The Juice CorporationSews the Seeds of Success

Simply Dynamics ERP

In the fast moving world of fashion apparel choice, branding and seasonalityare the driving forces if a business is to be successful and capture theconsumer’s appetite for looking good.

In order to actively compete in this highly competitive market placeManchester based company The Juice Corporation recently re-configured itsbusiness operations platform with the help of K3 Business Solutions.

Born out of the hugely successful Joe Bloggs brand, The Juice Corporation isnow widely recognised as one of the UK’s most dynamic and energeticfashion houses, with a brand portfolio that not only includes Joe Bloggs, butother household names such as Kangol, Slazenger, Santa Monica, Rawcraft,Gabicci, Elizabeth Emanuel and many more.

CASE STUDY

CASE STUDY

The challenge was toengage all aspects of itssupply chain operationswith K3 implementingMicrosoft Dynamics NAV.

With over 30 years’ experience in the trade, The Juice Corporation is well placed toensure that the business grows its offers to retailers and brand owners alike. In-housestudio designers consistently produce cutting edge products, influenced by modernculture, music and fashion trends. As versatile and fast moving as the brands itdelivers the business prides itself on its ability to react rapidly to trends and produce‘fast fashion’ with quick turnaround and delivery. This is something that’s vital intoday’s hugely competitive fashion marketplace.

Based in the UK with a supply chain extending globally, The Juice Corporation needsto employ an extensive supply and distribution network to carefully manage bothproduction and supply models. The company demands exacting standardsthroughout its work and expects a vibrant, energetic, passionate and ambitiousoutlook from all of its employees.

In an almost “tale of two cities” style scenario The Juice Corporation has turnedaround its supply chain practices moving away from an ageing AS400 Platform to aMicrosoft Dynamics NAV based solution. This “rags to riches” tale of supply chainexcellence has facilitated an increased awareness amongst staff of being able to worksmarter at every level of the business.

The challenge for this well-established fashion house was to engage all aspects of itssupply chain operations with K3 implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV and K3’sPebblestone fashion specific module between 50 users working over three sites forthis highly respected brand icon.

This proved to be a heady task, as workers within The Juice Corporation weregrappling with their existing AS400 server and a plethora of Excel spreadsheet basedreporting, resulting in a silo mentality and a daily grind, limiting the staffs’ ability tomeet the needs of the fast moving world of the Fashionistas.

With a proven track record working within the fashion sectorK3 was able to offer customer-specific business managementsolutions to this high-profile brand leader.

After initial talks with K3 in 2012 the long term plan for TheJuice Corporation was to engage a comprehensive service thatwould allow the company to integrate all areas of its businessinto one system, including Warehousing, Marketing, Planning,Procurement & Supply Chain, PLM, PDM, Inventory, Financials,Executive dashboards and operational day to day reporting.

This was to prove to be a task that was not without its teethingproblems.

The Juice Corporation Company demands exacting standardsthroughout its workforce and expects a vibrant, energetic,passionate and ambitious outlook from all its employees, andsupply chain members alike.

Growing the businessJohn Rose, Director of Management and Resources, who actedas the Internal Project Manager at The Juice Corporation takesup the story.

“After talks with K3 it was obvious that our AS400 server basedplatform and associated software was not going to be up tothe task of helping us grow our business model and we neededto look at a simpler, integrated, almost one touch solution forour day to day working culture,” explains Rose

“We really desired new efficiencies in order to support growthin all aspects of our trading and we originally felt theimplementation of a standard K3/ Microsoft Dynamics NAVbased solution was desired, though ultimately K3 and Juiceworked together to provide the customisations that make TheJuice Corporation unique and support our workingmethodologies. This meant that we had to stringently reviewour plans and take a second look at what we needed to do”.

“In hindsight, we had engaged an in-house consultant who wasstarting to take the whole project down the wrong path for ourneeds so we probably got off to a false start and went back toK3 and laid our cards on the table. It was then that we realisedthat we needed to take joint action to get things to move inthe right direction for us”.

“After some forthright talking and soul searching it was decidedthat, with guidance from K3’s consultancy arm, we should getto grips with the system and flush out all the problems that wewere encountering. We then quickly drew up a workingtemplate that was delivered against our ultimate objectives.

“I would say that with the best will in the world, anyone who islooking at a total change in their operating platform andresultant process changes, should realistically look at includinga 25% contingency in their project budget in order to achieveany fine tuning to support day to day activities.”

No more “clunky” starts to the dayRose explains that before teaming up the K3 the originalworking day at The Juice Corporation would revolve around anAS400 server with a JBA System 21 running Excel spreadsheetbased reporting. Although the system is regarded as legendarywithin manufacturing and retail operations the JuiceCorporation workers needed to engage with the simple to usetechnology of today and this is where K3’s knowledge andexpertise paid dividends as they guided the company’s questfor a better working platform looking forward

“We really desired new efficiencies inorder to support growth in all aspectsof our trading ...”

“The system we were then using was not ideal but it allowed us

to function in a kind of “clunky” format when what we really

wanted was a system that would allow us to build a better,

smarter and more agile business platform, that delivered to the

staff and management a seamless view of the entire business.

“The K3 team put a lot of effort into listening to what we had

to say and where our problems lay. They helped us choose the

exact bolt ons that we needed and all this input now allows us

to save both time and labour.”

Rose cites the K3 Pebblestone tools as giving the business

exactly what it needed. “This along with the very smart

Directors level Qlickview reporting tool was an eye opener for

us. The overall new efficiencies found within our reporting

schedules means that we can now grow our business using the

same number of staff”.

“We have ditched the “silo” mentality that had people working

long hours in order to achieve our end goals and also

permitted “hiding places”, resulting in incomplete work,

creating duplication of effort. He goes on to say, “In this

business information flow and total visibility is king and thanks

to seeing this project through we have a much clearer

perspective, from the top to the bottom of the business”.

A recent K3 organised event that Rose believes created a

better understanding of the IT end of The Juice Corporation’s

business model was the “A Day In The Life Of The Juice

Corporation.” This was a hands-on question and answer session

hosted by K3’s consultancy team.

“They chaired the session and the diligence shown by their

team and their understanding of best business practices; also

leveraging our “in industry” expertise allowed the exchange of

knowledge that proved to be very beneficial to all of us,

especially when it came to assisting us with best accounting

practice. This session was part of our ongoing liaison with their

consulting and account management team and the day

proved that they are willing to go the extra mile in after care

provision,” adds Rose.

Working alongside Rose during the second phase of the

project was Jo Swift, The Juice Corporation’s Head of their

pre-eminent Sportswear Division.

Ironing out the problemsSwift admits that there were underlying problems to rectifywhen she was called upon to lend her assistance. Havingworked for The Juice Corporation for over 16 years Swift knewexactly what was needed on the ground floor of the operation.

“Initially there were a few holes and issues that we needed toiron out, to create a tailored system which worked for ourbusiness,” says Swift. We needed to revisit the nitty-gritty ofthe system in order to achieve this goal. The K3 team broughttheir guidance and expertise to the table and then it was downto us internally to agree the revised recommendations.Resistance to change will always be an issue in any businessbut between the members of the project team we managedto overcome early doubts and found faith and put our trust inthe new system’s capabilities.”

Swift says that early on in the hand over stage the super usersat The Juice Corporation would be in daily contact gleaningsupport from K3. “This hand holding period was very helpfulbut we very quickly got to grips with the day to day workingsand soon the daily dialogue was not called for”.

“The K3 team put a lot of effort intolistening to what we had to say andwhere our problems lay. They helped uschoose the exact bolt ons that weneeded and all this input now allows usto save both time and labour.”

“Using the system every day gave us confidence to maximiseK3’s Pebblestone Fashion and use the integrated set of tools toour best advantage. This, after all, was a major change for us.”

“Now we have a much quicker working platform to hand. Theautomation makes procurement a lot easier and allows a muchless labour intensive environment. In common with all systems,the system is only as good as the information that the userputs into it therefore ongoing training is essential but thebenefits are very positive, greater visibility throughout thebusiness ensuring every department can now see the fullProduct Life cycle.

“This is something that we previously did not experience andmeans that we are now working in a smarter, more agileenvironment that will enable a more confident outlook andthat has to be good for our future business.”

Reporting is kingSwift explains that thanks to the new working process it is nowfar easier to call up information relating to the life cycle of agarment. “Speed of accurate information and delivery isparamount in our working environment and the fact that weare now not relying on highly detailed spreadsheets sits wellwith the majority of the workforce.”

“This is still a family run business but we are now working in themost structured way we have ever known. We have freed upmany areas of manpower and have more resources availablethanks to our new business processes.

Swift reflects: “We desperately needed to lean on K3’sresources during the first 12 months of this project and theirsupport was vital. Despite a few run ins early on we quicklyovercame our issues and have ultimate trust in their ability toget things done and work in partnership with us to solve anyproblems that we may encounter,”.

“Having given time to bed this totally new solution into theculture of the company we look forward to a constructivebusiness relationship, building on our partnership with K3 andlooking forward to the new developments and enhancementsthat will benefit our business as they become available”concludes Rose.

“Using the system every day gave usconfidence to maximise K3’sPebblestone Fashion and use theintegrated set of tools to our bestadvantage. This, after all, was a majorchange for us.”

K3 Business Solutions, Bartley House, Station Road, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9JFT: 01256 744000 F: 01256 744030 www.k3businesssolutions.co.uk

About K3 Business SolutionsK3 Business Solutions is a leading provider of business management solutions to the distribution, wholesale andfashion industries.

With over 25 years experience in delivering integrated business management solutions encompassing, EnterpriseResource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Business Intelligence (BI), we deliver thatall important powerful and future proof business critical solution, which delivers best practice, processes andfunctionality, designed specifically for your business and your people.

We are renowned for our unique personal service, our skill of listening to our clients and offering expertise thatallows us to deliver the right solution, on time and on budget.

K3 Business Solutions is part of the K3 Business Technology Group. K3 is the largest Microsoft Dynamics partner inthe UK and thrive on global recognition from Microsoft, including being a valued member of their elite InnerCircle and Presidents club, which in turn reaps benefits additional benefits for our customers.

Contact us to find out how K3 business solutions can help you improvebusiness processes to drive increased efficiencies and overall profits.

Call us on: 0844 225 2480 Email: simplydynamics@k3btg.comwww.k3businesssolutions.co.uk

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