Reading Time: 4 minutes

FROM MANUAL PROCESSES TO A MODERN SYSTEM

Waypoint helps Sweet Beginnings’ Beelove bring everything together

Before the project digital transformation project

  • Sweet Beginnings’ Beelove brand suffered from a lack of operational awareness about their processes mapped to products. Raw materials weren’t being tracked as they were refined into finished goods, and there was a lot of waste and inefficiency
  • This lack of operational data made accurate reporting and analysis all but impossible
  • The team also needed a system that worked across their ecommerce, inventory and accounting platforms

Sweet Beginning's top priorities for the transformation

  • Scope operational requirements to identify the best system to combine inventory management, ecommerce, and accounting
  • Implement Cin7 Core for its ability to flexibly handle Bill of Materials and mesh well with other systems
  • Work together to map and translate specific units of measure into relatable quantities so raw materials can be tracked more accurately as they’re turned into products
  • Streamline packing and shipping processes, simplify data and reporting

Jump To:

> The Story
> The Results
> System Overview
> Team Members

Not a lot of time on your hands?

Use the jump links to skip to the parts you want to read!

The Story

Chicago-based Sweet Beginnings create a range of honey-based products that they sell locally and across the globe through their online store. But what makes them truly different is that they’re a social enterprise who provides employment opportunities to people who have recently been released from prison. As you can imagine, reintegration into society can be difficult and despite serving their time, the legacy of their crime can make employment hard to come by.

Sweet Beginnings owner Bob Miller saw this and wanted to do something.

Knowing stock levels, keeping on top of finances and working as efficiently as possible are common goals for most retailers, and Sweet Beginnings are no different.

The problem

Waypoint was introduced to Sweet Beginnings’ Beelove brand by Chris Conley from Two Bit Ventures, an organization that supports social enterprises in Chicago. He’d been working with Bob from Sweet Beginnings who had identified an issue regarding their stock control and distribution. The ideal scenario for Bob and the team was a system that combined their e-commerce, inventory and accounting platforms.

The solution

Waypoint selected Cin7 Core – formerly DEAR Inventory – for a variety of reasons, one of the keys being its ability to flexibly handle Bill of Materials. This was a particular challenge during the project as this process had never been mapped before. It was difficult to translate specific units of measure into relatable quantities, but working together we were able to overcome this.

The result

As a result of the project, Beelove can now track the raw materials, as well as the finished products confidently. This makes the entire packing and shipping process far more streamlined and efficient because they have faith in what the system tells them.

Back to Top

What was achieved – the results​

Profits up and headaches down

  • Cin7 Core’s Bill of Materials functionality means that raw materials are now tracked throughout the supply chain, even as they’re entered into inventory, manufactured, sold and shipped to customers
  • Ordering, packing and shipping processes are far simpler and more efficient, allowing Beelove to ship with confidence knowing they customer is getting what they need
  • In addition to greater efficiency, having integrated accounts, inventory management, and ecommerce have given the Beelove team data integrity that allow them to forecast inventory and cash flow reliably
Back to Top

Their new automated operations and ecommerce system

logo-9

Retail POS and ecommerce

Cin7 Core tile

Inventory and operations mgmt

logo-3

Shipping, rate, and fulfillment mgmt

logo-6

Accounting, payroll, tax, and payments

Cin7 Core WMS tile

Inventory control, picking & packing

talk with an analyst about this case study

System advantages

  • One well integrated system where everything and every stage of production, sales, and fullfilment is efficient managed and accurate tracked in the system
    Real-time, consistent inventory across all stages of production from raw materials to finished goods and delivered orders. This eliminates waste and improved forecasting and cash flow management.
  • Shopify provides great online shopping experiences, Cin7 Core manages all the operations including integration to Shipstation to ensure everything works
    Shopify provides great online shopping experiences, Cin7 Core manages all the operations including integration to Shipstation to ensure everything works.
  • Seamless integrated, accurate, and real-time
    Waypoint expertly designed the QuickBooks online integration so that all the back office, tax, bookkeeping, and accounting records are accurate, complete, and updated just as their accountant wants.
  • Customer purchases and returns, fully automated
    When customers return items, Cin7 Core’s warehouse and return management capabilities restock or discard the items and instantly communicate the details to customers.
Back to Top

The people who made this
 implementation so successful

Neil Barrington
Neil Barrington Operations Director, Waypoint

Operations Director, Waypoint Neil Barrington

Ensured the project was delivered on time and within budget.

Managed Waypoint staff performing technical work from Australia, and client liaison work on-the-ground in the UK.
 

Areas of contribution

  • Ensured the project was delivered on time and within budget.
  • Managed the Waypoint implementation team, their deliverables, and resource allocation.
Chris Conley
Chris Conley Internal Implementation Champion, Sweet Beginnings

Internal Implementation Champion, Sweet Beginnings Chris Conley

  • Developed the operational requirements alongside the Waypoint team.
  • Championed the implementation and onboarding within Sweet Beginnings – most crucially with staff who didn’t have backgrounds in digital inventory management.

Areas of contribution

  • Developed the operational requirements alongside the Waypoint team.
  • Championed the implementation and onboarding within Sweet Beginnings – most crucially with staff who didn’t have backgrounds in digital inventory management.
Back to Top

Start getting much larger payoffs from your software investments

Be the first to know about new grants, events, resources, and insights
Get insights on software
implementation trends and more.