Millbry Hill Saddles Up For Success After Automating 80 Workflows With Brightpearl

“Thanks to Brightpearl, we’re now masters of our own destiny.” – Serena Harriman, Retail Director, Millbry Hill

When the rudimentary system Millbry Hill relied on to process orders suddenly went bust, it sparked chaos.

But what initially seemed like an operational curse turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The team behind the family-run country lifestyle retailer, which was established in 1925 and specializes in equestrian gear, pet supplies and outdoor clothing, used the fallout as an opportunity to completely replatform the business – and decided to put the proven combo of Shopify and Brightpearl by Sage at its core.

Serena Harriman, Retail Director at Millbry Hill, says: “We’d been considering switching up our tech stack for a while. When the system failed, even though it was stressful, it seemed like the perfect time to overhaul our tech stack and bring in cutting-edge tools that could help us operate better and grow easier.

“It wasn’t a panicked decision – we shopped around a lot, but we realised the combination of Shopify and Brightpearl was best for our complex needs as a large retailer operating online and physical stores.”

Greener pastures

As a certified Shopify Partner, Brightpearl integrates seamlessly with Millbry Hill’s Shopify webstore and its Shopify POS system in its six retail stores.

With a huge library of Plug & Play integrations, Brightpearl also connected instantly to the other best-in-class tools Millbry Hill added to its new and improved tech stack, including Xero for accounting, PeopleVox for warehouse management and MailChimp for marketing.

But the jewel in Brightpearl’s crown for Millbry Hill has been its powerful Automation Engine.

The business, which also sells its animal feed on a B2B basis to trainers, livery yards and farmers, used it to quickly and easily overhaul its operations – automating around 80 manual workflows without needing to do any complicated coding.

Serena says: “The automation is a really great feature – I love it.

“It’s given us the power of a computer brain which has taken out loads of manual work such as consolidating orders and processing invoices. We’ve got 80 rules set up to do loads of different things.

“It means the team is free to focus on more important tasks.”

With 40,000 products in its in-store and online catalog, Millbry Hill has also benefited massively from access to Brightpearl’s market-leading Inventory Planning functionality.

Based on an analysis of historical sales, promotions and market trends, the tool offers accurate demand forecasts which it also turns into a simple report with reliable buying recommendations at a SKU-specific level.

This has enabled the business to optimize stock holding across its multiple warehouses and boost cash flow by avoiding overstock and stockouts.

Galloping to greatness

Serena says: “Our supply chain is complicated and we sell a huge range of products – some of which are seasonal, like our coats and wellies, and others which are more steady across the year, like our horse feed.

“With some of our suppliers, there’s a huge lead time and we have to place orders up to a year in advance.

“I like Inventory Planner because it helps us see what we’ve got in stock and where that stock is. With six retail stores and an online store operating from two warehouses, that’s really useful.

“It completely streamlines store transfers and warehouse transfers – so we’re only buying fresh stock when we actually need it.

“It’s definitely ironed out some of the issues we were previously experiencing with overstock.”

“Brightpearl has given us the flexibility and freedom to look towards the future with complete confidence.”– Serena Harriman, Retail Director, Millbry Hill

Brightpearl’s customizable reports give the business quick insights into activities and performance, helping teams across the business visualize data and track progress effectively.

With unlimited seats, everyone at Millbry Hill can access the reports they need at the click of a button, from a centralized and easy-to-understand dashboard.

As well as a unique expert-led implementation process, Brightpearl offers complete support and ongoing training for your whole team – which Millbry Hill has particularly valued.

Support reins supreme

Serena says: “The support has been fantastic – whenever we’ve had issues, the Brightpearl team has stepped up to sort it quickly and efficiently.

“The best thing about Brightpearl is that it gives you multi-location, multi-channel visibility and control – even if you run a complicated business with thousands of products in your inventory.

“Unlike standard ERPs, it runs on the cloud, which has been particularly handy at trade shows and when working from different stores and at home during my recent maternity leave.

“It’s given us the flexibility and freedom to look towards the future with complete confidence.

“Thanks to Brightpearl, we’re now masters of our own destiny.”

Find out how Brightpearl can help your business grow fearlessly with a free demo.