Cosmetics in the cloud: Kosmea’s natural choice

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Published on the 10/02/2016 | Written by MYOB

AT A GLANCE

Kosmea

INDUSTRY

Retail

BUSINESS OBJECTIVE

Improve inventory control across distributed business
Deliver accurate, up to the minute information
Establish foundation for international growth

SOLUTION

MYOB Advanced

BUSINESS BENEFITS

Single company-wide system provides information accuracy and immediacy
Consolidated inventory across multiple locations
Integration with web presence
Scalable solution ready for planned growth

FOR MORE INFORMATION

MYOB//
E: biggerbusiness@myob.com
NZ: 0800 696 239
AU: 1300 555 110
https://www.myob.com/

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With a growing business, cosmetics company Kosmea looked to MYOB’s Advanced for a cloud solution that meets its expansion ambitions…

From modest beginnings, Kosmea has rapidly expanded as its core promise of ‘skincare as nature intended’ gained traction in the market. While founder Marie Kapetanakis initially managed the company with the help of MYOB’s desktop accounting software, an expanding business necessitated a more substantial solution. For that, she has again looked to MYOB, this time selecting its Advanced cloud-based ERP system.

Established the kitchen of her Adelaide home back in 1993, Kosmea today sells a range of natural skincare products throughout Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, UK and the USA. With current staff numbers at 10, the company continues to grow and aims to expand beyond existing stockists which include health stores, national pharmacy chains and retailer David Jones.

Situation
“We were using AccountRight Premier Enterprise but we had reached the point where the demands of our business were growing significantly and we needed to upgrade,” notes Kapetanakis, adding that as a loyal client, she still has the original software box on the shelf. “With an eye to the future, we wanted a cloud solution, as opposed to going down the path of replacing the server.”

There were some unique complexities to consider, as Kapetanakis points out: “We have multi-warehouse requirements, which requires stock to be held in an outsourced warehouse, a third party manufacturing site, while we also hold stock in our own office. All of this needs to be identified at a moment’s notice. Plus, as we sell into overseas markets, so it was crucial our software could easily and simply handle multiple currencies.”

Solution
Long-term experience with MYOB had delivered a satisfying customer experience, so it was a logical step to stick with the vendor. However, going with MYOB was not a given, as Kapetanakis points out. “While we have a lot of trust in the MYOB brand and have been used its products for 20 years, loyalty is earned, not taken for granted.”

Kosmea engaged MYOB partner BusinessHub to conduct an evaluation of the market to determine the optimal solution to meet its needs. It just so happened that MYOB Advanced emerged as the preferred option. “We have trust in the MYOB brand and as it turned out their Advanced solution really did have everything we needed,” Kapetanakis notes. “Firstly, it was cloud-based software which is perfect for our team working off site, but much more than that, MYOB Advanced could accurately control our inventory, manage customer special pricing and segment our customer groups without any drama.”

As part of the implementation, BusinessHub completed scenario-based training in each module to familiarise the team with the data and the ‘look and feel’ of the new system so everyone was comfortable before the ‘go live’ date. It continues to provide on-demand support on the ‘live’ system.

Results
With the implementation of MYOB Advanced, the growing cosmetics company has improved its inventory control, while crucial business information is ‘freed’ owing to the cloud configuration.

Kosmea now has more flexibility and visibility, in no small part due to the fact that everybody — including those working off site — has access to critical information and numbers. That, in turn, drives improved productivity.

As a result, Kapetanakis says Kosmea has come a long way – but she is already looking to what lies ahead: “We have established a solid foundation and MYOB Advanced positions us very well to expand the business, particularly as we enter the US market. That will see us embark on further development of our products.”

With a new website planned that will integrate with MYOB Advanced, B2B and B2C information will be seamlessly exchanged between the online site and the back-office system. Furthermore, as online sales grow the CRM component of Kosmea’s website will become an extremely valuable tool, says Kapetanakis.

From every perspective we are more streamlined and more productive and that gives us more confidence to move forward.”