Challenge
Irvine Flooring’s industry-specific software was failing, and it needed to be replaced quickly.
Solution
Greentree provides instant information for staff everywhere, delivers quick responses to queries, and monitors the business’s vital statistics.
Results
Sales reps are always up to date through using iPads, customer service staff are easily handling higher workloads, and costs are saved through improved monitoring of stock.
With Greentree And Endeavour, Irvine Floor The Competition
Christchurch-based flooring specialists Irvine Flooring were facing a crisis. They’d implemented an industry-specific business system that had proved to be a huge step backward within months of installation.
“We couldn’t trust the financial information we were getting from it, and the reporting was incapable of supporting our business going forward,” Director Lyndal Irvine recalls. “Everything took longer to do and everyone was pulling their hair out.”
Irvine decided to pull the plug on that system and sought Greentree’s help. The new system had to be implemented quickly, over a very busy sales period, but the task was completed in time and the rewards were quickly apparent.
Flooring Pioneer
For 30 years Irvine Flooring has been bringing the world’s best and most innovative flooring solutions to New Zealand homes and businesses.
“We’ve been instrumental in introducing solution dyed carpet to New Zealand,” Lyndal says. “Our Premium Solution Dyed Carpet has been tried and proven over 15 years and continues to dominate the NZ market. In a country where 95% of the carpet market used to be wool, the benefits of solution dyed nylon are being embraced by consumers in a market that is now over 50% synthetic.
“We are 100% New Zealand owned, very supportive of Canterbury and the earthquake rebuild, and have flooring design & distribution centres in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.”
Irvine’s success hasn’t just been in the home; it has also covered the floors of Auckland and Christchurch airports, the new stand at Eden Park, Wellington’s Te Papa museum, and Hoyts cinemas.
“We’re a lot more nimble and flexible in terms of the flooring solutions we can provide,” Lyndal says.
Now that competitive edge has been further advanced by Greentree.
Info On The Move
Greentree has brought huge benefits to Irvine’s sales staff, who’ve been equipped with iPads and WebView, to have their vital information on hand, wherever they are.
“Our past systems were never live, so if a customer asked a rep whether they had a certain product in stock, he’d have to call the office,” Lyndal says. “The phones were constantly ringing with customer and stock queries.
“With Greentree, our reps can look up stock at any time, and because we’re invoicing every day now, the stock is accurate to the day. They can see all their customers’ invoices, what’s on back order for them, when the stock is due to be here – so they can be very precise about the status of each order.”
No More Guesswork
Greentree’s Supply Chain & Distribution module means that customer orders can be allocated to shipments that are on their way. By the time a container is landed, Irvine knows exactly where the product is going; previously there was a lot more manual calculation prior to the shipment loading.
Lyndal believes the analysis provided by Greentree IQ* has huge untapped potential.
“Because of our extensive range of products, we need to be able to analyse the information by category, by region, by customer, by rep, and do a lot of analysis on what we’re selling,” she explains. “This gives us the ability to know and understand our customers better, and to manage our sales team better. We’re dealing with facts now.”
A Clear View For All
Irvine’s customer service staff love Greentree’s Workflow live desktop, which gives them customer information in one place, where previously it might have been stored in three different locations.
“The benefits are phenomenal,” says Operational Planning Manager Sara Box. “It has good clarity and it creates visibility immediately. The business is growing all the time – the call volume they’re handling now is at least 35-40% higher than it was 12 months ago, but we’re having no trouble handling the extra work because Greentree has grown with us.
“I’ve worked on quite a few business programs myself, but Greentree far outweighs anything I’ve worked on.”
“Information gives you a detailed understanding of your customer base,” Lyndal concludes. “Without it you’re flying blind.
“We watch the market and move with it, and because of that we’ve continued to grow year after year. We have very aggressive targets for our business, and Greentree has been a vital tool to give us information at our fingertips with which to make sound business decisions and support our growth.”
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About Irvine Flooring
Irvine Flooring has been providing flooring solutions for New Zealand since 1964. A tradition of diversity, technical excellence, product innovation and working closely with the market leaders both locally and internationally, allows them to offer a complete range of products including alternative types of flooring, specialty products and custom design.
For more information visit: www.irvineflooring.co.nz
