Central Floral Supplies

This leading flower supply business saw online revenue and traffic increase. This happened when they integrated their Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP with WebSell’s e-commerce platform.

Central Floral Supplies boosted online sales and traffic by switching to Dynamics 365 Business Central and integrating with WebSell

Central Floral Supplies is a family run business that wanted to challenge its biggest competitors. They decided to change their in-store ERP system to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Central Floral Supplies found the transition seamless and managed to increase store revenue.

The story

Family business to market challenger

Founded in 1973, Central Floral Supplies is a family-owned business based in Cork, Ireland, and has grown to become one of the country’s largest wholesalers of fresh flowers, floral sundries, and seasonal decorations. With a strong physical presence through their brick-and-mortar hub, they’ve continually embraced new technologies, including early adoption of e-commerce, to drive their growth.

For over 14 years, Central Floral Supplies has partnered with WebSell to power their e-commerce operations, and during this time, they have been instrumental in shaping many of WebSell’s key features. Their innovative approach has enabled them to grow into a market challenger and stand out from their competitors in the wholesale floral market.

I’ve worked alongside the WebSell team for longer than I can remember. Being able to grow alongside the platform we use has been an amazing experience and I love working with the guys at WebSell.

Brian McCarthy, Director at Central Floral Supplies

The challenge

Integration and growth

As Central Floral Supplies expanded, the need for a more robust system became clear. Their existing POS system could no longer efficiently handle the growing complexity of the business, which operated across a warehouse, shop floor, and online store. The company needed a scalable ERP solution that would seamlessly integrate with their existing e-commerce platform and ensure no sales data was lost during the transition.

In 2017, Central Floral Supplies decided to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. However, the transition presented specific challenges:

• Migrating their existing POS-driven e-commerce data.
• Ensuring no downtime during the go-live phase.
• Aligning their web order processing workflow with the new ERP system.

The ultimate goal was to enhance their omnichannel shopping experience, boost ROI for their online store, and streamline operations across all sales channels.

When we upgraded our ERP system recently to Microsoft Dynamics NAV, WebSell were superb in working with us to provide the integration we needed.

Brian McCarthy, Director at Central Floral Supplies

The solution

Dynamic and scalable

To meet these needs, WebSell worked closely with Central Floral Supplies to develop a seamless integration between the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP and the WebSell e-commerce platform. As an early adopter of this integration, Central Floral played a key role in testing and refining the solution.

WebSell’s development, support, and implementation teams collaborated to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted transition. The integration allowed Central Floral Supplies to synchronize product and inventory data across all channels, including their warehouse, shop floor, and e-commerce site.

In addition to the ERP integration, WebSell delivered a responsive website that provided a smooth and user-friendly experience, essential for Central Floral customers who often buy in bulk. The focus was on optimizing the shopping cart experience, streamlining operations, and enhancing the overall shopping experience.

The ease of use and flexibility of WebSell’s product means we can tailor our website to do exactly what we need it to do. We’ve also seen how their product has evolved over the years and they are constantly updating and improving their features to reflect the ever-changing nature of e-commerce.

Brian McCarthy, Director at Central Floral Supplies

The results

Sustained improvements to sales and traffic

The implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, coupled with the WebSell platform, yielded impressive results for Central Floral Supplies:

• Revenue increased by 24%
• Site traffic increased by 25%
• Conversion rate increased by 23%

The integration allowed Central Floral to maintain real-time inventory data, ensuring customers always had up-to-date information on stock levels. This was crucial for managing large quantities of perishable goods. Moreover, the unified commerce solution significantly improved operational efficiency, allowing the business to continue scaling with confidence.

The learnings

Growing by constantly moving forward

Through the successful collaboration between Central Floral Supplies and WebSell, several key learnings emerged:

• Seamless Integration: Having a scalable ERP system that integrates smoothly with an e-commerce platform is essential for managing growing business complexities.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Prioritizing a smooth customer experience, especially for bulk buyers, is key to driving e-commerce success in the wholesale market.
• Constant Innovation: By staying on the cutting edge of e-commerce technology and working closely with solution providers like WebSell, businesses can continue to innovate and outperform their competition.
• Operational Efficiency: Implementing a powerful ERP system like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can drastically improve operational efficiency by unifying sales, inventory, and customer data.

With WebSell’s integration and a responsive website, Central Floral Supplies successfully overcame the challenges of scaling their business while enhancing customer satisfaction and driving significant growth in their e-commerce operations.

Get online success

WebSell is the complete e-commerce solution for your business. Request a free demo to see our platform in action.

Request a demo

Or check out some more WebSell success stories: