C.O. Bigelow and Ovation Hair are Among the Fast-growing Manufacturers Groomed for Success in the Cloud
SAN MATEO, Calif.—September 27, 2017—Oracle NetSuite, one of the world’s leading providers of cloud-based financials / ERP, HR, Professional Services Automation (PSA) and omnichannel commerce software suites, today announced more and more health and beauty manufacturers and retailers are turning to the cloud to fuel growth and achieve customer-centric business agility. Innovative companies such as C.O. Bigelow, the oldest apothecary in the U.S., and Ovation Hair, a provider of high-end hair care products in southern California, are among the many health and beauty providers to graduate from disparate applications and labor-intensive manual data work to gain an edge in a highly competitive market.
Health and beauty is rapidly growing amid strong consumer demand for distinctive skin care, hair care, lip care, oral care and related products, as well as cosmetics, fragrances, deodorants, soaps, shower gels and more. Global sales of health and beauty products are expected to soar 73 percent from 2016 to 2024, from $432 billion to $750 billion, according to Inkwood Research, a Boston-based research firm.¹ This growth comes amid industry disruption as emerging and midmarket players develop, manufacture and market products with strong branding appeal as well as organic and eco-friendly attributes.
“Health and beauty companies are laser-focused on product innovation, brand-building and customer intimacy,” said Branden Jenkins, GM of Global Retail, Oracle NetSuite. “They’re channeling the time and cost savings they realise with NetSuite into building the business, rather than wasting resources on manual work and outdated on-premise systems.”
Family-Run Business Stands the Test of Time and Adapts to Market Changes
C.O. Bigelow (www.bigelowchemists.com), the oldest apothecary in the U.S., has grown from its founding in 1838 in New York City to be a global omnichannel retailer of an eclectic, carefully curated array of more than 30,000 products. With an iconic brick-and-mortar store and traditional pharmacy occupying the same Greenwich Village space since 1902, the family-run business also operates an ecommerce website and sells to global hotels and airlines that offer Bigelow goods to customers across the globe. Its wholesale channel has grown 20 to 30 percent annually in recent years across more than 1,000 partner stores such as Sephora, Barney’s and Nordstrom. The owner, Ian Ginsberg, doesn’t view his company as disruptive. “We’re the ones who survived the disruption,” he says. “We’re a traditional business surviving in the modern world.” That takes a special kind of business agility, supported by Bigelow’s use of NetSuite. The manufacturer and retailer relies on NetSuite for core functions of financials, reporting, inventory and order management across all channels. Reporting on real-time data has been vital in delivering insights for Bigelow to strengthen its bottom line while gaining agility to compete with both upstart rivals and chain drug stores.
“We’re able to be faster and more nimble because of NetSuite,” said Ginsberg. “The real-time information available in NetSuite is just mind-blowing. Across all our functions, it just saves us so much time and money. We’re able to behave like a big guy in small guy clothes.”
Hair Care Leader Strengthens Hair, Business and Consumer Loyalty
Ovation Hair (www.ovationhair.com), based in Carlsbad, Calif., broke into the hair care market in 2007 with its flagship Cell Therapy product, helping customers grow thicker, stronger hair with a proprietary blend of proteins, vitamins, botanical extracts and amino acids. Since then, Ovation Hair has grown its lineup to more than 25 products, including shampoos and conditioners, all manufactured in southern California. Starting out by reaching consumers with radio ads after its founding in 2007, Ovation Hair today builds its brand and customer loyalty with email marketing and social media, while expanding its channels to include QVC TV spots, Amazon and distribution through 75 select salons in the U.S. Regular promotions, a loyalty program, subscription replenishment and refer-a-friend rewards have all been instrumental in driving double-digit revenue growth. Ovation Hair is better able to focus on innovation and marketing because NetSuite supplies a unified platform for the company to efficiently run financials, inventory, manufacturing and its ecommerce website. NetSuite serves as the repository for 500,000 contacts reached by email and social marketing, while NetSuite for manufacturing gives Ovation Hair important lot tracking capabilities for raw ingredients and shipped products.
“Having everything under one roof with NetSuite is very efficient and definitely an advantage in a competitive industry,” said Erika Sherwood, Ovation Hair Marketing Manager. “NetSuite has helped us improve our reaction time in updating the website and streamlining processes with our client database, marketing, product information, inventory levels and manufacturing.”
Key Technology Ingredients for Health and Beauty Companies to Grow and Thrive
New and more established health and beauty businesses such as C.O. Bigelow and Ovation Hair are turning to cloud business solutions as they compete with established multinationals such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, L’Oreal, Estée Lauder and others. In many cases, product manufacturers are expanding into direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales, over websites and with partners such as Amazon and QVC. The features most important to leading health and beauty companies are focused on:
Customer centricity. Health and beauty product manufacturers and retailers need integrated processes and a 360-degree customer view to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience and personalised customer service.
Cloud-first scale and agility. Health and beauty companies need the ability to rapidly scale all operations, from entering new global markets to expanding channels, product offerings and subscription sales.
Integrated operational efficiency. End-to-end efficiency and visibility are essential for these companies to minimise operational costs and orchestrate processes to deliver an exceptional customer experience at every interaction.
Data-driven decision-making. Rather than relying on outdated, disparate data and guesswork, health and beauty companies running in the cloud can make informed decisions based on real-time information.
NetSuite provides an end-to-end view of business for health and beauty companies such as C.O. Bigelow and Ovation Hair across wholesale distribution and ecommerce channels, as well as company brick-and-mortar locations, to enable seamless, omnichannel experiences for customers. To learn more about NetSuite’s offering for health and beauty companies, please visit: http://www.netsuite.com/beauty.
About Oracle NetSuite
Oracle NetSuite pioneered the Cloud Computing revolution in 1998, establishing the world’s first company dedicated to delivering business applications over the internet. Today, it provides a suite of cloud-based financials / Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), HR and omnichannel commerce software that runs the business of companies in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.netsuite.com.sg.
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About Oracle
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¹Inkwood Resarch, “Global Beauty and Personal Care Products Market Forecast 2017-2024.”