Hargrove & Finch : Integrated Software Development
Summary
Hargrove & Finch is a specialty home goods retailer with 47 retail locations in the southeastern United States and a growing e-commerce segment. The company had grown year after year, developing individual software systems for the point of sale, the warehouse, customer loyalty, online orders and vendor procurement, which didn't communicate with each other.
About Hargrove & Finch
Hargrove & Finch is a specialty home goods retailer with 47 retail locations in the southeastern United States and a growing e-commerce segment. The company had grown year after year, developing individual software systems for the point of sale, the warehouse, customer loyalty, online orders and vendor procurement, which didn't communicate with each other.
Restocking was based on an outdated spreadsheet. Customer service representatives did not have the ability to see order history from any channel. Executives didn't get a handle on sales until the end of the month.
Hargrove & Finch turned to Markeltree to tie together their disjointed technology landscape into an integrated operational system.
- Integration Architecture Design
- API Development and Middleware Engineering
- Real-Time Data Synchronisation
- Customer Data Unification
- Procurement Workflow Automation
- Executive Dashboard Development
The Challenges
Every project starts with real problems. Here are the core challenges we tackled for this engagement.
There was no common data layer or real-time data synchronisation between six independent software systems that handled various aspects of business.
Manual reconciliation and customer complaints were a result of overselling, as there were discrepancies between the physical stores and the e-commerce platform.
Customer loyalty data was not connected with purchase history and thus personalisation and targeting was not possible.
Vendor procurement was being managed using spreadsheets and emails with no connection to inventory levels or sales velocity.
Leadership lacked the ability to see how stores and channels were performing in real time it was done manually through delayed reports.
Core approach & deliverables
A breakdown of the core components built and delivered for this project.
System Landscape Assessment
Markeltree started by identifying all the data flows across Hargrove & Finch's six platforms, looking for redundancies, friction points, and maximum integration value. The team implemented a hub-and-spoke integration architecture with a central data broker that enabled each existing system to remain operational while sharing data in real time with all other connected systems.
Unified Inventory Synchronisation
Markeltree developed a real-time sync layer between the warehouse management system, point-of-sale terminals in all 47 stores, and the e-commerce store. Stock levels were updated in real time across all channels on every sale, return, and receipt event, eliminating overselling and enabling store managers to replenish stock accurately for the first time.
Customer Data Unification
Data from loyalty programmes, in-store purchases and online orders were combined into a single customer profile available to both online and offline platforms. This enabled customer service staff to view complete purchase history regardless of channel and empowered marketing to create segmented campaigns based on actual purchasing behaviour.
Procurement Automation
Markeltree integrated the vendor procurement system with live inventory and sales velocity information. Automated reorder triggers were configured for each product category, recommending purchases when stock levels dropped below defined thresholds. Manual order generation via email was replaced by automated order generation communicated directly with vendors through the integrated platform.
Executive Visibility Dashboard
Leadership was provided with a real-time performance dashboard delivering a single view of sales, inventory, and customers across all channels. Store and category-level performance that previously took days to compile after month-end reporting cycles was now visible in real time.
Key Outcomes & Impact
Real-time integration layer bridging point-of-sale, warehouse, e-commerce, loyalty, procurement, and reporting.
Unified customer profiles across all 47 locations combining in-store and online purchasing records.
Automated stock sync across all channels with no stock discrepancies.
Procurement automation driven by live inventory and sales velocity data.
Real-time executive dashboard replacing weekly and monthly manual reporting cycles.
We started building the business a system at a time, and didn't think about whether they talked to each other. And they didn't, and it was costing us in ways we hadn't been able to see. The inventory fix alone was enough to cover the project.
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