It all began in 2014 when Laurence (seen on the far right in the photo) was running a small sports equipment distribution company. At the time, with only five employees and limited resources, she was faced with a significant challenge: managing her inventory to meet customer orders.
She turned to her brother, Edouard, for help.
The challenge was clear: find an affordable business management solution that would enable the small company to efficiently handle its numerous inventory references (SKUs) while optimizing its sales cycle.
"I had underestimated the workload that was ahead of me," says Edouard.
Creating complex orders and pricing lists, partial deliveries, inventory tracking, currency management, and more—these tasks consumed a considerable amount of time for Laurence and her small team, with no tangible benefits. "I found myself overwhelmed, with no time to dedicate to customers and sales development."
"With poorly prepared processes and data management, multiple errors occurred. Ultimately, it also negatively impacted customer satisfaction. Without a reliable tool to centralize data and track our margins, we saw sales continue to grow, but with no profit," comments Laurence.
"When exploring the solutions available on the market, I realized that inventory management software was mainly designed for medium and large companies, and was too expensive and complex to implement."
Edouard then made a bold decision: to create an inventory management solution specifically tailored to small businesses.
"For several months, I worked with Excel spreadsheets, but this approach quickly proved outdated and error-prone: double entries, no automation, no alerts for stockouts…"
"After a year of hard work, and with the help of my techy brother Arnaud, we gave birth to the Erplain application. This innovative solution would help my sister optimize inventory management and propel her business to rapid growth," explains Edouard.
After achieving this remarkable success, the brand that Laurence was marketing was acquired and withdrawn from the French market some time later.
"Fueled by this exciting experience, our sister joined the Erplain adventure to bring her expertise and contribute to better meeting the needs of other entrepreneurs," continues Arnaud.
Today, the team has grown significantly, and there's no stopping them!
More than just an inventory and B2B sales management software, Erplain is the result of the experience of two brothers and their sister who transformed the challenges of a small distribution business into an opportunity.
Erplain offers an online solution that is reliable, easy to implement, affordable, and effective for managing inventory and B2B sales.
"It's a trusted partner for all small businesses, allowing them to manage their customers, suppliers, sales, purchases, and inventory intuitively. Erplain is the tool tailored to entrepreneurs to enhance efficiency and focus on the growth and profitability of their business."
The founders of Erplain, Edouard and Arnaud Gabaudan, are proud of using their experience to serve small and medium-sized businesses and, with technological advancements, offer features that closely align with their expectations.
Are you a small business in search of a suitable solution? Try Erplain and take control of your inventory and B2B sales management. Because every small business deserves to thrive.
You can also watch the interview with Arnaud and Edouard, co-founders of Erplain (don't forget to enable English subtitles).
