Kaisercraft cuts manual data handling 99% across 110 stores on one system
Kaisercraft is an Australian retailer that began as a wholesale art, craft and scrapbooking business, operating primarily as a wholesaler for many years, supported by an outlet store. Over the past 15 years it has shifted to retail as its core focus. "We decided that retail was one area that we could really grow in," says Mark Sears, Senior Executive at Kaisercraft. "Over the last 15 years, that's grown quite significantly." It now runs 110 stores across every Australian state and territory, spanning major metropolitan and regional locations, with a small wholesale presence remaining.
To replace the disconnected systems it had accumulated, Kaisercraft moved its core retail and operational functions onto LS Central, with local partner FUJIFILM MicroChannel. The change gave the retailer a single source of information across stores and head office, with real-time sales and inventory data.
One source of truth
Kaisercraft now works from a single source of truth in LS Central for daily operations and planning. "Having one centralized system has eliminated 99% of human interaction required for data input and the transfer of information between systems to complete workflows," says Sears. "Our results are far more reliable now."
Real-time sales and reporting
"Real-time sales and reporting are absolutely critical in a business like ours," says Sears. LS Central shows results at category, department and SKU level, and how promotions and featured products are selling, so teams adjust promotions and pricing when results fall short. "Being able to respond quickly to sales and promotions is absolutely critical," says Sears.
Reliable data from one system
By removing manual transfers between systems, LS Central has cut human error at Kaisercraft. "Previously, the finance team spent hours each month just reconciling stock and sales," says Sears. "Now the data we get out, we know it is clean." Purchase orders, inventory movements and sales now flow through one system end to end, giving more reliable financial reporting, accurate cost-of-goods tracking and greater confidence in decision-making.
Support for complex inventory
Kaisercraft manages a complex inventory, where products arrive as assorted boxes of multiple SKUs, shipped directly to stores, and are separated only when opened in-store. LS Central supports this by managing assortment breakdowns through the warehouse and store systems. "It allows us to move products through the warehouse and out to stores much more quickly," says Sears.
Tills that work online and offline
Kaisercraft needed tills that keep working through busy seasonal peaks, when an outage can cost sales. "We really wanted a system that operated both online and offline," says Sears. LS Central runs online and offline, so the company can still carry out crucial POS functions if the internet drops, which matters at peaks such as Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas.
What was holding the business back
Craft as a hobby declined over time, making the original wholesale-heavy model less sustainable. "We found people generally had less time for crafting," says Sears, "which meant that we had to diversify our product range." To keep growing, Kaisercraft expanded beyond craft and scrapbooking into giftware, homewares, fashion and other household goods.
As its retail network grew, Kaisercraft accumulated up to half a dozen disconnected systems, including a custom POS, a head office system for financials, a separate payroll system and a warehouse system. Moving data between them required frequent manual transfers, which created inconsistencies, human error, reporting delays and heavy monthly reconciliation, and made real-time visibility hard to achieve. "There was a lot of human intervention when transferring data from one system to another," says Sears. "Every time information is pulled out of one system and loaded into another, there's room for error."
Seasonal downtime was a further risk, especially around Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas. "If we're in the middle of December and we have a system shutdown, it's absolutely devastating to our stores," says Sears. "Having people line up at the counter and not being able to process their sales leaves a sour taste and they end up walking out the door."
The decision and the foundation
Having one system was Kaisercraft's main goal. "Having one system was our biggest issue over the years," says Sears. "That was one of the major reasons we were looking at changing systems, and LS Central was one that offered a lot of the functions that we needed." Key capabilities that addressed Kaisercraft's challenges included a single, unified platform replacing multiple disconnected systems, real-time sales and inventory data across all stores, and centralized promotions management supporting frequent changes and rapid response to sales performance.
The rollout covered all 110 stores at once, alongside head office, a major change that the teams managed together. "Changing all systems at once was challenging," says Sears, "but everyone worked really well together to make it happen."
Q&A: insights from Kaisercraft's implementation
Why did Kaisercraft change systems?
Kaisercraft had accumulated up to half a dozen disconnected systems that needed frequent manual data transfers, which caused inconsistencies, errors, reporting delays and heavy monthly reconciliation. Seasonal downtime was also a risk during peak trading.
What does Kaisercraft run now?
Kaisercraft runs LS Central across all 110 of its stores and head office, giving it a single source of truth for sales, inventory and reporting.
How much manual work did the move remove?
Kaisercraft says one centralized system has eliminated 99% of the human interaction once needed for data input and transfer between systems, making its results far more reliable.
What happens if the internet goes down?
LS Central runs online and offline, so Kaisercraft can still carry out crucial POS functions if the internet drops, which matters during peak seasons such as Christmas.
How does the system handle Kaisercraft’s complex inventory?
LS Central manages assortment breakdowns through the warehouse and stores, so Kaisercraft can handle products that arrive as assorted boxes of multiple SKUs and move them out to stores more quickly.
