Bluedrops is a successful wholesale company that provides high-quality products for swimming pools, wellness, and water treatment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company experienced strong growth, but this also brought challenges. In this article, we will delve deeper into how Bluedrops has surfed the post-pandemic wave with the help of Power BI, focusing on sales and inventory dashboards.
- Title: Surfing on the COVID wave
- Budget: 12 days
- Data sources: Business Central & Excel
The wave
Bluedrops acts as a connecting partner between swimming pool manufacturers and builders in the Benelux and Northern France. Their activities include providing high-quality materials and equipment for the construction and installation of swimming pools. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they saw an increase in demand for their services. There was a trend of staycations and a focus on home improvement.
Due to the strong growth of the team, it became increasingly difficult for Bluedrops to keep track of their activities. There was a need for customized reporting not only for warehouse staff, but also for salespeople and management. Through our partner Sonical, we had the opportunity to carry out a business intelligence project for this fast-growing SME.
Today, Bluedrops uses four Power BI dashboards to support them in financial KPIs, efficient inventory management, and sales promotion.
Sales
As a connecting partner between swimming pool manufacturers and builders, sales plays a crucial role within the company.
Bluedrops understands how important it is to support the sales department with clear, up-to-date insights. Like many of our dashboards, we always start with an overview of sales figures. Then the user can analyze the data in detail.
Specifically for the sales team:
- Access to the sales dashboards anytime, anywhere, both in the office and on the go (Power BI Mobile app).
- Keep track of customers, regions, and product categories (even with an assortment of > 5,600 products).
- Time efficiency during customer meetings preparation.
- Identify trends, issues, and opportunities early on, at the customer, region, and product level.
By minimizing preparation time, a salesperson can spend more time visiting customers and building relationships. Furthermore, a sales dashboard provides insight into customers' buying behavior. Which products are popular with which customers? In which regions? And where are the opportunities for cross-selling.
Through the sales dashboard, we aim to improve the quality and efficiency of our salespeople.
Steffert Vanneste - Bluedrops
Specifically, this means for the Sales Managers
- Making informed strategic choices: which regions should we further expand?
- Overview of sales team performance: which team members need better coaching/support?
- Reacting faster to changing circumstances: are there products that are suddenly performing very well/poorly?
Stock
Bluedrops has a warehouse of 2000 m². To optimize the inventory and rotation, they use a Power BI dashboard. Below we explain the three different functions Rembert from the management team uses during his analysis.
As a connecting link between 2 parties, our stock rotation must work as efficiently as possible.
Rembert De Vrieze - Bluedrops
- "In Stock" function
With the "In Stock" function, Rembert can quickly see which products are still in stock for the next 30 days. For the other products, he should place an order soon. Rembert set the tipping point at 30 days, as it provides the most accurate view based on his experience.
When product X has less than 30 days of stock coverage, the "In Stock" filter shows "NOT OK" ❌.
When product X has more than 30 days of stock coverage, the "In Stock" filter shows "OK" ✅.
This is a simple but essential function for efficient inventory management and to prevent possible shortages.
- "Supplier" function
Grouping suppliers based on delivery costs and the number of orders provides insights into the efficiency of different suppliers as well as the purchasing team.
- "Product" function
Used to check on specific products, see if they are still in stock, and monitor the trend in sales. If the product is no longer in stock, Rembert can notify the stock staff so they know it is not available. Alternatively, he can inform the sales team. This is important for maintaining customer satisfaction and the company's reputation.
Benefits:
| Suppliers | Better planning of their production plan and delivery schedule. |
| Customers | Timely delivery of their products. |
| Sales | Avoiding missing sales opportunities. |
| Warehous | Control over the inventory and available warehouse space. |
Finance Reporting Accelerator
Besides the sales and procurement team, Bluedrops has a strong and accurate finance duo that is responsible for all financial matters. This team uses our finance accelerator.
If you are curious about the benefits of this finance accelerator and the reasons why it is obvious to start with this financial reporting, we are happy to refer you further.
