Ballard Designs Partners with Omnihub to Design the Future with Dynamics 365
“From day one, Omnihub treated our goals like their own. They went above and beyond to tackle our most complex technology challenges head-on. Their hands-on approach, dedication to our success, and ability to deliver at scale made them an invaluable partner throughout our transformation.”
Seth Erickson, Chief Operating Officer
CUSTOMER PROFILE
Customer: Ballard Designs is a lifestyle retailer based in Atlanta, specializing in distinctive home furnishings and décor inspired by European design. With a growing number of retail locations and a robust online presence, Ballard Designs offers customers elegant, customizable pieces and exceptional service to help them create beautiful, personalized living spaces.
Industry: Retail
Region(s): United States
Products and services:
Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain
Dynamics 365 Commerce (Retail)
Inventory Visability Service
Power BI
Introduction:
Ballard Designs, a member of Cornerstone Brands, is renowned for its timeless design and highly personalized customer experiences. With a true omnichannel presence—including e-commerce, retail locations, in-home designers, and distribution centers across the United States—the company partnered with Omnihub, a Microsoft Solutions Partner, to implement Dynamics 365. This strategic initiative was designed to modernize legacy systems, streamline operations, and elevate customer engagement—positioning Ballard Designs for long-term growth and continued innovation.
Challenges:
As Ballard Designs continued its steady growth—expanding its retail footprint and advancing its e-commerce capabilities—the need for a more scalable, connected infrastructure became increasingly urgent. Delivering on rising customer expectations for personalized, seamless shopping experiences demanded consistent operational excellence across retail stores, digital channels, and distribution centers.
Historically, the company relied on an on-premises ERP system, along with disparate point-of-sale (POS) and order management solutions, to manage core business functions such as customer transactions, inventory, purchasing, pricing, payments, accounting, and reporting. Over time, these legacy systems revealed growing limitations in flexibility, integration, and scalability—making it difficult to support the complexity and speed of modern retail operations.
The timing for transformation was ideal. Ballard Designs had clearly outgrown its legacy platforms and required a future-ready solution to enable its next phase of innovation and growth.
“The success of this project came down to trust, transparency, and a shared commitment to getting it right. Ballard Designs challenged us to think creatively, move with intention, and deliver with precision—and we’re proud to have helped bring their vision to life with Dynamics 365.”
Adam Carrick, Founder, Omnihub
Solutions:
Finding the right solution for Ballard Designs was a complex process. After several months of evaluation and an in-depth review of best-in-class platforms, the leadership team selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 for its flexibility, scalability, security, and continuous innovation—making it the ideal foundation for modernizing operations and supporting long-term growth.
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Unified Operations Across Channels: Manage in-store, online, and call center experiences from a single, integrated platform—ensuring consistent customer journeys.
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End-to-End Inventory Visibility: Access real-time inventory data across retail locations, warehouses, and distribution centers to improve fulfillment accuracy and reduce stockouts.
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Flexible and Secure Cloud Platform: Built on Microsoft Azure and integrated with Microsoft 365, offering enterprise-grade security, scalability, and easy extensibility.
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Streamlined In-Store Operations: Equip store associates with a modern, unified point-of-sale experience that supports sales and inventory operations.
Outcomes:
Guided by the principles of “success by design,” the partnership with Omnihub and Microsoft FastTrack fostered a strong sense of trust and collaboration—critical to the successful implementation across dozens of Ballard Designs retail stores and multiple distribution centers. As a brand known for delivering timeless design and elevated customer experiences, Ballard Designs has fully embraced the new platform. Since going live, teams across the organization have adopted the system with confidence, and its impact is visible enterprise-wide:
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Enhanced In-Store Experience: With the Store Commerce app, sales associates can now assist customers, build carts, and complete transactions from anywhere on the floor—including custom and personalized furniture orders. This flexibility reduces wait times and delivers a seamless, elevated brand experience.
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Increased Customer Trust: The Inventory Visibility Service provides real-time inventory data—including available-to-promise dates—on product detail pages and in the cart across all channels. This ensures customers receive accurate delivery expectations and clear communication throughout the order lifecycle.
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Unified Customer Experience: Customers benefit from a consistent brand experience across all channels and transaction types—powered by a single source of truth. From coupons and gift certificates to order notifications and self-service tools, every interaction is synchronized and made available in near real time.
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Increased In-Store Efficency: With the introduction of the Store Commerce app, store associates no longer rely on multiple disparate systems. They can now serve customers, manage cases, process shipments, receive product, and perform inventory tasks—like adjustments and label printing—all within a single application. This consolidation has significantly streamlined daily operations.
Contact us to learn how Omnihub can transform your business.
