Waterford-based furniture retailer, Sienna, has transformed business operations by implementing SwanFRS, delivering excellent customer service and converting insights into business growth.
About Sienna Home Furnishings
Sienna Home Furnishings, established in 2005 and located in Waterford City, Ireland, is a family-run business committed to delivering quality furniture solutions.
As a member of Retail Excellence Ireland (REI), Sienna Home Furnishings is known for its commitment to retail excellence.
With a focus on bespoke products, Sienna offers exclusive ranges that can be customised to reflect each customer’s unique style and preferences, providing excellent quality furniture tailored to individual needs.
Sienna Home Furnishings and Swan Retail partnership
We spoke with Lorraine Lally in Sienna’s operations team, and founder Janice Lenehan, about the impact Swan Furniture Retail System (FRS) has had within Sienna since its implementation in 2017.
The challenge for Sienna
Before the FRS implementation, Sienna relied on manual processes for ordering, stock control and reporting, these were time-consuming and lacked the visibility they needed to drive decision-making. The Sienna management team made a strategic decision to modernise the sales operations and ordering processes and started to look for a complete solution, speaking to similar furniture retail businesses in the region for guidance and advice.
What made you choose Swan Furniture Retail System?
“We needed to modernise our operational processes and streamline ways of working, whilst choosing a system that would support the growth of Sienna. The aim was to achieve total visibility of orders within the supply chain, from start to finish, and enable the sales teams to focus more on customers.”
“We evaluated another supplier solution, and it did not give us everything we needed but FRS ticked all the boxes.”
“The management information available from FRS allows us to analyse sales performance and profitability from a product and supplier perspective, which informs our buying decisions.”
“The sales information allows us to segment our customer base which informs our marketing strategy and underpins our business growth objectives.”
“With FRS, we now have the full history of events, the “digital trail” relating to every piece of furniture, and that is a substantial change for the business.”
How was your experience moving to the new system?
“It was great, we had a progress call every week with John Hardwick the FRS Product Manager, he is a mine of information, always on hand to answer any questions we had however small they may have been.”
“The implementation went smoothly, we launched with a stage-by-stage approach, and we were well supported by the Swan team.”
Sienna uses the always-on customer support from Swan, taking advantage of the regular webinars to hear the latest updates and case studies from other users.
“Swan is always releasing new features, I really enjoy participating in the customer webinars and free training workshops – understanding new elements and learning how other businesses are using the system is great.”
“I get extremely excited when new releases are announced, it’s like a new toy every time, I am always keen to find out what’s new and how we can implement it at Sienna.”
What impact has FRS had on Sienna?
“FRS has had a very positive impact on our business, both from an operational and strategic perspective. Management information is available in real time, allowing us to make better decisions and take necessary actions.”
“FRS has allowed the business to become much more efficient; processes are clearer and more streamlined, information is more readily available, and the sales team have more time to focus on customers, rather than admin and paperwork.”
“It has changed how we make decisions, we can easily see daily, weekly, and monthly sales figures. Keep track of which suppliers and furniture ranges are performing best and use these insights to drive decision-making.”
What has FRS meant for Sienna’s customers?
“Customers have noticed a difference, with improvements in the speed of information available, we can see a 360-degree view of our customers, allowing us to deliver excellent service.”
“With all information in one place, we can provide a personalised service, understanding their needs and which key products are a great match.”
”The increased visibility also allows for optimised staff planning across goods received and deliveries to customers. We can turn stock around quicker to our customers as FRS allows efficient planning with all the relevant teams.”
How do you feel about the future of the partnership?
“Sienna has a very strong working relationship with Swan. The team are always very helpful, and we look forward to working with Swan to further enhance the functionality of FRS within our business.”
“Our founders are very loyal to the Sienna customers and delivering personal service to them is key, FRS contributes to this continued success.“
“Sienna will continue to grow as a business, developing new product lines and expanding our customer base across Ireland.”
We look forward to a continued partnership with Sienna Home Furnishings, working together to grow and transform their customer experience and business decision-making.
Find out more about Swan Furniture Retail System used by Sienna.
To discover more about Sienna and their quality furniture solutions take a look at their website, and Instagram channels.
