HBP Monpellier Ltd - Licenced Exchequer Reseller & Platinum Partner

Say 'fetish' and what do you do? Giggle nervously? Think of seedy old men in macs? Perhaps. But the reality is, the fetish scene is alive and well, and coming out of the closet and onto the World Wide Web.

You've only to look at the example of Westward Bound. Set up by Steve Beech, one of the founding fathers of the scene, who started his career organising fetish-themed parties 20 years ago in London, as well as setting up a B, B&B - bed, breakfast and bondage - Westward Bound is now a thriving business. Based in Plymouth, Devon, the organisation now has turnover in excess of one million pounds.

Moreover, ever since it revamped its website - www.westwardbound.com - the company has seen a 93% increase in sales of 'kinky apparel and corrective instruments'. It then needed the back end technology in place to be able to cope with this surge in demand. "We used to sell via three channels. We had a shop; there was the mail order business, and we also took orders over the phone. Then the Internet came along and changed all that," said Steve. "That's because while we were always a typical SME, having a presence on the Web meant that we could suddenly compete with the bigger players out there, but with none of the typical investment and time normally associated with huge growth."

"We used the Internet as a springboard to a much wider, global audience. But the challenge then became, how can we continue to use technology to maintain the same levels of customer service we had always provided. Just as importantly, how could we use IT to become even more streamlined, efficient and cost effective?"

Westward Bound initially approached Devon and Cornwall Council's Business Link for help. What it was really looking for was an automated system that could not only control, track and handle invoicing and payment from Internet-based orders, but also those orders that came in via the more 'traditional' routes.

Westward Bound opted for Exchequer, ultimately because the new Web-enabled package could give the company instant, seamless access to customer and transaction data from both the company's online sales channel as well as from the shop's till.

The company's eight-strong finance team can now raise and send bills and purchase orders automatically; these can be added to or updated online at every stage of the process, saving users the inconvenience of having to manually re-key information.

Just as importantly, real time stock updates mean that online customers can be instantly informed on the availability of whatever they were thinking of buying - latex, PVC and leather clothing or bondage toys - before they put their order in. In short, it means less administration, improved accuracy, easier access to integrated information and thus greater visibility. "Because the new system ensures that there's a watertight flow of information from customer purchase to customer invoice, it's cut time, effort and human error. It's also been vital for effective stock control, because we can see immediately what's been selling well, and move the business in response to customer demand," Steve added.

Exchequer's deliberately easy to use format was another big draw. IRIS Enterprise Software believes strongly that if the accounting system is to be a success, everyone not only needs to understand it, but also feel comfortable using it. Therefore its software has been designed specifically to be logical and intuitive so that it reflects and moulds into the way a user runs their business.

While the Exchequer application itself has a number of capabilities, this is all provided from one set of source code. This means that as the business evolves, the user does not have to change the application, re-import data or re-train staff when it's time to upgrade.

"Ultimately I'm a retailer - I'm concerned with providing customers with what they want. The technology is only there to help me achieve that aim. In other words, it's about technology as an enabler, not as a means in itself. That's why Exchequer was attractive. Fortunately, once we got the system installed, we were up and running in a matter of weeks. I'm now in the process of implementing Sentimail®, a pro-active alert system. This will automatically send an email or SMS text message to customers, telling them that an order has been sent out to them - a massive bonus in terms of convenience, time-saving and customer care."

"The key to a successful business is to never become complacent. That's why we're constantly reappraising the way we do things and asking: how can we make it better?" said Steve. "Our online enterprise has proved to be enormously successful. It just shows that there's something for everyone on the Web, whether you're into handcuffs or high heels - or both. But if we were to carry on with the success, we knew we had to get the back-office integrated into the front-office.

The partnership with IRIS Enterprise Software and Gateway has proved to be equally successful. Its solutions didn't blind us with technology. Instead it just enabled us to improve on our business," he concluded.