Hair Direct Case Study

Cargas solution helps Hair Direct realize a vision and double in size.

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With Cargas Solution Builder, Cargas developed a system, fully integrated to Microsoft Dynamics GP, that enables Hair Direct to implement a revenue-critical program, increase efficiency of operations and accommodate future needs.

Hair Direct, a mail-order provider of non-surgical hair systems, had developed a proven recipe for success: combine a customer-centered approach with a knack for innovation. In fact, president Bill Biesecker, Jr., describes Hair Direct as “an idea factory” – an organization capable of visionary strategy. In 2007, the company’s enviable growth curve hit a snag.

Challenge: System becomes an obstacle to progress
“We finally reached a point where our software became a real detriment to our business,” Biesecker said. “We found ourselves compromising on several improvements we wanted to make and shelving new initiatives.” The most important of those initiatives: the Standing Order Program (SOP), an ambitious plan to create an automated, web-based reordering process to manage repeat business. Implemented properly, SOP would speed delivery times, improve customer service and create a steady stream of recurring revenue.

However, Hair Direct’s existing systems presented serious stumbling blocks to SOP; barriers to functionality and growth:

 - Separate, disconnected systems for customer data and accounting

 - Paper-based records that slowed customer service
 - A clumsy shopping cart program housed under a separate domain
 - Sloppy data management that introduced shipping errors and slowed processing

Hair Direct’s patchwork system created inefficiencies that put unnecessary strain on its team and made the  implementation of SOP impossible. Even more frustrating, company leaders knew what wholesale changes they needed to make, but the company’s existing systems were too rigid to accommodate them.

“We continually heard, ‘no you can’t do that,’” Biesecker said. “Around every corner, we had to force our software to achieve what we wanted. Instead of using our systems to leverage growth, they had become an anchor that was holding us back.”

Cargas Solution Builder: A foundation for service – and success
Hair Direct realized it had enterprise-level needs, but with just 30 employees and no staff IT, the company also considered itself a “large small business.” Once the Hair Direct team turned to Cargas, they discovered a partner with the right approach and the right tools for implementing solutions that supported their vision.

“The Cargas staff took time to delve into our business and our brand,” Biesecker said. “They really understand our core values and the importance we place on the customer experience.”

Cargas built the Hair Direct system on Microsoft SQL Server, a database platform that enabled Hair Direct to store and access data across all applications: customer service, accounting and more. To create Hair Direct’s customized system, Cargas also relied heavily on Cargas Solution Builder, a business application development platform built on Microsoft technology.

With a clear process and the best technological solutions available, the Cargas team was able to quickly develop a program that solved Hair Direct’s problems in multiple phases based on need. Phase One, for example, focused on the most pressing needs: managing customer information and improving service. Gradually, Cargas implemented a comprehensive automated system that was also capable of adapting to Hair Direct’s future needs.

 
Once Hair Direct had fully integrated the Cargas solution, the entire company experienced the impact. Information that was once difficult to locate was now a couple of mouse-clicks away. Every process was streamlined. Best of all, Hair Direct was able to launch its Standing Order Program with confidence. Critical improvements included:

Integration: The SOP became seamless and automated, with customer-keyed orders routed in real-time to the manufacturer in China and captured in accounting and customer-tracking functions

Accessibility: The Cargas solution put information in the hands of people across the organization – management, customer service, shipping and accounting

Breadth of information: Service representatives had an immediate access to an aggregate view of customer purchasing patterns – a snapshot of the entire customer relationship

Improved customer experience: The new system connected front-end and back-end functions, enabling customers to log in, view order progress, receive automated email reminders, and more

“It was all hands on before, now it’s all hands off,” Biesecker said. “The system runs itself.” With the fully integrated, scalable Cargas system in place, Hair Direct experienced rapid growth. In just two years, the company’s top-line revenue increased by 100 percent. Biesecker attributes “a portion of that revenue growth” to the vastly improved solutions provided by Cargas, calling the outcome “striking.”

Automation has also led to measurable gains in efficiency. Under its old system, for example, Hair Direct required a staff of five to place and monitor orders. Now, even though order volume has doubled, a staff of just three handles all order queries.

In addition, during Hair Direct’s two years of rapid growth, phone volume has remained flat because the system has taken over: email reminders, automated order confirmations, interactivity that enables customers to track orders, and more. Hair Direct can also maintain many aspects of the Cargas system independently, without further input – or added cost – from a vendor.

Cargas built something else into its solution for Hair Direct that the company had never realized before: the future. With a flexible and scalable system, Hair Direct can now return its focus to its core strength: operating as an “idea factory.”