Willies.co.uk is more than ready to put its manual processes on ice, as the latest retailer to transform its operations with Brightpearl’s Retail Operating System (ROS).

The UK-based sports retailer, which specializes in ice hockey, inline hockey and figure skating equipment, now has access to Brightpearl’s industry-leading features: such as a powerful Automation Engine, seamless Plug & Play integrations, its data rich Inventory Planner Premium and advanced reporting functionality. 

With Brightpearl in place as the brand’s central source of truth, the Willies.co.uk team can wave goodbye to juggling multiple interfaces and spreadsheets, and instead gain access to integrated, 360-degree visibility across all its channels and locations. 

Since 2018, Willies.co.uk has built expert status as an ice sports equipment retailer, offering a broad range of ice-skates, hockey sticks, clothing and accessories, as well as skate sharpening and repair services, to hockey and skating fans via its Shopify website and Coventry-based store. 

The brand has grown rapidly in the short years since its launch – and sought a speedy and reliable ‘centralized hub’ to enable greater visibility over the many separate apps and processes it had accumulated as it grew. The team also needed a solution to its clunky manual operations, consisting largely of manual pick-and-pack processes and meticulous data entry, especially around purchasing, which was sinking valuable time and holding the business back from further growth.

Drawn to its industry-renowned compatibility with Shopify, the team chose Brightpearl’s leading retail operating system (ROS) to bring their multi-channel processes together – and it was implemented in a speedy 120 days. 

Brightpearl’s impressive library of Plug & Play integrations meant it seamlessly synced with the retailer’s existing Shopify setup, and also offers the merchant the means to be hyper-scalable; so it can easily extend to any apps or sales channels it chooses to adopt as it scales. 

The ice-sports equipment retailer can sharpen the blades of its operations with Brightpearl’s game-changing Automation Engine – which streamlines and automates all processes in ordering, inventory, warehouse, shipping and fulfilment and saves the typical retailer two months every year in manual repetitive tasks. This means Willies.co.uk can cut down on its time-heavy purchasing, returns, and pick-and-pack processes – and can redirect those hours towards product innovation and growth.

The team’s cash-flow visibility has been fully optimized with Brightpearl’s advanced reporting functionality; and with access to real-time, data-led insights across their entire business, staff will find it easier to gain visibility around cash flow, sales, purchasing and other key insights which will enhance real-time decision making.

From now on, Willies.co.uk is equipped to score more and more business goals – with Brightpearl unlocking a fully integrated, streamlined and automated future for the brand.

“Having experienced very good growth over the last couple of years, it became apparent we needed to automate the day-to-day running of our business as much as possible if we were to continue delivering the outstanding customer service we are known for,” comments Luke Wilson, director at Willies.co.uk. “We explored numerous retail operating systems but none offered the customisation and functionality Brightpearl did. The scoping, onboarding, training and delivery was very in depth and only when we were 100% confident did we go live. Since then, we have further streamlined and improved the system to a point we have every faith we can manage peak trading without the typical stress and strain.”

Justin Press, SVP customer success at Brightpearl, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Willies.co.uk to the Brightpearl family. As a relatively young business it has seen rapid success, and its manual systems both online and in the warehouse were no longer proving efficient – a common scenario for fast-growing retailers. With Brightpearl in place to automate and streamline its operations and allow in-depth visibility and reporting, the brand can Grow Fearlessly without the operational anxiety that comes from adding extra apps and channels. We know that this is just the start for the team, and we can’t wait to support their journey.”