Ole Mathiesen A/S got a scalable Shopify

Introduction

What is Ole Mathiesen?

If you see an exceedingly elegant person walking down the street and think: wow, the details really are in order here, then there is probably an Ole Mathiesen watch on the wrist too. Because that is what the Ole Mathiesen brand is about. Stylish watches with a classic touch and a hint of the future.

That is what is in Ole Mathiesen’s DNA, and it has been there since the beginning in 1919.

Alright, you might almost think you had ended up on Ole Mathiesen’s own website, but no, you are here with Connectify. We are, in fact, partners with Ole Mathiesen. For us, the watch business is the perfect size.

All the basic IT is in order

Supply chain, e-commerce, ERP and the rest. Yes, it all looks very good. But what happens when a brand with huge growth potential starts to fill out the trousers that have been tailored for it? That is when brands like this reach out to experts like us at Connectify, after which we start sewing extra centimetres and extra room into the trousers. The kid is growing up.

Read on if you are curious about Ole Mathiesen’s transformation, and find out whether you are a fit for a similar visit to the tailor.

What was the challenge?

As mentioned in the introduction, Ole Mathiesen’s IT trousers had become too short and too tight. It was time for a new pair. Like 4.12 million other companies, the watchmaker uses Shopify as their e-commerce platform. Shopify is an excellent platform, easy to get started with, and it includes several useful native integrations (standardised, average integrations).

Drawbacks of the 365 Shopify native integration

These integrations are also easy to get started with, but there is a problem with native integrations. They are average and do not account for your business developing towards new and better horizons. That sort of thing can slow the process down and, in the worst case, hold back your scaling and growth because the IT cannot keep up.

Shopify and Dynamics 365 Business Central integration

Ole Mathiesen’s challenge was that their e-commerce and ERP system – in this case 365 Business Central – were crying out for a better connection. The bridges between the two systems – the integrations – needed an extra lane. One of the lanes that a built-in Shopify integration cannot deliver. The data could be delivered better, and the manual work involved in managing the two systems, reporting on it, invoicing and everything that goes with it was starting to make the cup overflow.

The Ole Mathiesen team got in touch with us at Connectify.

What was the result?

Integrations and optimisation

Within a few months, the new and improved Ole Mathiesen was live with the most important integrations and automations. The integrations are one thing. They are smart and do what they are supposed to, but in reality it is everything around the integrations that is most interesting. Because while the integrations run and move data between Business Central and Shopify, what is the Ole Mathiesen team doing?

Something far more interesting than moving and processing data by hand. The possibilities are many. They can develop new, stylish products. They can fine-tune their internal processes even further. They can use knowledge from their new integrations to optimise their supply chain and order fulfilment.

Less input, greater output

Ole Mathiesen now has a far greater output with a far smaller input. If there is no money in that, then… well, there is money in it, okay? Because a shorter and more automatic process from start to finish is good for the user’s experience. The likelihood that they will come back is greater. On top of that, Ole Mathiesen can now serve far more customers than before, because their internal IT structure has been scaled and is less dependent on human output.

Job satisfaction through automation

Integrations can even help the team’s job satisfaction, because the tasks nobody wants to do are taken off the desk. Automation creates time for work with meaning behind it. When employees feel that their work is meaningful, they feel at home and stay longer in the workplace.

Is there anything integrations are not good for?

Yes, there is. Ole Mathiesen’s competitors. The watchmaker of course still gets free support, and their solution runs on a subscription that most new e-commerce businesses can afford.

How did we get there?

Clarification and analysis

We have already told you the most interesting part, but if you are keen to hear more, here is the approach. The first thing we do in new partnerships is ask a series of questions. Not only of the CEO, but also of the warehouse staff, the people in marketing and everyone else. That way we find out how the existing IT foundation is built, how it works, and where we should step in to improve it.

Optimisation covers several angles

That goes for the company’s perspective, of course, but almost more importantly for the customer’s. Once we have our answers, we know enough to say what makes sense to integrate. It could be particular data flows, invoicing, order fulfilment, supply chain and so on.

We find more points to optimise

There are usually some obvious places to focus on. Often, though, we find that there are one or more points where the company has had a blind spot. We step in there as well. Once we have agreed, development begins. It does not take too long, and we stick to the agreed deadline. Of course.

Development and testing

Once the solutions have been developed, we test the integrations. That is essential in order to catch the most dangerous teething problems and give you a reliable system before everything goes live for real. The solution then moves into operation, and your team can enjoy the fruit rolling into the basket without having to pick it themselves.

Who did we carry out the project with?

The solution was built in collaboration with the following:

1. Grafikr A/S – responsible for the Shopify Plus solution. UI, UX and implementation.
2. Njubiz A/S – ERP supplier – responsible for Dynamics 365 Business Central.