Fast migration from the russian “Moi Sklad” to the international Business Central system and warehouse process optimization for MammyClub
MammyClub is an online store where Ukrainian mothers have been buying goods for themselves or their children for 7 years. Besides, the website offers more than 400 author’s publications on pregnancy and childcare each of which has been validated by qualified pediatricians.
Despite the war, the store continues its work. But the russian invasion certainly took its toll on the business.
MammyClub
- Website: shop.mammyclub.com
- Country: Ukraine
- Industry: Retail
- Company size: SMB
MammyClub is an online store where you can buy products for mothers and children from 0 to 14 years old. Has operated since 2015. Besides the website offers more than 400 author’s publications on childcare approved by Ukrainian pediatricians.
The main warehouse of MammyClub is located in Klavdiievo between Borodianka and Bucha. According to Oleh Poda, co-founder and CEO of the business, the fact that the warehouse survived after the events of March 2022 is a great luck.
Due to the fact that the ability to ship goods directly from suppliers’ warehouses had been implemented, the business was able to resume work on March 7, although it could initially offer consumers only 5% of the previous assortment.
Traditionally, the russian software “Moi Sklad” was used to manage warehouse processes.
“In 2016, when we were looking for an IT solution, the choice was made in favor of Moi Sklad, since the software had basic out-of-box functionality, a reasonable price and pretty good documentation for the API.
Moi Sklad is an exclusively warehouse program, so we experienced a lack of cross-docking capabilities (the ability to accept goods not to the warehouse, but immediately to the order). Accounting for liabilities to suppliers was not carried out according to the optimal scenario. On top of that, we did not have the opportunity to customize the online solution for our own needs. But these shortcomings were not enough to start looking for new software.
However, russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has added an ideological component. We didn’t want to work with this software for another day.”
It should be noted that russian software vendors are looking for an opportunity to continue working with Ukrainian clients. For example, by offering free trials or hinting at using a VPN.
MammyClub chose the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP system, which is localized for Ukrainian legislation. The system made it possible to set up all processes in a way that was convenient for the business, without compromises.
Migration from Moi Sklad to Business Central takes about 30-40 hours, so software replacement can be completed in 1 week.
“We have created a standard migration procedure so that every company could quit using russian software quickly, within 1-2 weeks.”
The warehouse part of the solution (Warehouse management) started operation at the end of May, while the financial part (Finance management) is launched in July.
“When we launched the warehouse part of Business Central, our warehouse manager jumped for joy. After all, Business Central offers automation for things that used to be done manually. When a warehouse worker uploads orders from a supplier, bins to which goods should be placed are selected automatically. A number of processes accelerated many times already in the first days of using the system.”
With regard to financial module introduction, initially MammyClub pursued the goal of transferring only transactions with suppliers to the system. But after a month of work, the employees of the financial department and the department for working with suppliers themselves suggested moving other processes, such as settlements with suppliers, accounting for additional services to be reflected in the cost price, taxation and others, to Business Central.
Now the top management of the company at any time sees the real state of affairs of the company and understands, to the nearest hryvnia, how much money they need to have for the next week and month.
Just now work is underway to adapt MammyClub business processes to the best practices of Business Central. According to SMART business experts, in Western Europe it is more common practice for companies to change processes before they are automated in ERP rather than customize software for specific company processes.
This is due to the fact that Business Central has already been implemented in 250,000 companies in more than 180 countries around the world. The wide distribution of the system ensures that the latest version of the software already takes into account all previous implementation experience. So the average retail business from Ukraine will immediately receive prompts on how the best retail companies from around the world work.
So tailoring processes to fit the system, rather than the other way around, is a winning strategy.
“We in SMART business can offer a solution for managing warehouses of any size. The MammyClub case shows that warehouse management needs can be met with the basic functionality of Business Central.
However, when the processes become really complex, the number of goods is measured in tens of thousands, when a business cannot do without data collection terminals, post-collection checks, automatic barcode printing – SMART WMS comes to the rescue.
Both options for warehouse management today are financially affordable for Ukrainian business, because:
There is an 80% discount on Microsoft ERP for 2 years.
We offer free educational Academies and webinars where users learn how to use Business Central.
As noted above, there is a standard procedure for migration from russian software, so an international ERP can be implemented within a few weeks.”
