Rodial Skincare

Rodial Skincare delivers targeted treatments to specific skin concerns combining the best of anti-aging and firming ingredients. Founded in 1999 by former beauty editor Maria Hatzistefanis, Rodial products contain Pomegranate Ellagic Tannin – a secret Maria learned from her Greek grandmother.

In 2008 Rodial doubled in size and turnover, achieved through opening in new world markets and expanding clientele in existing markets. Rodial‟s finance team were using QuickBooks, an entry level accounting package that was proving to be too basic; they needed a system to cope with a higher volume of transactions and complex shipping requirements.

Rodial operate a number of different price lists and work with several freight forwarders. They have two warehouses, one in the UK and one in the US, but the existing finance solution could only recognise one warehouse. What was required was a more sophisticated system with multi-currency capability, since Rodial work in with various different markets around the world - each with specific requirements.

Maria and her husband Stratis Hatzistefanis, also a director of Rodial, set about identifying a replacement solution. Stratis drew from his experience of working in the City, during which time several of the businesses he worked with used SAP solutions to good effect; so they decided to contact SAP who put them in touch with Sapphire. Maria undertook a review of competitive solutions on the market before short listing SAP Business One from Sapphire and NetSuite.

Following an early meeting with Sapphire to review SAP Business One Zlatka Jackin, Finance and Operations Manager at Rodial, enthused "We were impressed straight off. Sapphire‟s team gave us a tailored demonstration, were very helpful and gave us thorough explanations to all of our queries."

On the subsequent decision to implement SAP Business One Zlatka explained "Both SAP Business One and NetSuite are good solutions and the decision was tough. However, NetSuite is a hosted solution and Rodial‟s data file was to be held in California, which was concern for me. My experience of working with systems handled in the US was not positive and the time difference is a real issue when there are problems." She went on to say "With regards to price the initial value for the packages was similar, but on-going maintenance costs were higher with NetSuite. Sapphire has a very reasonable yearly cost for SAP Business One and there are no hidden charges."

Key product features that made SAP Business One the best fit for Rodial were the ability to manage a high volume of transactions; the Business Partners Master file with the ability to add in User Defined Fields (UDF‟s) and ease of customising specific requirements, and the fact that an extensive amount of information can all be held in one place.

Following the successful implementation of SAP Business One Zlatka said "We now have a lot more control over third party information; one of the things we use UDF‟s for is managing freight forwarding records. We can track all delivery notes and invoices easily and accurately which is a massive benefit and it is much easier for us to forward instructions to the US."

She went on to say "Since moving from manual to automated processes there has been a marked improvement in accuracy – plus there is no need to double check everything for inevitable human error. When entering a sales order the actual cost is allocated – this used to be updated manually and was very labour intensive. It is now possible to assign a specific price list to each client as required – we could even have a different price list for each client if we wanted, in a variety of different currencies, and SAP Business One would manage." Since SAP Business One can handle multiple warehouses Rodial are also able to allocate each client to the appropriate warehouse in the UK or US and there is no longer a need for them to manually reconcile their two warehouses.

Previously the Rodial team simply could not cope with their workload, which included several manual procedures. SAP Business One improves processes and enables a higher workload without adding headcount. Zlatka commented "We are no longer dealing with basic tasks, so there is no need to recruit new staff to increase productivity. We are benefiting from time savings in all our processes and are able to use our time much more effectively. Recently we changed some of our prices and this was no trouble at all – it would have been a real challenge to do before. "

Maria is finding that SAP Business One is a great tool for management decision making. The team are able to monitor services and events, even for particular retailers, so can very closely monitor profitability. "With Business One we are afforded complete control" said Zlatka, "it is possible for us to track specific ingredients; we can group products and identify where our main turnover comes from – the detail of reporting provides a solid base for informed management decisions."

On the customisation of SAP Business One to Rodial‟s specific requirements Zlatka said "We thought that the system would come "as-is‟ and that we would be able to make a few tweaks, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were able to build a very detailed, tailored system. The Sapphire consultant that worked with us to design our system went through a very thorough process of finding out what we currently had, what our business aims were and what we wanted from our system."

She went on to add "Everyone at Sapphire is experienced, helpful and highly professional. The consultant really kept on top of things throughout the implementation period and made sure that we did all the things we were supposed to do. Due to the diligence of the team they actually finished 5 days earlier than expected, so we saved money on the initial quote."

After using a small system, it took a little while for the team to get used to working with a more sophisticated system. "The scope for SAP Business One is fantastic once you have been trained and it is very easy to train new users," said Zlatka, going on to advise "just get on and use it, practice makes perfect!"

In the immediate future, the team at Rodial have plans to integrate SAP Business One with applications in place at the UK warehouse, with the possibility of the US warehouse too a bit further down the line. Zlatka said, "Now that we are used to using the system we want to incorporate it with the UK warehouse - we are looking to automate processes as much as possible, and this is the next logical step. By linking the two systems, we‟ll be able to run reports with the click of a button."

Looking ahead there are also plans to integrate SAP Business One with the Rodial website and to provide passwords to retailers so that they can log in and enter their details on the system directly. Zlatka explained, "Currently Rodial‟s focus is 80% wholesale and 20% retail via the website. Although now retail is not a major service, there has been a lot more focus on the website in the last year and there are plans to further develop and expand the site, which is being re-launched in Spring 2009. Should we decide to open a separate retail division, the wholesale and retail divisions will be able to work together, but it will be possible to run them as separate profit centres in SAP Business One." On invoicing to retail orders Zlatka said "Currently we download a report on orders from the web, then send out the relevant invoices individually. We are looking at the possibility of linking the site directly to SAP Business One so that the invoicing can be automated."

If Rodial should decide to set up separate companies for countries such as US, UK, France and Spain, which is another possibility for the future, Rodial will still be able to reconcile accounts for the group with ease.

In conclusion Zlatka said "It is a pleasure to work with Sapphire. They provide great monitoring, are very co-operative and really look after you. The support team and everyone that we have worked with have been excellent and have given us very quick responses." Of SAP Business One she stated "We couldn‟t be happier with our solution, SAP Business One is proving to be an excellent investment. Sapphire was able to implement all the suggestions put forward in the design phase and it is great to have this functionality. When you are looking at new business systems, listen to what others are saying about the systems that they work with and don‟t think twice about using SAP Business One – it is the ideal solution for a growing business."

Media contact: Victoria Park +44 (0)20 7648 2008 Victoria.park@sapphiresystems.com