Challenge: This 100-year-old furniture manufacturer and retailer struggled with a legacy reporting system and static reporting.

Solution: Thanks to Domo, Bassett can use real-time data to engage retailers, select the right merchandise for a specific region, reduce unnecessary inventory, and maximize retail space.

Impact: Reps now have complete insight into a specific store’s historical and current sales performance at the SKU level. 

Bassett Furniture uncovers new trends and sales insights with Domo.

Founded in 1902 to meet the demand of the country’s rapidly expanding population, Bassett Furniture leveraged emerging mass manufacturing techniques to become one of the first large-scale furniture manufacturers in the United States. Today, the company is focused on using data to modernize its operations and meet the changing needs of today’s customers.

“We get a lot of pats on our back for the work that we do with Domo because so many people rely on it now,” said Andy Doss, director of data development and integrations at Bassett. “It’s exposed so much data to our team that a lot of people never even thought about before.”

Reducing reporting from hours to minutes

Before Domo, Bassett struggled with static reporting and legacy systems that made data all but impossible to make use of in real time. “For reporting, we would get a static PDF that we would have to use all day long. It was the same report we had been using for 15 or 20 years, and we knew we needed a strong BI tool. We wanted a tool that was accessible from anywhere, no matter what time of day,” Doss said.

“When I joined Bassett, I decided the first thing I wanted to do was focus on data, and to do that we needed to put a good data tool in place. I wanted something that would allow us to walk into any store and have complete insight into the performance of any employee, furniture item, or time period,” said CIO Brian Claspell. “Domo is an incredible tool because it provides data in a succinct way that allows us to look across product lines and customer bases. This helps us understand our customers better so we can provide a better experience.”

“Every Monday, I used to spend probably three or four hours going from source to source to collect data for reporting. Now I can do the same report in 15 minutes,” said Heather Petersen, director of digital marketing.

Bringing data to the field

In addition to its owned retail locations, Bassett’s furniture can be found at more than 130 independent retailers nationwide through a “store within a store” concept. Bassett’s sales team relies on Domo to engage those retailers, select the right merchandise for a specific region, and maximize their floor space.

“There is so much customization available for our furniture in terms of size, fabrics, and materials, which introduces a lot of complexity,” said Robert Spilman, VP of dedicated distribution. “We use Domo to instantly filter data based on what we need to know. Domo is involved in every conversation.”

Spilman uses Domo throughout the day as he speaks with sales reps across the country. Together, they can monitor the rep’s specific region, track progress, and identify regional trends. Sales reps also use Domo in the field to inform their conversations with specific stores.“It’s a competitive advantage for our reps to be able to walk into a store and provide the retailer with information that can help them perform better. A more productive sales floor is a win for the retailer, the rep, and Bassett, so our sales reps use Domo religiously,” Spilman said.

Reps rely on Domo’s mobile app throughout the day as they visit retailers to provide complete insight into a specific location’s historical and current sales performance at the SKU level. Sales leaders also use the mobile app at trade shows to have more informed conversations with their top customers.

“While you’re walking around the convention floor, you might see a customer who has an issue and wants to talk shop. To be able to pull my phone out and talk specific numbers on the fly instead of speaking in generalities is something that is a great advantage,” Spilman said.

Instant inventory insight

As VP of Bassett’s club level division, Rob Flynn relies on Domo for the granular insights required to rightsize inventory. “I’m able to drill into our overall sales as deep as I want to go into specific products, colors, and categories within the product itself, such as products with a power headrest or power lumbar,” he said.

With its long lead times, Bassett needs to make informed decisions today about what customers may want to buy six months from now. Using Domo, Flynn can identify trends that allow him to make more relevant buying choices.

“I’m using data to capitalize on what is selling right now and which trends are moving upward or downward,” Flynn said. “If I buy the wrong thing, it can lead to excess inventory that takes a long time to recoup. But if we buy the right product at the right time in the right amount, we can get an immediate return on our investment. Domo is something I use all the time throughout the day for every decision I need to make for my work.”

With Domo’s ability to monitor sales trends, Bassett can reorder inventory of top selling products before being out of stock and can limit warehousing excess products with low rates of sale.