Bain Dépôt manages to sustain the business growth with the support of Talan

Partners since 2017, Bain Dépôt and Talan have jointly conducted two major projects to support the leading bathroom and kitchen retailer in the development of its online and in-store activities. The implementation of an advanced Warehousing Management Software (WMS), followed by the Business Central ERP and LS Retail modern points of sale, marked a decisive turning point for the company - and a decidedly positive one! Discover the story of this success.

Bain Dépôt, a growing company

Founded in 2008 by Marc Nadeau and his brothers, Bain Dépôt is Canada’s leading retailer for the sale of bathroom, kitchen and lighting products. To date, it has 41 stores in Quebec and Ontario, with openings planned in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and all the western provinces.

Bain Dépôt offers its products in stores and online across Canada, with a wide selection of products to choose from: showers, bathtubs, faucets, furniture, mirrors, as well as other items. The result is “a complete bathroom at the best prices on the market,” according to Marc Nadeau, who also intends to offer his services in a family-friendly environment.

Difficult collaboration between warehouses and an inadequate management system

Following the modernization of its online sales platform, Bain Dépôt has seen its sales increase. This led the company to open a second warehouse at a remote site, making it difficult to supply continuous operations.

In addition, the company’s operating system was starting to look old, and was being used more as an accounting solution, which represented a risk for the company’s sustainability and growth. The team quickly abandoned the idea of forcing the system to be adapted to the company’s needs:

The support we had to maintain the old solution and develop it further was very limited. No outsider wanted to take it on, because it had been changed too much.

To support the increase in sales, Bain Dépôt started looking for an easy-to-use tool, with an efficient handling. The aim was to reduce paperwork, increase team agility, and boost business performance.

Implementation of a WMS and putting in place a new ERP system

Initially, Bain Dépôt requested the support of Talan to facilitate management among its first warehouses. Implementation of a modern WMS solution has enabled automation of their distribution centre and inventory management.

It gave us efficiency, accuracy and ease of operation. Without it, we would have suffered quite a bit from the growth that followed the launch of our online sales platform.

Following this successful collaboration, Bain Dépôt decided to call on Talan again to implement a new management system.

It was Microsoft Business Central ERP that was chosen, along with the LS Central solution for managing Bain Dépôt retail activities using POS, modern touch-screen points of sale available in each store. By offering a 360° view of all Bain Dépôt inventories, this technology enables teams to provide customers with all the possibilities for choosing products according to their needs, illustrated by photos. It also proposes alternatives if the product you’re looking for isn’t available.

I knew the solution worked for our needs. But the trigger was what it brought us in terms of clienteling and cross-selling. It’s a huge gain for us, because it enables us to finalize a sale.

Marc Nadeau adds that the tool is very intuitive: “After 1 hour, you know how it works.”

A sustainable solution with an introduction to cross-selling

Throughout the project, the Bain Dépôt team faced a number of challenges that Talan helped them to overcome:

The effects of the pandemic at the end of 2019 proved to be a double-edged sword for Bain Dépôt. As people stayed at home, renovation activities increased. Adding to this the company’s growth, the sales quickly soared. A godsend...provided Bain Dépôt can keep pace!

At the same time, the company was faced with the departure of several employees, which, in a context of growth, led to an internal overwork:

This extended the implementation project. Business Central is a large system that involves a lot of people, and its implementation took longer than we might have liked.

From beginning to end, Talan supported its partner in achieving its objectives, particularly during employee turnover:

Having Talan by our side, it enabled us to establish continuity: it was practically their team that explained the Bain Dépôt business to new arrivals.

7 months after implementation: A thriving success

Seven months after the launch of Business Central and LS Central, Bain Dépôt is reaping the benefits of its collaboration with Talan:

• A stable operating system.
• The platform’s speed of execution, which enables us to maintain online sales as well as ongoing contact with customers.
• Fast learning curve for employees.
• Ongoing support from Talan experts.
• Long-term scalability thanks to the choice of a Microsoft solution.
• The cross-selling possibilities offered by LS Central. Viewing product availability and purchases in real time facilitates inventory management and increases sales opportunities.

Without this tool (LS Central), we probably wouldn’t be talking about expansion today. It keeps us in the big league.

Thanks to Talan consultancy and expertise, Bain Dépôt has been able to sustain its growth and is now looking to the future. The company is in fact working on a future solution capable of facilitating the purchasing process for its customers.

As for the company’s adoption of Business Central and LS Central tools over time, Marc Nadeau is confident: “The baby isn’t running yet, but I know it’s a well-oiled machine.”