From sheep to shop The Agrodome is a world famous tourist attraction located in Rotorua, offering visitors an interactive experience of farming in New Zealand. As well as featuring its renowned sheep show and farm tours, the Agrodome incorporates several other activities including a souvenir store and Woollen Mill. The Agrodome has won several awards including the coveted NZ Tourism Award for New Zealand’s Best Visitor Attraction. The Agrodome has seen the addition of exciting new facets to the attraction over the years, and this expansion had resulted in an increasingly complex booking system which became difficult to manage manually. There was also a need to accumulate accurate information on visitors, which would provide valuable marketing data. It became apparent that, in conjunction with the booking system overhaul, it would be beneficial to integrate it with the Agrodome’s other front of house and back office applications. Many aspects of the business process had become too time-consuming and laborious, and it was hoped that a solution could be found that would save time and minimise errors. The Agrodome became involved with The Computer Company of Rotorua when the Agrodome’s company secretary Bob Rapson investigated ways of improving their systems. After The Computer Company had completed a Business Process Review, AdvanceRetail Technology was recommended as the solution. The AdvanceRetail application improved management of the booking process, and also introduced a true online stock management system at the attraction’s various point-of-sale sites. The AdvanceRetail system could also be customised to integrate with the Agrodome’s back office accounting system, Microsoft Dynamics SL, meaning all the different applications could “talk” to one another, making accountancy processes streamlined and much easier to use. Besides the customisation and incorporation of AdvanceRetail’s application, the Computer Company created software specifications for the POS Integration, automated the Agrodome’s Package Liability System and provided ongoing support services for the project. Introduced in late 2003, the new fully integrated system has streamlined the business process by automating tasks which were previously performed manually. The improvements made to the booking system have enabled the Agrodome to accurately track visitor numbers by nationality and region of NZ, significantly enhancing the business’ marketing resources. The AdvanceRetail Front Office system is able to track the bookings, which flow through to the Financials, which in turn automatically maintain the liability and payment to the other package partners. The move to the AdvanceRetail Point-of-Sale system has also simplified operations at sites such as the Souvenir Store and the Woollen Mill store, automatically recommending stock reorders and providing management with full sales history reporting, reducing errors and saving time on accounting procedures. Bob Gelissen of The Computer Company believes the AdvanceRetail solution provided the best match for the Agrodome’s requirements. “We recommended AdvanceRetail Technology’s solution because it provided fitness for the purpose, support and cost-effectiveness. They were the only software provider that could fully integrate their system with the Microsoft Dynamics-SL financials for the Agrodome.” The Agrodome’s directors, Mr. W. Harford and Mr. P. Bowen, agreed that AdvanceRetail’s contribution had benefited the efficiency of the business processes. “Our investment in AdvanceRetail Technology and Microsoft Dynamics has proven to be most fruitful. We recognised the need to update our systems to keep pace with the attraction’s changing requirements, and AdvanceRetail’s solution has really streamlined our business processes. Staff at the Agrodome comment on the efficiency and accessibility of the new fully-integrated system, and we’re confident it will help the Agrodome maintain its status as one of New Zealand’s premier tourist attractions.”