BBK moves from past to future, reshaping its home décor retail business with Dynamics 365

For over 25 years, BBK has dominated the Polish home décor scene through its flagship brand, home&you, boasting more than 130 stores nationwide. Expanding its reach, the company’s second brand, Essex, introduces textile collections across Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Czechia, Romania, and Hungary.

BBK started out as a textile company, expanding into the home décor business in 2007. As such, its operations evolved to include more complex logistics and warehousing to support its retail activities. Brick-and-mortar stores rely on point-of-sale (POS) systems for in-store operations and the data was sent to a separate enterprise resource management (ERP) system overseeing purchasing and prices. “Our previous ERP was born in the twentieth century and didn’t support many of the modern retail-related operations we have today,” shares Stanisław Karpiński, IT Director at BBK.

These legacy systems were all housed on-premises. Karpiński sought to change that thinking and started to look for cloud-based software solutions. He wanted something that provides business value without having to manage complex IT infrastructure. “We are in the retail business—not IT. If we choose the right platform, we won’t need to tinker with underlying technologies,” he explains.

Sidestepping the risks of operations failure

BBK asked for proposals from seven vendors. During the final pitch, Karpiński saw that many of the presented ERP systems used outdated programming language or were not using modern software architecture patterns, making them challenging to maintain or update. “We are a retailer, not a software house,” shares Karpiński. “If we adopted one of these solutions, we would need people who know these old languages or be willing to learn them for only this instance. As a consequence, I would have to ask my IT team to dedicate time and effort to something that would be irrelevant in the near future.”

Strategic partnership for a future-proof solution

After a brief evaluation, a cross-functional team within BBK selected Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management modules. “We had stakeholders from finance, logistics, sales, IT; everybody that would be impacted by the ERP migration, from warehouse to shop floor,” Karpiński details. “Microsoft was the best fit for us: Dynamics 365 is future-proof and offered features that would enable us to do the things we wanted to do, the way we wanted to do them.”

The implementation was supported by a trusted Microsoft partner, ANEGIS. ANEGIS was the best partner for us because their expertise in retail and technical knowledge of Dynamics 365 complement the knowledge of our in-house team,” explains Karpiński. “This was vital for a smooth transition.”

This transition involved early exposure to the new platform. Representatives from major business functions very early got involved in shaping and testing the solution according to BBK's specific needs. “We wanted key users to have access to Dynamics 365 from day one and be responsible for their business point-of-view,” explains Krzysztof Langner, Chief Sales Officer and Member of the Board at ANEGIS. “We held user events and training workshops aimed at increasing the level of adoption, as well as decreasing the fear of change.” Regular internal communications ensured that everybody was updated on the project's progress and stages.

"This project illustrates how open communication, trust, and a willingness to embrace change contribute to successful implementation,” adds Anna Solarek, Deputy of Consulting Director and Solution Architect at ANEGIS. “We appreciate BBK’s collaborative approach and their openness to our suggestions. We worked as one integrated team, with both sides actively contributing to the solution. Our consultants were able to fully immerse themselves in BBK’s business processes, facilitating swift delivery and implementation. Working with such a motivated team in BBK was exceptionally gratifying.”

Data-driven decision making

BBK’s consolidation of various functions into Dynamics 365 is bringing a more unified and user-friendly working environment. It streamlined operations from purchasing to sales and opened the doors for automation using Microsoft Power Platform. “As users become more accustomed to the platform, we expect to see them automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for more critical retail operations,” says Karpiński.

One of the most significant benefits of Dynamics 365 for BBK has been the establishment of a single source of truth. Before, any report or analysis required significant effort to consolidate data from a multitude of sources. “With Dynamics 365, we have all that data in one place. This enables us to make smarter decisions faster, making us more operationally agile and boosting our bottom line,” reveals Karpiński.

Building on a strong digital foundation

BBK doesn't plan to stop at ERP implementation; it's on a mission to democratize IT. “If the people outside of IT understand the benefits of a new platform, we see their support for transformation,” Karpiński remarks. “For example, our move to Microsoft 365, specifically Exchange Online, highlighted relatable advantages, like improved email availability and eliminated lost attachments. This fostered broader acceptance of digital transformation among our staff.”

BBK looks forward to building on top of the Dynamics 365 platform without the restraints of legacy programming languages or on-premises resources. The retailer also plans to explore the use of Copilot in day-to-day activities to enhance productivity. “We’re confident that we are able to run our business without any significant downtime when launching a new feature,” remarks Karpiński.

Moving from separate ERP and finance solutions, BBK now has all those processes in one platform. The result is a cornerstone for modern infrastructure that responds to present and future needs. "By choosing Dynamics 365, we can stay flexible and adapt more quickly to an ever-changing business environment," he sums up.