How Abode Living implemented an ERP system with its new e-commerce site: My Best Tech

Tom Adair is the creative director for Abode Living, which recently implemented an MYOB EXO ERP system along with its new e-commerce website.

“We’ve been using MYOB EXO ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) since November 2013 – so about a year ago – but we started the search for a new all-in-one system about four-and-a-half years ago.

“Previously, we used a [Point of Sales system called] Counter Intelligence for our stock, customers and retail store. And then the web took off dramatically. We did have a website before that, but it was not connected to our stock control or our customer records.

“The reason we chose to implement an ERP system was to increase efficiency. There’s a lot of manual paperwork that we saved, and we don’t have to manually adjust things like stock levels, so it’s a lot more efficient.

“We do our customer [relationship management] on our ERP system, so everyone has a profile, and it has things like addresses, emails, customer order history.

“So we wanted a system where a customer could order in-store or online and it would be processed with the same account. And likewise, for stock, where we could update a record in one place for – for example prices – for both in-store and online.

“We did pick another ERP system from a Queensland company, but it turns out that one couldn’t link up with our website. That was a disaster.

“We looked at a number of systems – such as SAP – and this one seems to be the easiest. A lot of the ERP systems we looked at looked great, but as soon you needed to customise something or add functionality, it either gets expensive or it won’t let you do it. Certainly for a mid-price ERP system, it’s quite flexible.

“We’re implementing EXO in two stages, because we’re both a retailer and a manufacturer. So we’ve already implemented it in the retail side of our business, and we’re doing the scoping for the manufacturing side at the moment.

“The biggest challenge was learning where the new functions are, but BizPro – our systems integrator – has been very helpful on that front.

“The one thing I would say to anyone looking at getting an ERP system is to build your own website instead of getting one off the shelf, because there’s been a lot of customisation in how our systems talk to each other. It’s also worthwhile spending time with the people who build your website.”