Google Apps and a new integrated system delivers a stylish ‘front of house’ and hard working back office solution.

Glasgow based international fashion house Marble specialises in feminine co-ordinates that appeal to women of all ages. Set up in 2008, the company had grown rapidly, developing a strong customer base with over 400 retailers in the UK, Europe and Canada.

The existing sales, ordering and fulfillment systems had reached tipping point which threatened the company’s continued success;  Marble also wanted to improve collaboration and communication across the whole business and develop the systems to support their international expansion plans.

The smart use of existing Google Apps technology delivered a powerful, reliable and easy to use solution which might otherwise have been unaffordable.

Refractiv, a Google for Work Premier Partner, developed an integrated system comprising an iPad mobile app, back office applications and reporting, together with collaborative document solutions and corporate email. The system is available in the Cloud from any device, anytime, anywhere and its effect was transformational.

Nick Williams, CEO of Marble said, “Fashion is a dynamic and competitive business so our sales agents visit retailers and fashion exhibitions all the time and need access to our full product portfolio with current pricing and instant ordering capability.

The iPad App has totally revolutionised how we do this and because it is accurate, dynamic and instantaneous, is saving us time, money and securing business. The App completely integrates with our back office system and therefore supports every other area of our business”.

Key elements of the solution include an image library and automated price lists. The image library now uses Google Drive to automatically populate the mobile app with product images, which saves a huge amount of time and effort. Refractiv also developed an automated multi-currency and multi-language price list using Google Sheets, which replaced dozens of Excel spreadsheets, as well as the associated errors and manual effort. This integrated and collaborative solution has not only improved communication across the organisation, but also streamlined the ordering and fulfillment systems, to deliver real business benefits and cost savings.

For more information take a look at Marbles Smart Answer or please contact kate.smith@refractiv.co.uk