Home & Garden AmbA

With spade in hand and control of the systems

Home & Garden AmbA is Denmark's largest voluntary chain of leading nurseries distributed throughout the country. Their members are used to having the spade in hand and serving the customers in the present and best way. But when there are many manual processes to make purchases, sales, and inventory work together, it presents challenges and removes focus from exactly what nurseries are best at – namely, 'working with shovel and bucket' to give customers a good experience.
 
Now, fortunately, Home & Garden AmbA has made it possible to streamline the nursery members' workflows, and it is paying off at the nurseries.
 
Director Michael Elnegaard from Home & Garden AmbA says that they want to offer their nurseries attractive benefits. Therefore, they have chosen an LS Retail standard solution that suits everyone, and that makes it easy for them to be updated on data.
"Thanks to our total solution, we are now with us all the time - it makes a significant difference! We have insight into the business. Our members have gained a very positive experience and insight into how much they can move the business and how much easier everyday life becomes by using the solutions that otherwise fit perfectly with the industry, which we have made in collaboration with twoday RelateIT"
says Michael Elnegaard, Director at Home & Garden AmbA.

LS Retail as the driving engine

Home & Garden AmbA has an LS Retail engine, which ensures that all data is gathered in one integrable solution. LS Retail is a system designed for the retail industry and is therefore obvious for Home & Garden, because in addition to gathering all information in one place, it is also possible to link both the nurseries' physical stores with their respective webshops and Michael Elnegaard, CEO of Home & Garden AmbA, believes this is the way forward.
 
Home & Garden has chosen to go all in on a large solution, and the CEO says that there has been a great need to automate processes to ease the administrative work. We can really feel how the solutions are creating good results. 

Digital warehouse solution – smart scanner app and easy service to customers

At the nurseries, many items come in, and many items also go out of the store again. Here, it is important to keep your eyes on the ball because it goes fast, and previously, it could be unmanageable with many manual processes. The papers have now been thrown in the trash and replaced with digital processes and a mobile warehouse scanner.
"Fortunately, we have automated this now so that with a mobile scanner solution, we can easily receive goods and put them in storage. It also means that it is now possible to see what exactly has been purchased and what has been sold because we have an overview of our warehouse solution. It also gives us a great opportunity to plan the next purchases and streamline the business."
continues Michael Elnegaard, Director at Home & Garden AmbA
- At Home & Garden, we have also introduced a barcode system for the checkout solution – and this is one of the things we are particularly pleased about – which also means that there is time for what is most important for the nurseries in everyday life and not least the customers.
"Anyone can work at the checkout now. It has become much easier. They just need to see how many items the customers have with them, scan them, and then they can receive money without thinking about whether they have chosen the right product group."
says Michael Elnegaard, Director at Home & Garden AmbA

Smart with control of master data

- A great value in the overall solution is the synergy effect that lies in the fact that all master data is shared between the nurseries. This means that the work processes are easier for everyone, as the item only needs to be created once. At the same time, time is saved, and there is a full overview of what the item costs.

A webshop that works – customers never drive in vain

- At the nurseries that have an associated webshop, things also work together. The LS Retail engine ensures that there is a connection between data on the webshop and data from the warehouse. This means that no customer will drive in vain for, for example, a sack of potatoes. Once purchased, the sack of potatoes is updated immediately – whether purchased physically or online.

A digitized bookkeeping with automated processes

- In addition to the processes in the front at the various nurseries, there is also control of all the processes behind the bookkeeping. At Home & Garden, we have a sea of Continia's products in play, which integrate directly into the stomach of LS Central.
 
- And what does that mean? Yes, this means that the entire bookkeeping function has been given a nudge up the automation ladder and that a lot of manual typing work is avoided in connection with, for example, inventory and bank reconciliation. Our members save a lot of time and resources, and significantly fewer errors occur.
"When you learn to use Continia's modules, you simply become SO happy. It is a huge help in everyday life – and yes, we have chosen the whole package, and we are happy about that because it is of great importance to our members' work. In addition to being a huge help, it also gives a sense of security that it runs safely! It's honestly damn good."
Michael Elnegaard, Director at Home & Garden AmbA.
- As the icing on the cake and with peace of mind, the members are completely compliant with the new Bookkeeping Act, which will come into force in 2024.

A strong collaboration with twoday RelateIT

- There is great enthusiasm for the collaboration with twoday RelateIT, and with Rasmus Guldager at the helm, we at Home & Garden feel safely advised on the journey towards a more digital future.
"Rasmus has been involved ever since we started, and we have developed together. I have a really good collaboration with Rasmus, and he is good at making things happen – it has all gone beyond all expectations. But most importantly, there has been a great understanding of what we are going through, and time has been spent explaining so that we understand how it all fits together."
continues Michael Elnegaard, Director at Home & Garden AmbA.
- A major reason for the positive collaboration is that time has been spent on matching expectations at the beginning of the process, while twoday RelateIT has a professional approach to starting such a large project.
"It is exciting what the future holds – but one thing is for sure: Home & Garden has been through a long process, and the result is of great importance to the individual nurseries, who have saved extremely much time on manual processes, gained insight into their business and numbers. Now they are ready to stand strong in the market with systems that support their business processes."
concludes Michael Elnegaard, Director at Home & Garden AmbA..