Billabong Expands with New ERP

By Ryan Ayers
Updated: September 29, 2011

In a move designed to help the company become more driven and nimble, surfwear giant Billabong has signed a deal with Lawson software to replace and upgrade its enormous Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solution. Lawson was said to have been chosen because of its implementation approach and because of a strong cultural fit. Lawson, an Infor affiliate, specializes in large scale ERP solutions for businesses in a variety of industries.

Billabong, a worldwide clothing and accessories manufacturer and provider, currently has different applications and processes in place for different business activities and procedures. Like many larger businesses, Billabong’s accounting, purchasing, and inventory management processes are currently managed under different and separate systems.

Unifying all processes under one solution would help the company create “a demand-driven model that delivers greater business agility, which will further assist us in achieving ongoing growth goals,” said Billabong’s CFO Craig White.

Quickstep Fashion, Lawson’s ERP solution, will help the company remove inconsistent and duplicate processes and streamline operations to make them more fluid and manageable. Billabong has shown strong growth worldwide in both the retail and brand divisions globally, and the company hopes to “gain greater supply chain visibility,” and continue its growth, said White.