The company
Lumiere Organics, a pioneer in the Indian organic industry, is a family venture rooted in a commitment to offering wholesome living. Lumiere was founded in 2002 by Manjunath, driven by a mission to provide people with safe, nutritious food. Leaving a high-paying job at Oracle in the US, he made a bold move and returned to India with a commitment to offer a holistic, seed-to-table experience, where every product is a testament to nature's goodness. Vishnu Manjunath, who joined his father Manjunath, now heads the operations at Lumiere Organics, after completing his masters in lean methodology and six sigma, followed by a three-year work term in Canada.
The roots of Lumiere Organics lie in organic farming, where a diverse range of fruits, vegetables, and spices are produced. The business has broadened its reach, venturing into restaurants, corporate cafeterias, quick commerce for organic goods, and door-step deliveries of organic goods.
In the retail segment, Lumiere Organics has an experiential store in Bangalore, ensuring one-hour delivery across the city. Harvested daily from their farm, they offer a comprehensive selection of organic groceries, including farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, pulses, grains, cold-pressed oils, millets, and snacks, all produced in their own facilities.
The challenge
When Vishnu joined Lumiere Organics, he noticed prevailing challenges like operational inefficiencies, financial visibility gaps, and accountability problems that created a pressing need for a reliable solution. Without being able to streamline day-to-day operations effectively, he started to look for software options, deciding to go for a custom-built software for the business. However, this presented hurdles, requiring extensive communication with administrators frequently for even minor customizations, leading to increased downtime, higher costs, and further operational inefficiencies. Moreover, a lack of communication within different departments occurred due to software limitations, making it challenging to identify and rectify errors or discrepancies. The business needed a scalable cloud-based ecosystem that could seamlessly connect different departments within the business, including sales, accounting, and CRM.
The solution
In this search, Lumiere Organics turned to Zoho's financial suite, Zoho Books, to address their accounting needs. Subsequently, they implemented Zakya, as it offered seamless integration with Zoho Books and provided operational ease crucial for their business.
After implementation, Zakya became an integral part of Lumeire's daily operations, meeting and surpassing their expectations. The hassle-free migration to Zakya and intuitive design allowed their employees to adapt swiftly, showcasing Zakya's simplicity.
"The switch to Zakya was very seamless. We just uploaded our data and started using it immediately. As far as I remember, we did not spend any time on training or orientation to our employees; the learning curve was very simple. In terms of our employees, they were able to directly hop into the system and started checking out customers in 10-15 minutes time."
Zakya emerged as a straightforward and ready-to-use solution, eliminating the need for extensive custom-built features. The software enabled them to easily tailor invoices, manage payments, and set tax brackets according to their specific business needs. This flexibility streamlined their financial processes and enhanced overall operations.
Benefits and ROI
By eliminating redundant tasks and automating manual data entry processes, Lumiere experienced a significant reduction in the need for manual labor. This operational efficiency resulted in a 30% reduction in the workforce.
"We were able to cut down employees by 30% due to non-redundant work, and started using the workforce for expansion-related activities," shared Vishnu happily.
Vishnu emphasized the savings they achieved across various dimensions, including costs spent on software, time saved during checkouts, time and efforts spent on training, and the elimination of redundant tasks done by employees.
"I had to spend a lot on my previous custom-built software, which took a lot of time and cost for minor changes. But Zakya already has all the features benchmarked by the industry, and it was a straight-to-go platform that did not require any customizations. We started using it immediately."
While their previous custom-built software incurred monthly expenses exceeding Rs. 15,000, Zakya provided a more budget-friendly alternative, allowing them to start with comprehensive ERP solutions for less than Rs. 1,000 per month. This shift not only saved costs but also presented a feature-rich system without compromising security.
Looking forward
With over two decades of experience in the organic sector, Lumiere has expanded its footprint beyond retail sales. Engaging in B2B, catering to IT parks, organic companies, and corporate food services for MNCs, the company utilizes Zakya not just for retail but as a highly scalable and customizable solution for corporate billing, and is looking ahead for further expansion to different cities with Zakya's help.
- Industry typeRetail
- Employees1-10 Employees
- Type of businessOrganic store
- Previously Used Software