Reading Time: 5 minutes

DESKTOP-TO-CLOUD DIGITAL MAKEOVERS

BLK Box Fitness digital transformation delivers a modern system

Before the project with Waypoint

  • BLK Box Fitness sells their own branded gym equipment across multiple channels – online, at their own shop, and via a sales team that sell direct to gyms.
  • They used Xero for finances, Trello for productivity, and TradeGecko for inventory management, which worked well in the beginning. But when they wanted to add more functionality, they found their tech stack wouldn’t scale.
  • When TradeGecko was shut down Intuit, this created urgency to move to a new system, which brought them to Waypoint and Cin7 Core.

The project's priorities

  • BLK Box Fitness needed to know stock levels, keep on top of finances, and work as efficiently as possible. After scoping their operational needs with Waypoint, the team decided on Cin7 Core for their inventory management system.
  • The BLK Box Fitness team needed to adapt to rapid change, be aware of the impact of new technology, and to work well across borders, with their team in the UK and the Waypoint team in Melbourne, Australia.
  • They needed to make the migration to Cin7 Core seamless, without any system downtime or impact on their various sales channels.
BLK Box

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

Based in Belfast, Ireland BLK Box Fitness is an incredible business that’s gone from strength to strength. They sell their gym equipment online, at their own premises and they also have their own sales team that sells direct to gyms. Not surprisingly, managing their inventory is an important aspect of how BLK Box operates.

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

The problem

Greg Bradley, BLK Box’s Managing Director and his team tackled these goals by using a combination of three software tools. They used Xero to manage their accounts, TradeGecko to manage their inventory, and Trello to help with their productivity and reporting. While this combination worked well for them initially, when they wanted to add some new functionality to address new problems, they found that their current set-up wasn’t capable.

Waypoint worked closely with Greg to understand the main gaps between what they had and what they wanted. Through those conversations, Waypoint were able to establish a clear sense of what Greg wanted from his ideal inventory management system.

The solution

Specifically, there were some fundamental requirements that BLK Box needed to address. They were:

  • Adapting to rapid change
  • The impact of technology
  • The shift to advisory services

After a number of meetings between our teams in Melbourne and the UK, Waypoint recommended Cin7 Core, integrated with their Shopify store and Xero, as the ideal inventory platform for BLK Box.

And, of course, Gregory wanted to implement all of this without disrupting the business. After much planning, training and testing, the Waypoint team in Australia were able to complete the migration overnight ensuring that there was no system downtime. As far as their customers were concerned, it was just business as usual.

The result

As a result of working with Waypoint, BLK Box have solved some very real operational issues. Not only do they have an inventory management system that serves their needs today, but they have a platform that they can build on when their demands inevitably change tomorrow.

Back to Top

Impressive results achieved,
soon after launch

  • Migration from TradeGecko (the application shutting down) completed without system downtime – as far as BLK Box Fitness’ customers were concerned, it was business as usual
  • BLK Box now has a better understanding of finances than ever before, with sales and stock movements syncing with Xero, and powerful reporting available from Cin7 Core whenever it’s needed
  • Operational issues solved: stock levels are now consistent across all sales channels. Shopify and in-store stock levels are now synchronized through Cin7 Core, and on-the-road reps can sell with confidence knowing exactly what’s available
  • With Cin7 Core, BLK Box Fitness have an inventory management system that suits their needs and a platform to build on for the future, when their needs change
    List Item Description
Back to Top

Their new, automated retail and ecommerce system

logo-9

Retail POS and ecommerce

Cin7 Core tile

ERP, order and inventory mgmt

logo-3

Shipping and rate management

trello tile

Productivity and task management

logo5

Accounting

Cin7 Core WMS tile

Inventory control, picking & dispatch

talk with an analyst about this case study

System advantages

  • One well integrated system where everything and every order efficiently flows through the system
    Cin7 Core ERP system brings all the applications together into one fully automated, end-to-end system. Every sale — ecommerce and direct — is managed in Cin7 Core from the instant the sale is made to the moment customers receive their purchases.
  • Shopify provides great online shopping experiences, Cin7 Core manages all the operations including integration to Shipstation to ensure everything works
    Customers find exactly what they need — even customized products — because Cin7 Core and Shopify are tightly integrated. The integration ensures the BLK BOX has great product cost information, accurate bills of materials and order status tracking.
  • 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.
  • Seamlessly integrated, accurate, and real-time
    Waypoint expertly designed the Xero integration so that all the back office, tax, bookkeeping, and accounting records are accurate, complete, and updated just as their accountant wants.
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 Waypoint staff performing technical work from Australia, and client liaison work on-the-ground in the UK.
Greg Bradley
Greg Bradley Managing Director, BLK Box Fitness

Managing Director, BLK Box Fitness Greg Bradley

  • Internal oversight of the implementation project.
  • Worked with Waypoint to refine their implementation scope.
  • BLK Box Fitness now has a scalable inventory platform that they can grow with, rather than ‘out of’.

Areas of contribution

  • Internal oversight of the implementation project.
  • Worked with Waypoint to refine their implementation scope.
  • BLK Box Fitness now has a scalable inventory platform that they can grow with, rather than ‘out of’.
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.