Administration vs. Creation: B_DODI’s Journey with Zedonk
“Now I know how much everything costs. I can even calculate the costs of individual components that go into each piece of jewellery.”
Founded in 2022 by designer Beatrice Dodi, B_DODI is a London-based, conceptual jewellery and accessories label known for its unique blend of futuristic and tribal references.
Inspired by underground aesthetics and spiritual forms, each piece is carefully crafted in-house by Beatrice herself from stainless steel, black rhodium, leather and brass. With a growing multi-channel sales business and frequent endorsements from key industry voices, celebrity, and press, the decision to implement Zedonk into B_DODI’s evolving operations was a natural next step.
From discovery to implementation, B_DODI’s journey with Zedonk is testament to the invaluable benefits of the system, providing small businesses with a strong blueprint for success.
The need for change
Before discovering Zedonk, all of B_DODI’s processes were entirely manual. 80% of Beatrice’s workday was taken up by administrative and operational tasks, hindering opportunities for creativity.
Product pricing, raw material purchasing, orders and customer records were logged sporadically across “messy files on [her] laptop” or on hasty handwritten notes. Spreadsheets were easy to lose track of and Beatrice found herself taking up valuable digital and mental space in simply keeping up with her day-to-day tasks.
“My first impression of Zedonk was that it was really well-thought out and well organised. [Beforehand] everything was managed on Google sheets or in messy files on my laptop. I liked the idea of putting everything together in a neat way”. From raw materials to sales orders, Zedonk “gives you a complete picture of what is going on with your business”.
Now, all of B_DODI’s operations are centralised in one cloud-based system that travels where she does, removing the need for manual tasks, multiple tabs and messy spreadsheets.
“Logging buyer records is particularly helpful - I no longer have to search through emails or switch from multiple tabs, all of my Customer records are consolidated with a clear history and I can update these in real time.”
Problematic Pricing
One of B_DODI’s main business challenges was accurately calculating selling prices. With a range of international wholesale customers and a growing network of retail customers online, the ability to accurately calculate product costs and apply different markups was crucial to the company’s success.
Despite handling all pricing on Excel, Beatrice found that her costs were frequently miscalculated, and she couldn’t trust that formulas weren’t scrambled by frequent downloads or edits. Zedonk’s embedded cost calculator allowed for multiple markups to be set across range, product type or territory. The system suggested selling prices for both wholesale and retail in Beatrice’s chosen currency, based entirely on the consumptions of materials she used.
Beatrice notes that transparency is one of Zedonk’s key benefits: “Now I know how much everything costs. I can even calculate the costs of individual components that go into each piece of jewellery.” Providing designers with an accurate calculation of their Bill of Materials is a crucial feature of Zedonk. “There is a comfort in knowing that pricing is calculated accurately based on consumptions rather than ‘guess-timations’.”
Not only did this feature reduce the risk of overspending on resources and overstating inventory, but it also highlighted a brilliant way to ensure sustainable practices through minimal material waste.
Orders: All in one place
Keeping track of your Sales Orders is a crucial challenge for any fashion business. Prior to Zedonk, B_DODI’s customer accounts, shipping records, and invoice information would all be buried in a sea of mixed correspondence. Emails, invoices and delivery notes were created manually on Word or as a PDF, leading to unnecessary amounts of paperwork and inconsistent documentation.
Now, all industry-standard sales documents can be cleanly generated in just a few clicks, and the lengthy process of logging orders has been reduced from approximately half an hour to less than two minutes. “Logging buyer records is particularly helpful - I no longer have to search through emails or switch from multiple tabs, all of my Customer records are consolidated with a clear history and I can update these in real time”.
It started with a conversation
Whether through the press, social media or the fantastic network of our industry partners, the Zedonk team is always on the lookout for the next ‘Zedonker’.
In B_DODI’s case, Zedonk was an entirely new idea presented to her at just the right moment. After a simple exchange of emails and a quick diagnostic demo identifying her main challenges, it became clear that Zedonk was a technical solution that the designer didn’t know she needed.
From conversation to implementation, every step of B_DODI's journey was supported by 1:1 training from the fashion-specific expertise of our Client Success Team - a benefit provided to all users as part of any subscription. Every step was taken to ensure that the software was seamlessly integrated into her workflow. “It really is a breeze once you’ve learnt the basics. [Zedonk] is SO easy!”
Of course, the decision to input any software system into your business is never easy. Whilst fabric, packaging and trim is a tangible requirement to produce the physical product, software is not often considered in the grand scheme of creation. The shelf-life of our fashion-specific ERP, however, goes beyond just a season. Investing in a back-end system like Zedonk can benefit your operations from beginning to end, streamlining your daily tasks and forging long-term success.
As one of the 1000+ global brands that have chosen to implement Zedonk’s ERP, B_DODI has been a Zedonk user since December 2022 and continues to utilise the system’s modular capabilities to handle daily operations and support business growth.