Blackwoods identified a need to upgrade its legacy ERP system to better support business growth, enhance customer engagement, and drive digital innovation.
The company migrated to cloud-based Dynamics 365 for ERP, Sales, and Supply Chain, modernizing operations and improving customer experience.
Blackwoods improved fulfillment, gained better inventory visibility, and boosted customer engagement, while enabling strategic use of AI and Copilot.
Since its beginning in 1878 as an industrial supplier, Blackwoods has grown from a small business into Australia's largest industrial and safety provider. It has an extensive portfolio of over 300,000 products that are sourced from the world's leading brands that includes a growing range of performance focused private label products. At its core, Blackwoods is dedicated to helping its customers operate safely, productively, and sustainably, through expert support, reliable supply, and industry insights.
Blackwoods boasts over 40 regional and remote locations and has plans to grow by utilizing technology and innovation to enhance customer experience and drive productivity, which drove a decision to retire its aging legacy system. Moving to the cloud with Dynamics 365 enables a new level of agility, proactivity, and engagement as Blackwoods enters its next chapter.
Blackwoods made the strategic decision to replace its 30-year-old, AS/400-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) application with Dynamics 365. The legacy system had become increasingly outdated and could no longer support the company's expanding growth and evolving customer engagement goals. This transformation marked a significant shift as the company transitioned from an on-premises system to a cutting-edge cloud ERP solution. The implementation of ‘The Blackwoods Way,’ a comprehensive initiative designed to enhance finance and operations in service of the company’s relentless pursuit of exceptional customer experiences, was a pivotal step in the company's journey. The monumental achievement has not only facilitated growth but has also paved the way for enhanced customer engagement on a much larger scale.
Blackwoods knows tools, so it knew that moving to the cloud with Dynamics 365 would ensure the company is always equipped with the latest technology. CEO Andrew Bray says, “There's nothing to build on if you don't have a digital platform, and today we’re positioned to benefit from the world’s best technology drip fed into our product every quarter.” The modern architecture of the cloud solution has improved system performance and productivity, which is crucial for business operations.
“There's nothing to build on if you don't have a digital platform, and today we’re positioned to benefit from the world’s best technology drip fed into our product every quarter.”
Andrew Bray, CEO, Blackwoods
Blackwoods’ customers rely on it for tailored procurement solutions, and the company prides itself on providing reliable customer experiences every day. Streamlining order management processes was an essential piece of Blackwoods’ digital transformation, which is why it also adopted Dynamics 365 Sales as its customer relationship management solution.
Dynamics 365 Sales now supports Blackwoods’ sales team and customer care, helping them stay organized. Improved visibility of customer data yields better continuity of customer interactions and relationships. This not only assists the sales teams in managing accounts but also helps leadership and others by providing insights to coach, plan calls, track outcomes, and manage various aspects of customer engagement.
“Driving improvements in the customer experience will help us grow sales,” explains Jackie Montado, Chief Digital & Technology Officer. And early use of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales for account summaries provides “a seamless loop back to the customer care agent, ensuring they have as much information as possible on the screen when speaking with customers,” she added. Even at this early stage, Copilot is saving time by helping sales representatives draft responses to customers and speed up other tasks that impact customer satisfaction.
Sales orders come through digital channels, including EDI, OCR, and through its e-commerce website, as well as through the company’s contact center and over 40 regional trade stores. Its e-commerce and voice platforms integrate seamlessly with Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management for efficient processing and fulfillment.
The company’s strategic shift to a unified solution with Dynamics 365 enables Blackwoods to leverage its fulfillment network more effectively, enhancing efficiency across its six distribution centers and its trade stores. One of the key improvements has been in inventory visibility and immediate cross-docking, allowing products received from vendors to be shipped out to customers without the need for intermediate shelving. A clear indicator of this success is the improvement in Blackwoods' core service metric, Delivery in Full, On Time, which is now at world class levels as well as being highly consistent and reliable all year.
A custom order management module routes the orders for fulfillment from a warehouse or store to the customer. In concert with a robust demand planning solution, Dynamics 365 has improved Blackwoods’ planning and forecasting capabilities enabling the company to procure inventory more effectively and efficiently, and as a result reduce carrying costs.
Blackwoods COO, Kari Banick is excited by the potential unleashed by Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. “It’s exciting to have a digital warehouse management module that gives us a solid foundation that we can build upon. Now that the digital platform is established, we can focus on improving the entire end-to-end supply chain experience. With this system, we can clearly see the path forward to maintaining our leadership in the industrial safety space.”
“With [Dynamics 365], we can clearly see the path forward to maintaining our leadership in the industrial safety space.”
Kari Banick, COO, Blackwoods
Year-over-year holiday season performance improved as well. Rather than dealing with system instability and performance issues, teams had more time to focus on planning. Typically, Blackwoods contends with supplier shutdowns during holidays and planned breaks—disruptions that negatively impact customers who don’t stop. Managing these periods without impacting customer experience was difficult. But the performance of Dynamics 365 facilitates smoother operations, allowing Blackwoods to plan for adequate stock and manage the surge of replenishment orders from suppliers and adjust accordingly to fulfill customer orders.
Blackwoods’ Dynamics 365 journey is just beginning. Benjamin Eckert, Head of Operations, explains that the company is “just beginning to tap into all the benefits and leverage them strategically to drive progress. Now Blackwoods can continuously optimize and adapt—crucial for continued success.”
Bray says the journey ahead is about leveraging the tools that are inherently built into Dynamics 365, like Gen AI and Copilots, to make it easier for customers, suppliers, and internal staff to interact with Blackwoods.
Bray is excited about what’s ahead. “We are always closely following Microsoft’s roadmap for future product releases, whether related to pricing or other areas. This collaboration with Microsoft allows us to stay aligned and work at pace to meet our evolving needs.”
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