Skip to main content
All case studies

Retail and Events Florist - Liverpool, England

Booker Flowers and Gifts

"It totally knocks the socks off previous software and has revolutionised how I spend my time"

Gemma Wakerley

Gemma Wakerley

Owner, Booker Flowers and Gifts

Visit Booker Flowers and Gifts
Booker Flowers and Gifts shop front in Liverpool, England
Delivery Routing Customer Notifications Peak Stock Management Diary & Planner Events Portal

Booker Flowers and Gifts is an independent award-winning florist based in Liverpool. After struggling with delivery routing at peaks and wanting to go paperless, Gemma found that Digital Florists freed up staff during busy times and enabled a completely paperless workflow.

Before Digital Florists

Poor Delivery Routing No Paperless Option Time-Consuming Workarounds Missing Customer Features

With Digital Florists

All hands on deck

Peak Staff Required

Was: 1 dedicated to computer

100% Paperless

Workflow

Was: Paper-based

Home a bit earlier

Peak finishes

Was: Late nights

Time to work on it

Gemma's week

Was: Working in the business

In Gemma Wakerley's Words

The full interview

Q: Can you tell us about your business and the primary challenges you were facing before using Digital Florists?

I had experience of using 2 order management systems, one from a leading relay company and one who had been around for a long time. Although they kept all my orders in one place and helped me manage my order on a day to day basis I found the delivery features sadly lacking and whilst this was a minor problem on a day to day basis at peak this scaled to be a massive problem. Often leaving me sorting and organising my routes at stupid o'clock the night before a peak. To help reduce my carbon footprint I also wanted to go paperless and this was not possible on either system or other solutions that were on the market at the time.

Q: How were these challenges impacting your business operations?

On a day-to-day basis the shortcomings were annoying but were possible to workaround by adding spreadsheets, extra paper and taking on additional administrative burdens. During peaks this became problematic because all the workarounds involved time. I was also aware that customers were increasingly asking for notifications and photos and that these softwares could not provide that.

Gemma Wakerley, owner of Booker Flowers and Gifts in Liverpool

Q: What were your primary goals in seeking a software solution?

To free up my time especially at peaks, to give good customer service and go paperless.

Q: Which features of our software were most beneficial in addressing your challenges?

Delivery routing and notifications and the ability to upload my peak stock and substitute easily so that I know what bouquets I have left to sell at any given point during a peak. The Event module has also streamlined by wedding and event process and resulted in more bookings.

Booker Flowers and Gifts Liverpool shop floor with floral displays

Q: Were there any unique or innovative ways you utilised Digital Florists?

The diary and planner system which allows me to keep track of daily tasks and appointments. Being able to link these tasks to orders is also really useful giving an audit trial of what is done when and by who. Custom Workflows to create automatic tasks linked to certain types of orders.

Q: Can you describe the process of implementing our software?

The initial set up of any software is going to take time such as loading customers and products onto the system, however Lewis made this as painless as possible.

Booker Flowers and Gifts team in their Liverpool flower shop

Q: How was the adoption process among your team?

Although sceptical at first and resistant to learning a new system the team were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to use and really impressed with how it keeps track of everything.

Q: How does it compare to your previous software?

It totally knocks the socks off them, and has revolutionised how I spend my time especially during peaks.

Q: Could you share some quantifiable results or improvements you've seen since using our software?

At peaks either myself or a member of staff was chained to the computer keeping track of orders as they came in manually typing them into a spreadsheet for delivery run and make up purposes. Whilst also trying to keep track of what is sold and what we still have to sell. Now the software does most of this for us meaning a member of staff is now free to make up and serve customers just when we need it.

Q: Did the software help in achieving the goals you set?

Totally and more.

Q: Have your customers noticed any changes in how you work? What do they think?

The customers love the notification system and especially the photo of the flowers they received upon delivery and it is something that regularly gets mentioned on reviews. Which incidentally have increased since the implementation of the system as the software automates the asking for reviews.

Q: In summary, how would you describe the impact of our software on your business operations?

The software has made our business operate more smoothly - on a day to day basis no more fighting with printers or forgetting to put the bins out. And at peaks giving us an extra person to help meaning we all get home a bit earlier. It has freed up my time allowing me to work on my business rather than in it.

What Their Customers Say

These flowers were absolutely beautiful, but I never had a doubt Booker Flowers has never disappointed. Delivery was spot on and my friend absolutely loved them. I was kept up to date from ordering to delivery - fabulous!

Sue M

I would definitely recommend Booker Flowers. I love the fact we were sent an email with a photo confirming when the beautiful bouquet had been received. It is definitely a '5 star' service.

Yvonne S

Ordered flowers online for an 80th birthday they were beautiful! Ordered online was sent confirmation by email and text message and smooth pickup on Sunday. Thank you! X

Poonam L

From the Team

Initially anxious and apprehensive at having to use new system. However I needn't have been as the OMS is easy to follow. It flows well and is quick, from taking order, payment and when it comes to arranging delivery run. Amazed by the technology behind it and what it can achieve making our lives easier and more efficient. Even for someone not tech savvy OMS is manageable and easy to use.
Flora, Senior Florist
When I joined Booker Flowers, they were already using Digital Florist. Having used other systems before, this is hands down the best - incredibly user-friendly with such clever design I needed minimal training. The paperless transition was surprisingly easy, the Dashboard keeps me on top of everything, and the events portal makes wedding quotes a breeze. No more pricing headaches - it's a real time-saver.
Mia, Manager and Events co-ordinator
Speaking as someone who isn't a big fan of IT I can honestly say that our new Order Management System has truly exceeded my expectations. It is super efficient accurate and the organization is second to none. The Transformation of the way we manage orders is mind-blowing and saves so much time which as we all know costs money! That you can see the photo of the order after it has been delivered is really useful and being able to see information on past orders is really useful. Duplicate identities are not a problem like it was with the 2 other OMS systems we have used. From a management point of view I find the logs for orders and tasks really useful as I can see who has done what when.
Fleur, Senior Florist

The bottom line

At peaks, software now does most tracking automatically, freeing a member of staff to make up and serve customers just when needed.

Gemma is a partner in Digital Florists. All details in this case study are a true reflection of her experience using the Digital Florists platform.

See it in your shop

Book a demo and we'll walk through Digital Florists with your shop in mind.

After the demo, choose whether and when we set up your 30-day no-card trial.