Background
Vimwood is a privately owned business that designs and manufactures hair and fashion accessories for children and tweens. Founded in 1989, it now focuses on licensed character accessories for the Australian market. Vimwood holds over 10 licenses, including Peppa Pig, Dora the Explorer, and Hello Kitty. It also dominates the ladies’ hair accessories market in the Pharmacy sector.
Business Challenge
Vimwood had been using SAP Business One (SAP B1) in conjunction with multiple third-party systems. These external systems filled functionality gaps but also introduced complexity, duplication of effort, and inefficiencies in business processes. Staff often had to manage data manually across platforms, which increased the risk of errors and made reporting time-consuming.
To support ongoing growth, reduce operational friction, and gain better business insight, Vimwood recognised the need to move towards a fully integrated ERP solution. However, choosing the right path forward required specialised knowledge. The company needed independent ERP advice—someone to assess the existing environment, evaluate alternatives, and provide a clear strategy aligned with business goals.
Results
Vimwood engaged CMC to provide strategic ERP consulting and advisory services. CMC conducted a comprehensive review of Vimwood’s existing systems, operational requirements, and business priorities. This included a functional analysis of SAP B1 and a gap assessment of the third-party systems in use.
CMC’s ERP advice was that Vimwood could achieve its goals by leveraging more of SAP B1’s native functionality and consolidating external systems where possible. Rather than replacing the entire ERP platform, CMC recommended optimising the current environment. This approach offered lower risk, reduced cost, and quicker time to value.
CMC worked closely with the SAP B1 Vendor to evaluate options for extending system capabilities. The team facilitated structured workshops with Vimwood stakeholders to document current pain points and future-state requirements. CMC then project managed Vendor interactions to ensure all requirements were well understood, and that scope, timing, and resource planning remained under control.
CMC’s ERP consultant also helped Vimwood define a roadmap for the phased integration of external tools into SAP B1. This included prioritising changes that would deliver the greatest operational impact, such as improving inventory accuracy, streamlining order processing, and enhancing reporting visibility.
Once the strategy and project groundwork were complete, CMC transitioned responsibility for implementation and upgrade planning to Vimwood’s internal team.
