Material Things launched OMNIS Retail in its Portsmouth store two years ago, and continues to grow with the help of Iconography’s unified commerce system. Here, the retailer’s sales director Matt Gingell shares his experience of handling everything from custom orders and customer service to warehousing and delivery schedules …
Why did you choose Iconography?
People in furniture said to me, “I’m told that Iconography make the best websites.” We changed primarily because our Shopify website was very lacking. We started to outgrow what we had and, looking back to the way we were doing things, it’s night and day.
What are the biggest differences?
Our website – we get so many compliments on how it looks. I’d have to get somebody to change simple things before. Now if we spot an incorrect lead time or a blurry image, I’ll change it. When you really think about it, we know our business better than anybody, so being able to react and make changes ourselves is brilliant.
Is that the only change?
We’ve converted from using emails to using the tasks module. Seeing the full history of it is so transparent, I love that aspect of it. It’s horrible getting a customer say, “Somebody said they’d call me back and they haven’t,” so having this information to hand means anyone in the team can respond (especially if the original person is sick or on holiday).
Can you walk us through the in-store sales process?
First and foremost, we understand the customer’s needs. Getting into the nitty gritty, we sit down, grab a laptop and build the order together. We’ve uploaded all the relevant options to choose from so there’s a journey to follow, but we can also skip them as necessary. Custom options can be added to any product – we use that functionality a lot.
How does that carry through to purchase ordering?
When things change, we can amend purchase orders without losing information. Waiting on customers to chase for updates normally ends in cancellation, which costs us money. OMNIS lets us easily check on POs that haven’t been sent or acknowledged in a certain timeframe to stop this.
What about understanding the stock you have in the business?
Seeing what is on display versus free stock, so we don’t have to go looking through the showroom or the warehouse, is vital. If a customer cancels last minute, the stock doesn’t just vanish, it has to go somewhere, keeping us accountable. For stock take, it’s never been more accurate, which is so refreshing.
Are your deliveries more organised?
On the journey planner we assign orders daily to a specific vehicle and log if the delivery is morning, afternoon, or a set timeframe. It’ll also show any payments due, which is really important for ensuring we follow up before delivering.
How impactful is the reporting?
It’s been invaluable. We get a clear and simple snapshot on the dashboard but can also drill down further into the data – and that’s on my phone, my iPad, my laptop.
Watch the full interview on Iconography’s website, and visit its stand at the Spring Furniture & Bed Show next month.
Pictured: Matt Gingell with Iconography client services specialist Lee Brayshaw
