Richard Humphreys |
Expanding at a phenomenal rate and having outgrown previous systems, Chessington Garden Centre in the UK has deployed Microsoft Dynamics NAV together with LS Retail’s point of sale (POS) solution LS NAV. Both solutions were implemented by Microsoft partner The NAV People.
Chessington had several standalone systems that are now integrated with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, providing a single source of intelligence that has delivered the insight to develop new services and increase revenue.
The garden centre’s new click and collect service, for example, enables customers to check real-time stock levels and purchase items online for collection in store. The Sana e-commerce web store manages payment and integrates with Dynamics NAV ensuring real-time stock data updates.
Tim Hickman, IT Manager at Chessington Garden Centre explains: “Dynamics NAV has enabled us to expand our services into new and profitable business areas. The NAV People helped us to cohesively connect the standalone systems into a single repository of information that has enhanced forecasting and improved business outcomes. It has been an exciting project however our journey is not yet complete and there are even more plans in the pipeline.”
Chessington Garden Centre has maintained footfall and sales by hosting a calendar of events. To manage the booking and payment of tickets, The NAV People developed a booking system that integrates with Dynamics NAV via MobileNAV, an interface optimised for smartphones and tablets. Each ticket is allocated a QR code and the garden centre staff use mobile phones to scan the code and register the tickets at events.
From gardening workshops through to family events with ticket sales of 52,000 at Christmas for Santa’s grotto and 25,000 for the Halloween spectacular, the business has developed a healthy revenue stream that has ensured customer visits throughout the year.
Ian Humphries, managing and product director at The NAV People said: “Chessington Garden Centre had a clear vision of how it wanted to expand its services, but required greater insight from its data to inform business decisions. Dynamics NAV has enabled Chessington Garden Centre to expand into exciting new business areas and generate revenue streams in addition to its core business.”