Women’s Fitness Brand Implements Brightpearl in 90- days - During Pandemic Sales Peak

“Our implementation consultant was amazing, going above and beyond for us at such a crazy time for the business. It was incredibly beneficial to partner with someone who was so invested, knew Brightpearl inside and out, could anticipate issues and let us know ahead of time. That kind of support was invaluable.” – Rebecca Monash, Director of Operations at P.volve

The now instantly recognizable acronym WFH – ‘working from home’ – could also mean ‘workout from home’ following the cultural shifts of the last few years. The popularity of at-home workouts skyrocketed in the pandemic, and it was brands such as P.volve that were all hands on deck, managing the sharpest sales spikes.

Then again, it’s not surprising that P.volve is proving so popular. The US-based exercise brand aims to empower women with its functional, low impact workout method that sculpts and tones bodies without breaking them down – and has seen impressive growth in the sports and leisure sector, locally and internationally. As the company has expanded, Rebecca Monash, Director of Operations at P.volve has seen the necessity of being able to ‘self-serve’ when it comes to the brand’s increasingly complex operations. 

“In terms of our operations, I wanted to be self-sufficient,” she explains. “To know everything was being handled in the background, and I had access to all the vital information myself, in one space, with support there when I needed it. That’s what Brightpearl has provided for us.”

BORN TO EVOLVE

Launched in 2017, P.volve means ‘Personal Evolution’, and is a business built on a subscription model. The brand promotes its results-driven, functional, low impact workout method with an on demand platform, live workouts and a roster of specialist equipment, which includes three patented products and a range of ankle weights and resistance bands.

As well as a Shopify Plus webstore, the business operates via subscription management software, Stripe; online marketplaces Amazon US & Canada; and from three studio spaces based in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. The brand also uses a third-party warehouse in Illinois.

With big goals to expand, Rebecca sought a progressive operational system that could free the team of time-intensive manual inventory tasks, and provide a central source of truth that granted full visibility and accuracy as they scaled.

“We were using our ecommerce platform as a form of inventory management, but we needed something more,” she explains.

“Not having visibility of our entire inventory and how it linked to our accounts was a major concern. As we grew and we brought on a third-party warehouse vendor, it just wasn’t sustainable. We weren’t ready to take on new staff, but I needed support in managing the backend independently – something to allow us to grow, yet maintain accuracy.”

The P.volve team opted for Brightpearl to bring its increasingly multichannel operations into one central hub – but happened to begin the process right as the pandemic sent sales into overdrive.

Rebecca had first-hand experience of the drawn-out implementation of big-name ERPs, so getting Brightpearl installed smoothly at a hectic time for business – without any downtime – was her biggest priority.

“It was a crazy time, almost a blur,” she says. “I had flashbacks of integrating with other systems at a prior company – it was awful, took years to complete.

“So I was excited to have Mike, our expert implementation consultant at Brightpearl, who was there for us to call on 24/7.

“He really went above and beyond for us. After nightmare scenarios with other systems, here we had someone who was so invested in P.volve, who knew it inside and out, could anticipate issues and let us know ahead of time.

“That kind of support was invaluable, and it still is.”

A BETTER METHOD

Legacy ERPs are known to take over two years to implement, while Brightpearl has an average setup time of 120 days.

Helped along with Brightpearl’s in-person training and round-the-clock support from our expert implementation team, the system was set up for P.volve in less than three months – without any downtime leading to lost sales.

“Not only was Mike helping me implement, but he was helping me learn,” Rebecca says.

“If we’d done it on our own, we would have risked making errors and everything would have taken much longer. His help was really integral to making sure everything was done right.”

Since setting up with Brightpearl, Rebecca couldn’t be happier that P.volve now operates as a fully integrated business.

The Brightpearl retail operating system has seamlessly connected to hundreds of Shopify Plus-powered brands such as P.volve, and thanks to its world-class roster of Plug & Play integrations and deep API, can extend to other popular apps, such as Walmart, to create a flexible, custom tech stack as the brand grows.

It was also important to P.volve that Brightpearl synced to the team’s accounting software and offered key data for more informed decision making – now made possible thanks to Brightpearls 360-degree, cross-business insights and advanced reporting capabilities.

But it’s the progressive inventory visibility that has proven a real game-changer for P.volve. The team now has access to granular SKU updates including its extensive kits and bundles, as well as supplier information and 200+ metrics for inventory reporting.

“We have kits, we have bundles, just multiple products that aren’t straight forward,” Rebecca says. “So being able to see detailed information on those items was really important.”

“It’s incredibly easy to use and to know that the numbers are accurate, that’s done so much for us.”

Finally, Brightpearl’s powerful Automation Engine means P.volve’s formerly manual processes such as orders, inventory and warehouse have been automated and streamlined – all but eliminating the need for time-intensive manual tasks the team was used to, and freeing them up to focus on innovation and growth.

“Automation rules have been a massive help,” Rebecca says. “Allowing us to make updates on the fly and give piece of mind that orders are flowing correctly.”

EMPOWERED TO GROW

With its sights set on continued expansion, Rebecca is certain that P.volve will continue to Grow Fearlessly with Brightpearl acting as the team’s central source of truth. So far, the retail-focused system is allowing the team capacity to reach bigger goals, build their online communities and expand into new markets.

“We’re looking to reach a mature audience and promote the benefits of low impact exercise for women at all stages of their lives – especially as they are going through hormonal changes, from childbirth and menopause,” Rebecca says.

“Before, there was no way to scale operationally while broadening what we offer. But with the support of the Brightpearl system, as well as a Brightpearl expert that really gets us and what we are about… it means we feel confident to move forward.

“In that way, Brightpearl really allows you to take ownership of your business.”

To discover how Brightpearl can transform operations at your e-commerce retail business, get in touch to book a demo today.