ERP Solutions to Elevate Retail and eCommerce Operations

Challenges

When 5-star hotels such as the Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons and luxury brands such as Royal Caribbean Cruises need new linen, bathrobes, towels, or slippers they contact Edward and Bruce Cohen of Boca Terry, located in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Founded in 1996, the two garment industry executives have built an impressive organization based on offering quality products at competitive prices and providing outstanding customer service.

“I had been importing out of China and Europe for years,” says Bruce Cohen, Boca Terry President. “And Edward was doing manufacturing in the Dominican Republic, so we knew how to manufacture and sell.”

The company started with terry-cloth towels and bath robes and later expanded its product line to include other linens as well as lounge chair covers and luxury spa products, and, when the pandemic hit, face masks. The company contracts with manufacturers overseas, embroiders brand names on items in-house or subs them out, and ships products from distribution centers located in Florida, California, Canada, China, and the United Kingdom.

Boca Terry’s business operations include manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and eCommerce. About 98 percent is B2B, and the rest, B2C. The company has its own eCommerce store on BigCommerce, and an outsource partner sells its products on Amazon.

Years ago, the company deployed QuickBooks for accounting, ACT! for CRM and a customized Microsoft Access program for sales order entry—none of which were connected. The order entry program was created by a friend of the Cohens’ father, who also maintained and supported the software for more than 20 years.
“We were very fortunate,” says Edward Cohen, CEO and who runs the company’s finance operations. “Anytime Bruce or I needed a custom report, we would call (the software developer) and he would develop it.”

“But later, we started to realize if something happened to him, what would we do?”

The Cohens also realized that their reliance on antiquated and disconnected software programs hindered operations and growth. For example, the sales staff hand wrote orders, but then someone else typed them into the Access database. That person was also responsible for shipping. “She was never getting anything done,” says Edward. That duplicate process was also prone to errors.

The old on-premises computer system was slow, hard to search, and because information was stored in three applications, executives lacked visibility into what was happening in the business. Bruce, Boca Terry president, had to ask Edward to create simple finance reports like a P&L and email it to him. Not only did that interrupt Edward’s day but it also took time to pull information from three places and create the report.

Edward constantly fielded customer calls on the status of their orders. Locating the answers meant he had to search for information in several applications, a trying task.

NetSuite Increased Complexity

The Cohen brothers sought to replace their Access developer with someone new, a move they eventually decided against due to the reliance on a single person and older software. To remain competitive long-term, they knew they needed a modern business solution.

Initially, Boca Terry chose Oracle NetSuite. “We needed a solution to join our three different applications into one, and didn’t know about Acumatica when we went with NetSuite,” says Edward.

But three months later, they reopened their search for a better ERP because NetSuite increased the complexity of some of their workflows rather than streamlined them.

“NetSuite was pretty difficult to use, and inventory IDs were limited to a certain number of digits. We were facing changing all of them because we used dashes,” Bruce says. Boca Terry also had a difficult time with NetSuite’s out-of-country support teams.

ERP Solution

Acumatica Retail Edition

After a second ERP search, Boca Terry decided to implement Acumatica Retail Edition with help from Acumatica partner i-Tech Support Inc.

“Acumatica’s integration and ease of use seemed better than NetSuite,” Edward says. “When we viewed the demos, it was so much more outstanding than anything else we looked at. It fit like a glove and the integration of what we do as a company seemed like it would be a smooth transition.”

Outcome

Full Visibility for Real-Time Decision Making

With Acumatica, Boca Terry executives now have full visibility into critical business information, empowering them to make real-time, data-driven decisions. They have insight into inventory location, stock availability, and can deliver the right products to the right places at the right times. Financial information is available instantly through various dashboards, helping the company operate more efficiently.

“We don’t have to take an hour or so to figure out what’s going on,” says Edward. Nor does he have to pause his day to compile spreadsheets and email updates to Bruce, who operates from California and previously lacked access to essential data.

Boca Terry has reduced the number of days it takes to ship orders thanks to Acumatica’s full inventory visibility, which was previously unavailable. The shipping manager focuses on tasks at hand without needing to type in lengthy sales orders manually.

Navigating Pandemic Supply Chain Challenges

When supply chain disruptions stretched inventory orders from months to over six months, Acumatica provided visibility into what was on the water and when it was expected to arrive, allowing Boca Terry to offer customers more accurate timelines.

Now, anyone logged into Acumatica can see when products are scheduled to arrive and provide customers with timely updates. This visibility has significantly improved customer service, enabling Boca Terry to anticipate and communicate changes effectively.

The company has also streamlined its order-to-cash cycle, with Acumatica’s integrated credit card processing making payments easier. Many administrative tasks are now automated, leading to considerable time and cost savings.

Improved Operational Efficiency

The Boca Terry team operates more efficiently with Acumatica. Sales team members enter orders directly into the system, eliminating the need for a dedicated order entry employee, who now focuses on shipping tasks to expedite order fulfillment.

Order tracking is now seamless; employees log into Acumatica to instantly check order status without calling Edward, who previously spent hours searching for information manually. This has saved him hours daily, allowing him to focus more on business growth.

“Acumatica made my life so much easier. It’s unbelievable,” Edward says. For instance, weekly updates for customers and salespeople on estimated due dates no longer take an entire week to complete.

The system also simplifies the receipt process: when a container arrives, “all we have to do is hit ‘received’ and you’re done,” Edward notes. This process, once manual and time-consuming, is now streamlined, allowing anyone to access real-time data.

Acumatica also provides instant insights into profitability for each item, which previously required a lengthy process in QuickBooks. “Now we can get a gross margin on every individual style instantly,” Bruce adds.

Automated Manual Tasks

Acumatica’s automation capabilities save time across departments:

Order Confirmations: Automatically sent to customers upon entry.
Customer Statements: Digitally distributed, saving approximately $500 monthly.
Custom Orders: Bruce and Edward are automatically notified, ensuring timely purchase orders for overseas suppliers.
Pricing Accuracy: Sales orders automatically populate with correct prices, eliminating the need to check base and supplier prices manually.
Acumatica’s native BigCommerce connector syncs e-commerce orders, enabling real-time sales tracking. “Now, every single sales order from the e-commerce site is automatically uploaded in Acumatica,” says Edward.

Shipping e-commerce orders is faster, with all steps automated rather than manually handling data from BigCommerce.

Gained Remote Access

Acumatica’s mobile app provides executives with access from anywhere, allowing for greater flexibility. “I just got back from Antarctica,” Edward shares. “It was great because I could sit in my stateroom and look at what was going on.” Remote sales teams also benefit from easy, real-time access without relying on VPNs.

The unlimited user licensing model further allows Boca Terry to add new employees without worrying about software costs. Previously, escalating costs had discouraged them from expanding their team.

Poised for Growth

Looking ahead, Boca Terry plans to expand its capabilities by exploring additional Acumatica applications to streamline operations. Bruce highlights Acumatica’s dedication to continuous improvement and its extensive third-party ecosystem as key to supporting future growth.

“Acumatica is very receptive to listening to their customers and ensuring we can grow,” says Edward, appreciating the platform’s annual investments.

“If someone is dealing with multiple applications all day long, Acumatica is the way to go,” Edward emphasizes. “Acumatica allows us to run the company better. We’re much more efficient, have answers quicker, and have confidence in our daily operations.”

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