Design Within Reach Deploying New Technology

April 10, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on April 2007 Design Within Reach, San Francisco, is replacing its custom-built business management system with Microsoft’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Microsoft Dynamics AX, the Redmond, Wash.-based software company announced Wednesday.

Joe Martins, vice president of IT, Design Within Reach, said the company selected the Microsoft system for its ease of implementation and system maintenance. Another factor is the system’s ability to manage the rapid growth of the company’s showroom, catalog and Internet businesses.

“We need software that’s going to help us keep up with our growth, and the flexibility and scalability of Microsoft Dynamics AX will help us do this,” Martins said. With the system, he said, “We can focus on what we do best—bringing modern-design furniture and accessories to our customers. We don’ t have to be in the software development business.”

Design Within Reach operates more than 60 showrooms nationwide in addition to its catalog and Internet businesses. It recently reported annual sales of $178 million, an 11 percent increase over the previous year.