 25-30%, the team was struggling to expand while maintaining the high-quality service they were known for.

Heat Transfer Warehouse, an online retailer of heat transfer vinyl and sublimation equipment, faced significant operational challenges as it grew. Despite consistent success since its launch in 2010, the company hit a crossroads in its ordering and inventory management systems, which lacked accuracy and visibility. The North Dakota-based company, which had seen a surge in direct-to-consumer sales due to the pandemic, needed a solution that could handle its increased order volume, which had doubled from around 8,000 a month to 16,000. The company was also looking for a system that could integrate with its existing e-commerce platform, BigCommerce, and provide real-time performance insights and in-depth reporting functionality.

Henchman, a leading ladder design specialist based in Wiltshire, England, was established in 1994. The company provides a range of quality tripod ladders, safe working platforms, and gardening accessories to businesses, organizations, and DIY enthusiasts. Over the years, Henchman has grown from a small business to a leading ladder design specialist. However, like many brands in the gardening and DIY sector, Henchman experienced a massive surge in demand during the pandemic. The challenge was to handle this sustained spike in orders efficiently and without compromising the quality of service.

Chicago-based babywear brand Monica + Andy, established in 2014, experienced rapid growth and faced challenges in managing their back office operations. They initially turned to spreadsheets for managing various aspects of their business, including inventory, invoices, and accounting. However, as the business volumes began to soar, managing these spreadsheets became incredibly time-consuming and impractical. The business, which specializes in organic babywear, kidswear, maternity wear, and kid-related accessories, sells its products DTC online, via stores in NYC and Chicago, and is also stocked at big-name stores including Target and Buybuy BABY. The brand was in need of a back office solution that could handle their growing operational complexity.

P.volve, a US-based exercise brand, experienced a significant increase in popularity during the pandemic as at-home workouts became the norm. As the company expanded, it faced the challenge of managing increasingly complex operations. The brand operates through a Shopify Plus webstore, subscription management software, Stripe, online marketplaces Amazon US & Canada, and from three studio spaces based in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. It also uses a third-party warehouse in Illinois. With the goal to further expand, the company needed a progressive operational system that could alleviate the team from time-consuming manual inventory tasks and provide a central source of truth for full visibility and accuracy as they scaled. The implementation of this system coincided with the pandemic, which sent sales into overdrive, adding to the complexity of the situation.

Piglet in Bed, a UK-based online bedding business, was facing operational challenges due to its rapid growth. Launched in 2017 with a simple Shopify website and a limited product range, the company quickly gained traction, becoming the third fastest-growing homeware retailer in the UK. The brand's success attracted big-name retailers and investors, leading to an upgrade in its website, marketing, and operations. However, as orders started flowing in from both the UK and the USA, the company's existing solution was causing operational headaches. The team was losing time tracking numerous spreadsheets, and CFO Axel Stelk recognized that their increasingly complex processes needed a stronger support system. Despite interviewing several legacy ERP providers, they were unable to find a satisfactory solution.

Porcelain Superstore, an online-only direct-to-consumer (DTC) tile shop, faced the challenge of maintaining operational efficiency while offering free tile samples to potential customers. This unique business model, which bypasses the need for a physical showroom, required the company to send out 4,000 tile samples every week. However, this approach left no room for error or delay in back-office operations. The company was previously using TradeGecko, a basic standalone Order Management System (OMS), which was not sufficient to handle the high volume of samples and the growing demands of the business.

Run Gum, a performance-enhancing chewing gum company, was facing significant operational challenges due to its rapid growth. The company was selling directly to consumers and wholesale to major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon, as well as a few smaller stores. As orders increased, managing multiple sales channels became a logistical nightmare. The company was using a basic Order Management Solution (OMS) and numerous spreadsheets to manage operations, along with the inventory software, Stitch Labs. However, Stitch Labs lacked the functionality to handle the complexities of Run Gum's omnichannel growth. The increased channels, sophisticated workflows, and order complexity led to error-prone reporting, gaps in data, and system lag due to the increased volume of orders. The staff was spending hours manually transferring EDI numbers between systems, making the process time-intensive.

Snow, a leading oral cosmetics brand, was experiencing operational chaos despite its phenomenal success and celebrity endorsements. The brand, best known for its transformative teeth whitening kits, had sales exceeding $100M a year and was experiencing a 90% year-on-year growth. However, behind the scenes, the brand was struggling with operational issues. The multichannel, Shopify Plus-powered brand was dealing with frequent stockouts that were frustrating its customers. The brand was in desperate need of a solution that could handle the volume of orders and offer the necessary functionality. Traditional ERP solutions like Netsuite were found to be overly complex, while lower-end solutions like Order Management Systems (OMS) were unable to handle the volume of orders Snow was dealing with.

US Cutter, a premier vinyl cutter supplier in the USA, was facing operational challenges as it expanded its business. The company, which started on eBay in 2005, had grown significantly, introducing vinyl cutting to thousands of start-ups, established businesses, and hobbyists. To support its multi-channel growth, which included a BigCommerce-powered website, online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart, and two retail stores, US Cutter needed a robust operational infrastructure. The company was using CORESense, a small ERP provider for basic multi-channel operations. However, as the business scaled, US Cutter outgrew the platform, which was plagued by instability and frequent downtime. Despite receiving funding for better software, the company struggled to find a tech solution that would meet its multi-channel needs.

Wexel Art, a female-led, Austin-based framing and art retailer, was facing challenges in managing its backend operations. Despite its impressive growth rate of 89% in the last year, the company was struggling with a time-intensive inventory system and a mix of various technologies like Quickbooks, Shopify, and SPS Commerce. The lack of a central source of truth was leading to hours of manual data entry and a loss of valuable time and accuracy. The company was also looking to expand into new categories and needed a system that could handle the increased volume and complexity of operations.