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Beauty Bliss: How Kounteq improved Inventory Efficiency by 30% with Cin7 Core and Xero integration
Health & Beauty
B2B - B2C
UK - EU
Cin7 Implementation
Xero Implementation
Xero and Cin7 Integration
Cin7 Training & Support
Looking for an integrated CIN7 Solution like Louella Belle?
Project Summary
Louella Belle’s problem stemmed from their legacy accounting software, Access Dimensions. Access had increased subscription prices without offering added value. Secondly, the system lacked integration capabilities, resulting in disjointed processes across departments. This lack of connectivity hindered efficient operations and decision-making, exacerbating the issue caused by the rising subscription costs.
Kounteq helped them:
Identify the most suitable connected software solution for their unique workflows and processes.
Integrate Cin7 Core, Xero, Shipstation, Magento and Klaviyo
Gain full visibility of stock at an affordable monthly subscription cost, allowing them to invest in marketing activities.
Who are Louella Belle?
Louella Belle, located in St Albans, UK, specialises in importing and distributing premium women’s health and beauty products sourced primarily from the United States.
Louella Belle boasts a diversified range of sales channels dedicated to enhancing beauty, wellness, and confidence in their customers’ lives. They were managing 2 Magento eCommerce stores, one for B2C Sales and one for B2B Sales, as well as Amazon FBA. They were also a distributor for select brands, which required warehousing, fulfilment, and inventory maintenance.
As a business, they wanted to consolidate these sales channels and streamline their distribution center operation by implementing a new inventory management software.
The Inventory Challenges
Managing inventory becomes especially challenging when relying on outdated or manual systems. Like many other companies, Louella Belle faced significant hurdles that hindered their ability to meet customer demands efficiently. These challenges ranged from lost orders to poor integration across their business systems and, ultimately, a lack of visibility into their own inventory. Louella Belle recognised the need for a solution to streamline their operations and enhance customer satisfaction due to the following challenges:
❌ Lost orders due to manual picking process:
Before Kounteq, Louella Belle relied heavily on manual processes. Once a Magento order arrived, a list was printed and physically taken to the warehouse for picking, packing, and shipping. This slow process impacted order fulfilment, with orders being occasionally shipped late. As customer satisfaction was crucial for Louella Belle’s ethos, they wanted a solution that would help them avoid this happening again.
❌ Poor integration between eCommerce, Accounting, CRM and their Warehouse Management Software:
Due to inefficient native integration between Access Dimensions, Mintsoft and Magento, Louella Belle struggled to reconcile inventory records with financial transactions, leading to discrepancies and inventory control issues. Additionally, having a non-integrated CRM (Saleseye) made it challenging to manage customer fulfillment.
❌ No Inventory Visibility:
Due to the issues mentioned above, Louella Belle ultimately had limited visibility into inventory levels and locations across warehouses or distribution centres. Without these real-time updates and accurate tracking mechanisms, it wasn’t easy to fulfil orders promptly. They occasionally experienced stockouts, backorders, and missed sales opportunities due to the lack of inventory management software.
Do these challenges look familiar?
💡 The Solution
Navigating inventory challenges requires solutions tailored to a company's unique needs. For Louella Belle, addressing issues such as manual processes, poor integration, and inventory visibility required strategic interventions by our expert, Manzer. This section delves into Kounteq's recommendations, detailing how we tackled Louella Belle's inventory challenges head-on, setting the stage for improved operations and customer satisfaction. This was Kounteq's recommendation:
✔️ Implementing Xero and Cin7 Core for improved warehouse management:
Kounteq identified that Xero and Cin7 Core had the correct features for Louella Belle’s use case. Cin7 Core and Xero‘s automated sales data syncing eliminated the need for physical picking lists and inventory control reconciliation. Kounteq also connected ShipStation to Cin7 Core, helping them visualize order status and update customer shipment tracking numbers.
✔️ Custom Development Integrating Magento to Cin7 Core:
✔️ Optimise Reordering & Purchasing Process:
Automating the reordering process helped Louella Belle make faster decisions on their inventory catalogue, eliminating the need for manually historic product reviews on individual product reorders, reducing their out-of-stock rate, overstocks, or backorders.
Would you like a demo of Louella Belle's Solution?
Using this, saves us from having to do dual entries on one software [CIN7 Core] and then another software [Xero]
Secrets of a successful workflow
Creating the right workflow is key to any successful implementation. Watch our Inventory Expert, Manzer, share the automations and integrations he identified for Louelle Belle to streamline their process.
Looking to optimise your businesses workflow?
The process behind the solution...
Kounteq prides itself on a very thorough process with no shortcuts. This ensures that our solution really solve the customers need, and all data is accurate at the end of the process.
Through a comprehensive analysis, Kounteq pinpointed Louella Belle’s inventory, warehouse, and accounting system issues, defining the project scope, objectives, deliverables, and timelines.
After understanding their business needs, we documented their workflows by role and department to identify their business’s various data touch points. This ensured we had a clear understanding of processes and responsibilities.
Considering their existing Magento and Amazon setup, we provided various integration options for CIN7 Core and Xero. This included exploring add-on apps like Hubdocs or developing custom integrations using Zapier. This collaborative approach ensured all parties agreed on the optimal solution for their needs.
We began first by implementing CIN7 Core and Xero individually. Once that was successfully completed, we configured reports and integrations between Magento, Hubdocs and Shipstation. Our focus was on seamless connectivity between CIN7 Core and Xero.
Throughout this process, a comprehensive data migration was conducted. This included securely extracting data from existing systems, reformatting it for compatibility with the new platforms, and importing it thoroughly into CIN7 Core and Xero. This meticulous approach ensured data accuracy and integrity throughout the integration process. We phased out our approach to minimise disruption to Louella Belle’s operations.
To ensure the new inventory and accounting system was completely error-free, we reviewed and optimised core workflows and integrations between CIN7 Core and Xero for seamless data flow and efficient operations.
Defined business scenarios were simulated to validate functionality and user experience specific to the CIN7 Core and Xero integration. User testing was conducted to assess system usability, identify potential integration-related issues, and gather feedback for further improvements. This ensured a smooth transition for Louella Belle’s staff and their readiness for real-world operations.
Comprehensive training on the functionalities and workflows of the integrated CIN7 Core, Xero and Shipstation system was provided to empower users and minimise any learning curve. This training was tailored to each user’s role and responsibilities and included a mix of personalised video tutorials, messaging support, and in-person sessions. This ensured users could confidently utilise the system and maximise its benefits.
A plan was executed to guarantee a smooth go-live for the integrated CIN7 Core and Xero system. This included a phased approach (optional), real-time performance monitoring, and dedicated support with expertise in both platforms. This minimises disruption, ensures system stability, and provides confidence in adopting these systems.
Post-go-live, we provided ongoing support (email/phone), training, and the ability to raise any concerns directly with our partners. This ensured that our client’s queries were solved quicker than if they approached the partners independently.
It took 4 months to complete the project.
We remain working with Louella Belle on new integrations and continued post-live support.
It took 4 months to complete the project.
We remain working with Louella Belle on new integrations and continued post-live support.
Manzer Rubbani
Cin7 Expert & Project Lead
Mohamedali Walji
Xero Expert
Colin Janssens
Data Expert
Gerald Enekwechi
Cin7 Core Custom Developer
🥁 The Results...
Through Kounteq’s tailored solutions and interventions on their operations, Louella Belle achieved remarkable time savings, elevated customer satisfaction, and significant improvements in inventory management efficiency.
a week saved by automating manual data processes
98%
more satisfied with customer support than if they did this in-house
30%
"Save 6 to 12 months in your implementation journey with Manzer..."
These are our customers words, not ours... we'll help you:
- Confidently select the right system. Leverage our years of unbiased experience working with 30+ competing software apps.
- Avoid data errors with rigorous validation and testing phases throughout the process. No shortcuts, ever.
- Design, implement and integrate a connected workflow that works for your businesses unique processes (we specialise in complexity)
- Upskill and support you and your staff throughout the process until they are confident with the new systems.
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