Case Study on BLK BOX Fitness

About BLK BOX Fitness

BLK BOX Fitness is a successful company specialising in fitness equipment and accessories, experiencing rapid growth over the last few years. They are focused on offering quality fitness products globally; this growth has brought about challenges in effectively managing operations.

To scale efficiently and support its expansion, the company chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) for optimising processes and improving efficiency.

Phase 1 Challenges

The first phase of Business Central implementation at BLK BOX Fitness centred on critical operations but excluded the production environment. This posed a unique challenge, requiring the company to manage ongoing operations while integrating and optimising the new system without disrupting day-to-day activities.

Integrations with Courier Services
Integrating the new system with various courier services was a significant challenge. BLK BOX Fitness needed a solution to enhance communication between its Order Management System and the couriers to ensure timely, accurate deliveries.

Warehouse Management
Before implementing Business Central, BLK BOX Fitness utilised Orderhive to manage its warehouse operations, including inventory management, order picking, and stock allocation. While these processes were functional, there was an opportunity for improvement in efficiency and accuracy, which could enhance customer satisfaction even further.

Multiple Data Sources for Sales (RedRo / Fresh Sales) to Legacy System Uploads
The company utilised various platforms, including RedRo and Freshsales, for sales data management. Redro orders were transferred to Orderhive, where they were processed into orders and subsequently available for manual submission to the Freshsales pipeline.

While leveraging multiple integrated systems offered valuable functionalities, it also introduced some complexities and dependencies, creating opportunities for improvement should any system face downtime or challenges.

Shopify Manual Data Upload
Additionally, BLK BOX Fitness previously synced Shopify orders to Orderhive, eliminating the need for manual uploads. However, reliance on multiple integrated systems still created complexities, and any disruptions could have affected customer orders and inventory management.

Managing Bundle Item Orders
Some product offerings were bundle items requiring a specific order process. Managing these bundle orders was complex, necessitating a more sophisticated sales and inventory tracking system.

Stock Allocation/Reservation
Another major challenge was stock allocation and reservation. The company needed a system to efficiently allocate stock to orders and reserve inventory, ensuring it could meet customer demand without overpromising or underdelivering.

Customer Comparison of Business Central with Legacy System
Transitioning customers (internal and external) from the legacy system to Business Central posed challenges, as users compared the new system’s functionality with the old one, expecting the new system to perform at least as well.

The Solution

Standard BC Finance Process
BLK BOX Fitness adopted the Standard Business Central Finance Process to address financial management challenges. This robust financial reporting system streamlined accounting, resulting in more efficient financial management.

Courier Services Bolt-on
To overcome integration issues with courier services, BLK BOX Fitness implemented a Bolt-on solution, enabling seamless integration between Business Central and multiple couriers for efficient order processing, shipping, and real-time tracking.

Tasklet Solution for Warehousing
BLK BOX Fitness deployed the Tasklet solution for warehouse management, automating inventory control, order picking, and stock allocation. This significantly reduced errors and improved processing time.

Centralised Stock Allocation Screen for All Orders
A centralised stock allocation screen was introduced, providing a real-time view of inventory and more effective stock allocation across all orders, reducing discrepancies and improving order fulfilment.

Shopify Integration
BLK BOX Fitness integrated Shopify directly with Business Central to address the multiple integrated systems challenge. Currently, only the inventory field is synced between both systems, reducing stock management errors and saving resources for more critical tasks.

Sales Orders Integration for RedRo Orders
The sales data from RedRo was integrated directly into Business Central, streamlining the process and eliminating the need for manual uploads, improving data accuracy and real-time visibility into sales metrics.

The Benefits

The implementation of these solutions brought numerous benefits to BLK BOX Fitness:

• Standard BC Finance Process: Improved financial operations with better control and reporting.
• Courier Services Bolt-on: Enhanced order fulfilment and delivery processes with seamless courier integration.
• Tasklet Solution for Warehousing: Increased warehouse efficiency, reducing errors and improving order accuracy.
• Centralised Stock Allocation Screen: Optimised inventory management, ensuring timely and accurate order fulfilment.
• Shopify Integration: Eliminated manual data uploads, reducing errors and improving operational efficiency.
• Sales Orders Integration for RedRo Orders: This will improve sales data management, leading to more accurate sales reporting and decision-making.
• Quote Integration to Fresh Sales: Improved sales operations by providing real-time access to quote data, enhancing customer relationship management.

Conclusion

The successful implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central at BLK BOX Fitness addressed numerous operational challenges and laid the groundwork for continued growth and efficiency.

BLK BOX Fitness significantly improved its operational efficiency by overcoming integration hurdles, automating warehouse management, and centralising stock allocation.

The company is now better equipped to manage increasing demand, ensure timely order fulfilment, and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.

The Phase I implementation has established a strong foundation for future expansion, including production process integration, further enhancing the company’s ability to scale and meet its business objectives.