Things get rosy for PH’s largest flower retailer (AC)

Island Rose, brand name of the Philippine Cut Flower Corp., is the largest flower retailer and wholesaler in the country. Headquartered in Makati City, it specializes in growing popular Dutch and French variety flowers using state-of-the art greenhouse facilities in Tagaytay.

Stand-alone didn’t cut it

In the past, Island Rose made do with stand-alone applications. But while these stand-alone apps served specific purposes at the time they were acquired, they also presented challenges that over time proved difficult and counter-productive.

These derailed efficiency and growth because there was need to encode data not just once, but sometimes twice or thrice. The on-premise systems introduced additional costs in administrative work and periodic server upgrades.

And because the desktop applications were disparate, employees had to move from one computer to another to accomplish certain tasks.

Over time, the company acknowledged it had to do something to improve the situation. After considering numerous potential partners, Island Rose decided to harness the power of the cloud for its financials, inventory management, order management and customer relationship management.

Netsuite offered a depth of integrated functionality, as well as a reliable, customizable cloud platform.

A (Net)Suite partnership

To be sure, Island Rose was not new to the cloud. In the year 2000, it launched a pioneering e-commerce service for flower delivery, banking heavily on the connectivity provided by the internet.

With NetSuite’s architecture, it did away with the periodic ritual of upgrading its on-premise servers. Previously, such upgrades ate up valuable time and resources which could have been channeled to grow the business instead.

“Now we have one integrated system for order processing, ERP and accounting, inventory and CRM that lets us run a lean company and better serve our customers,” said Island Rose.

“With NetSuite we’re able to process more orders more efficiently and can grow our business without growing our staff.”

Near-instant results

Since it replaced its stand-alone on-premise applications with NetSuite’s unified cloud suite, Island Rose has greatly improved its performance and productivity. The integrated capabilities have exponentially boosted its efficiency, to wit:
• The company automated its online processing of 75,000 shipments a year to various locations across the archipelago – with order management staff reduced by half.
• Integration with the e-commerce storefront delivers accurate, up-to-date reconciliation without manual intervention.
• Even during peak days – Mother’s Day, for instance, or Valentine’s Day, Island Rose has been able to manage orders without glitches. During peak seasons, part of the distribution is run from the farm.
• It has strengthened its integration with couriers such as DHL and LBC Express to ensure next-day deliveries to many areas in the Philippines.
• It is better able to monitor production and manage flower inventory at its greenhouse farm in Tagaytay,
• Real-time NetSuite data on demand has allowed the company to do away with its old problems of weeks-long delays in reporting and poor visibility.
• Now, Island Rose enjoys the capacity to add to its e-commerce business – it also sells chocolates and other gifts, through acquisition of two partner businesses.
• The CRM solution supplies a single record of 100,000 registered customers. It has reduced customer data sources from three to one, enabling better marketing and customer service.
• Finally, the company has drastically reduced its reliance on paper and paper-based processes by as much as 90%.

The Island Rose experience shows that good business can be better with NetSuite.