Ultra Violette proves tech transformation is a team sport
Sustaining that level of growth meant rethinking the systems underneath it. In a recent NORA webinar, Ultra Violette's Head of Operations Jane Furphy and Annexa Director Matthew Owens shared the decisions that made it possible.
Before the tech, the team
By 2023, it was clear Ultra Violette had outgrown its original stack. With multiple instances of Xero and DEAR/Cin7 spread across regions, inventory visibility was limited, reporting was fractured and order management was increasingly manual. That would be a problem for any retailer but with a North American expansion looming, Ultra Violette couldn't afford any blind spots.
Still, the transformation didn't start with selecting an ERP. It started with building the right internal capability to lead the change.
"We had a fantastic finance manager - 2IC to the CFO - and we thought she would be great to lead the project... but we actually moved her from the finance team into my team so that we could make sure that she was a fully rounded finance and operational person who could help guide the team and understand both sides of that coin to be able to translate really easily between finance and operations."
That move helped unify decision-making across teams and kept the implementation grounded in how the business actually worked.
Cross-functional by necessity
Digital transformation efforts often fall apart when teams solve for their own needs in isolation - finance chasing reporting fixes, ops focused on fulfilment and eCommerce doing its own thing. At Ultra Violette, the process forced those silos to come down.
"Our e-commerce team were a big part of bringing in NetSuite and changing all of these systems," said Jane. "The rest of the business hadn't realised how big a part they would play."
That shared involvement helped build momentum across the business - and the move to embed finance capability within ops further bridged the gap. The result was faster decision-making and smoother implementation across teams that were far more connected than before.
The right system still matters – but it's not enough
With the internal structure in place, Ultra Violette partnered with Annexa to implement, NetSuite as their ERP and Celigo as their integration platform. The project spanned four markets, four warehouses, and a new EDI setup – all delivered in under six months, just ahead of Black Friday.
That speed was only possible because of the alignment behind the scenes. Jane credits the team's discipline around decision-making - particularly when it came to customisations. As she explained, the team encouraged users to spend time with the system before requesting changes. "If it really added value, we'd make the change but only where it was worthwhile."
Matthew echoed the approach, noting that while restraint is important, so is confidence in tailoring systems when it makes sense. "Try not to customise wherever possible - but don't be afraid to if it creates real value. UV struck that balance well."
A partner with the right fit
Annexa played a central role in reducing risk throughout the project. From aligning regional operations to managing complex integrations, their team worked closely with Ultra Violette to keep the rollout on track.
"We're detail people," said Jane. "We needed a partner who could work at that level of detail with us – someone we could reach quickly, who had local experience and who'd worked with businesses like ours before."
That partnership proved particularly valuable during the warehouse integration phase. With four 3PLs going live across multiple regions in the lead-up to peak season, fallback plans and real-time coordination were essential. The go-live landed cleanly.
A model for others scaling fast
Ultra Violette's transformation offers a useful counterpoint to the platform-first approach many retailers take. Technology matters but leadership, structure, internal alignment and external partners are what determine whether it actually delivers.
Want the full story?
Catch the on-demand webinar to hear Jane and Matt unpack:
· Building flexibility across D2C and wholesale
· Structuring your teams to reduce friction
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