Plantura: sowing structure, harvesting more success
COMBATING GROWTH PAINS
Dries and his wife Liesbeth started their plant nursery in 2015 and expanded it into wholesale 4 years later. During that time, they surrounded themselves with the best employees. “Over the years, we formed a top team at Plantura. In the meantime, we now have around 20 employees,” explains Dries. “But when you suddenly are no longer a small player, you also face growth pains. One of the symptoms is that the knowledge you passed on with so much passion also disappears with people who leave one day. Because the know-how is in their heads and not in a system. Our processes were not detailed. To further professionalise and also gain a foothold outside the Benelux, we needed to digitalise and simplify them at the same time.”
The Forest for the Trees
“Did you know that we distribute more than 300,000 products to landscapers, garden architects, cities and municipalities, and large landscape contractors? To continue seeing the forest for the trees, you must evolve towards maximum efficiency in all your flows: from sales to accounting and including the entire operational aspect of purchasing, logistics, and delivery in between. I had met Robbie before, but now the time was ripe to truly collaborate with Rezolv. It felt like a turning point.”
The Code Cracked
“However, previous consultancy projects didn’t always go smoothly. You know how it goes with IT experts. They often speak in ones and zeros,” says Dries. “We understand nothing of that and speak a very different language. What triggered me from the start about Rezolv is that they have experience in wholesale. Even in the first conversation, I felt a kind of empathy for a SME like ours. Unlike others, Rezolv didn’t immediately come up with expensive custom solutions, but first wanted to explore what we were facing and especially why. So that we would only build what is really necessary.”
FIRST STUDY, THEN INSPIRE
It was quickly agreed by both parties that Odoo had to replace the existing ERP package. “We had all different systems and brought in a freelancer to ensure they communicated as well as possible. We wanted to move away from that. But instead of implementing Odoo blindly, the two Rezolv consultants first conducted a thorough review. I must say: I seldom saw anyone work so decisively. The consultants held long internal discussions, studied all processes regarding quotes, purchasing, and sales, and even went into the warehouse to see how we worked there. Afterwards, they shared all their findings in a clear presentation, including a detailed cost calculation.”
Step by Step
“For clarity: Rezolv did not just come to sell an all-in ERP package. Based on the Rezolv Review, they argued that the best choice for us was to first focus on our CRM and professionalise our quotes with Odoo. From the order part, we then fell back on the existing system. Particularly because there is still a lot of important data there, such as all plant types and sizes. A phased approach, tailored to our organisational and budgetary possibilities. And always with that one powerful phrase: ‘this is how we would do it’. With the same empathy, their experts subsequently conducted a technical analysis to determine how we could synchronise the old and new systems as much as possible. What was absolutely necessary and what things were a nice extra to integrate?”
Challengers
“Such an analysis is essentially a kind of blueprint for your future CRM system. Compare it to building a house. You need a ground plan first before you lay the first stone. This way, everyone knows what the system must be able to do and the underlying reasons. In that layout, Rezolv was very critical. If we hypothetically asked for a blue button at the top right of a worksheet, they questioned it to see if it wouldn’t be better to put a green button at the bottom left. That’s a step further than simply thinking along. They challenged us to look at things differently.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME
And so, with the Odoo implementation for creating quotes and following up on potential customers and tenders, the first CRM step has been taken. However, that doesn’t yet translate into time savings. “We hadn’t expected that either. The previous system is so ingrained that it takes a bit of searching. But that is temporary, and the latest tests confirm that Odoo will soon yield significant time and efficiency gains. The sales apparatus will then be much more streamlined and targeted. When someone approves a quote later, one press of a button will suffice to convert that into an order. Searching for products to fill in quotes is now easier than ever before. Not a given, as with a lot of different parameters like types, sizes, prices, and suppliers, it is quite a complex matter. They did a great job of that at Rezolv.”
Determined
“Phase one is almost complete, then it will be time for the accounting part. That must be fully in Odoo within nine months. Just in time for mandatory e-invoicing and connection to the European PEPPOL network. Following that, purchasing and sales will follow. Each time something is completed, we start the next. That’s what I like about Rezolv’s approach. Nice and straightforward, crystal clear. They don’t go further than we as a client can or want. And they say it immediately when our expectations are unrealistic. Of course, you’re not constantly satisfied as a client. But then it depends on how you react: do you push the negative feedback aside, or do you tackle it determinedly to find a solution? We always do the last at Plantura, and so does Rezolv. They truly live up to their name.”