Bringing ERP and CRM into one platform for efficient global growth

Here’s how WHO IS ELIJAH harnessed the power of technology to increase their productivity and create special moments for their customers.

 
 

WHO IS ELIJAH is on a mission to make luxury fragrances available to everyone. Founded in 2018 by Raquel Bouris, the brand focuses on gender-fluid scents while prioritising an ethical and sustainable approach to ingredients and packaging. 

“In 2018, I thought I had started a perfume company, however in reality, I quickly learned I was running an inventory and logistics company. Salesforce has allowed me to go back to being creative and doing what I love, which is to create perfume,” said Raquel. 

With rapid growth in its wholesale division and everything managed out of spreadsheets, it was increasingly difficult to keep track of orders and manage relationships. WHO IS ELIJAH initially considered a few point solutions to address different needs like wholesale management. However, the brand ultimately decided to use Salesforce, preferring to bring everything into one trusted platform to reduce costs and increase productivity through automation. 

As a result, WHO IS ELIJAH has:

  • Created transparency over orders allowing accurate sales forecasting and control over inventory costs
  • Cut the number of errors in warehouse administration, saving around $6,000 a month as a result of increased accuracy in packing and shipping
  • Scaled efficiently into New Zealand, the US, the UK, and new markets across Europe,without opening overseas offices
 
Table of Contents

1. Reducing cost and complexity with a single unified platform

 
 
 

WHO IS ELIJAH produces its eau de parfums at its warehouse in Sydney using ingredients from all over the world. Each bottle is hand-filled and shipments are sent out to consumers and wholesalers. 

Orders and relationships for the retail and wholesale businesses were managed through different sets of manual and siloed systems. WHO IS ELIJAH consequently struggled to keep up with demand and accurately forecast for sales and inventory.

“We were really struggling with management of our wholesale channel, orders, and inventory. That was the key trigger for us to say, okay, stop, what do we need to do here,” said Adam. “The business was still young and small, but I wanted to ensure we were ready to handle the volumes that would come through in the future.” 

WHO IS ELIJAH initially considered a few point solutions. however, the brand ultimately decided to use Salesforce, preferring to manage everything from one platform. 

“I didn’t realise the extent to which Salesforce could essentially stitch these different capabilities together, and that made it a really good choice for us in the end,” said Adam. “It was an investment for us as a small business, but it’s now saving us almost 3x what we put into it. Salesforce has become the beating heart of our organisation. It drives our workflow and allows us to see all our customers, orders, inventory, influencers, and suppliers in one place.”

 
 
Total cost savings equivalent to
 
 

2. Creating a clear vision of the future state

WHO IS ELIJAH partnered with strategy and technology consulting firm, Arcturious, to run series of human-centred discovery workshops using principles from Design Thinking. They got deep into the brand, its values, and what the ideal future state looked like. With this knowledge, Arcturious mapped out a solution to simplify and automate operations. 

Implemented in six weeks, the solution includes streamlined order management for both wholesale and retail customers. On the wholesale side of the business, orders come in via email. These emails create a case in Service Cloud which drives fulfillment and triggers invoicing through Xero. Retail orders come in directly via eCommerce sites before being routed into Salesforce with the help of Zapier and IDA Connect. Salesforce Field Service then orchestrates order and inventory management along with Arcturious’ Order and Inventory Management Accelerator.

“There was a lot of time and effort put into the implementation, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience with a perfect outcome,” said Adam.

 
for initial rollout
 
 

3. Automation helps increase productivity and reduce waste

WHO IS ELIJAH can now view and manage all its orders in one place and has streamlined processes like fulfillment. For example, instead of wasting time sorting orders and printing labels from multiple systems, it can start each morning with a single list in Salesforce of all orders to be sent. 

The brand has also automated contract generation. Contracts for new wholesalers are now created and sent in just two clicks using Salesforce and DocuSign from the AppExchange. The process is much more efficient, saving up to one or two hours a day depending on volume. There’s also complete visibility of contracts, meaning anyone in the team can step into help manage these.

 

Process automation has increased productivity and helped the brand scale to manage a 500% increase in direct to consumer sales in just six months. At the same time, it’s reduced warehouse administration by up to two and a half hours each day while driving down errors. The brand estimates savings of $6,000 per month alone as a result of increased accuracy in packing and shipping orders. 

WHO IS ELIJAH also estimates an annual saving of $240,000 in time and costs related to inventory and wholesale management.

 
growth in direct to consumer sales
 
saved per month from increased accuracy in packing and shipping
WHO IS ELIJAH also has much more transparency over orders, making it easier to accurately forecast and order the right amount of raw materials to keep up with demand.
 
 

4. Driving efficient growth by deepening customer relationships

WHO IS ELIJAH’s wholesale customers are key to its global growth and, with Salesforce, the brand can better manage those relationships and drive new opportunities. Sales Cloud has replaced spreadsheets to provide the brand with a complete view of wholesale customers including when they last ordered. The brand can then proactively touch base with customers who’ve been inactive and build more lasting relationships. 

Salesforce has also helped WHO IS ELIJAH streamline onboarding of wholesalers. An application form built using Experience Cloud and Flow captures new wholesaler details and routes them for assessment. In addition to assessing  brand alignment, WHO IS ELIJAH uses Salesforce Maps to visualise the wholesaler’s location and ensure it doesn’t pose a conflict with current customers.

In the future, Experience Cloud will be extended to create a portal where wholesalers can self-serve. They will be able to place orders, raise cases, and find answers to frequently asked questions. They will also be able to access pricing which is calculated with Sales Cloud and a pricing formula built by Arcturious which helps the brand manage multi-currency pricing with ease.

 
 

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