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Cloud Factory helped Allure Bathrooms connect with the help of MYOB Advanced
Allure Bathrooms started as a side project and has since grown into a successful importer and distributor of bathroom supplies, with four retail showrooms across Melbourne. With plans to open new stores, MYOB Advanced provided the functionality and customisation capability the retailer needed to manage its ever-expanding reach.
In its early days, Allure Bathrooms and its single retail store didn’t need the functionality of a more sophisticated ERP system – but that quickly changed. The company grew rapidly, opening multiple showrooms across Melbourne, with an expanded distribution centre.
Inventory controller Matthew Luong explains that MYOB’s AccountRight Premier had worked well for the company in its early days. But the growing complexity of the business meant they needed a system to match. Inventory management was difficult and sales teams could override set prices, undermining profits.
The Problem
Excel and syncing woes
Allure Bathrooms first moved to TradeGecko with a Xero integration, but even before they’d opened their new stores, that software combination wasn’t delivering the functionality the company needed.
The syncing between the two programmes was becoming a hassle, too.
“Having the two software’s synced together just wasn’t ideal. Especially because TradeGecko would sync to Xero, but Xero wouldn’t sync back to TradeGecko,” Matthew explains.
When the stores opened, they were joint ventures and Allure needed a system that could manage separate companies.
“We were struggling with purchase orders, which were done manually through Excel. We sell a lot of products sourced from local wholesalers, so that was a really time-consuming effort.”
"We were struggling with purchase orders, which were done manually through Excel. We sell a lot of products sourced from local wholesalers, so that was a really time-consuming effort."
The Solution
One solution for all locations
Although Matthew wasn’t specifically searching the market for an ERP system, he says Advanced was the most suitable solution.
“Advanced’s inter-branch mapping allows us to control stock between different stores, move stock from one location to the other, and make branch stock adjustments automatically.”
Allure Bathrooms worked with their MYOB business partner to customise the software for the organisation’s specific needs, adding low stock level warning signs and extra fields on quote and sales order screens. They also implemented restricted user access on default unit prices, shipment confirmations and credit memos.
“Those minor customisations made things more convenient,” Matthew says.
"Advanced’s inter-branch mapping allows us to control stock between different stores, move stock from one location to the other, and make branch stock adjustments automatically."
The Outcome
Groundwork for future growth
Matthew says the system has provided “the groundwork for future growth” – automating purchase orders, simplifying inventory and ordering, streamlining stock processes and providing better tracking on deliveries.
Advanced has also saved time processing purchase orders, thanks to a single tick-box that automatically creates a P.O. from a quote.
They now have a better handle on their inventory, easily crosschecking order values against payments and keeping track of what has been delivered.
The future looks bright for Allure Bathrooms, which is now well-set to grow and expand. Matthew says having a system that can cope with multiple branches, multiple warehouses, moving stock, and cost-sharing across branches is exactly what they need to push their business forward.
“Advanced has made it much easier, much more automated,” says Matthew. “It makes life so much easier.”
