Rebuilding Search and Inventory at Scale:
The Blackwoods Story
How Blackwoods streamlined product discovery across 200,000 SKUs without disrupting operations
What stood in the way?
Slow, limited search
Manual searches took over 6 sec, with no support for technical queries and filters.
Scattered data
Product data siloed across Stibo, MSSQL, and warehouse systems with no unified view.
Unreliable stock data
No real-time visibility meant missed sales and supply chain inefficiencies.
Poor user experience
No bulk search, no relevance feedback, no tools supporting exactly how teams worked
Legacy systems constraints
Outdated ERP, ITSM platforms hampered IT ops, incident management, and procurement.
Measurable impact
Once the right systems were in place, visible improvements followed.
67%
reduction in drive-through wait time
40%
faster operational decision-making
80%
increase in mobile app usage
85%
reduction in IT operating costs
<1hr
Stock update lag reduced
What the transformation looked like
- Coveo AI search with intelligent filters
- Relevance feedback system improving search result accuracy
- Recommendation engine configured on purchase behaviour
- Bulk search tool built for procurement
- B2B quoting with automated approvals and ML-driven pricing
- AI personalisation to tailor catalogs per customer
- Predictive intelligence anticipating demand and cross-sells
- NLP to guide product selection and resolve inquiries
- B2B quoting with automated approvals and ML- driven pricing
- AI personalisation tailoring catalogs per customer
- Predictive intelligence anticipating demand and cross-sells
- NLP to guide product selection and resolve inquiries
- Replaced legacy systems with Microsoft dynamics 365 across operations
- Real time reporting across 400,000+ SKUs for visibility
- Phased rollout maintaining supply chain continuity
- Enterprise-wide training for smooth adoption
- Centralised CMDB managing 200+ applications
- Agent workspace 2.0 for smart routing, solution suggestions
- Self-service portal predicting user needs, reducing manual support
- Smart change management to predict & detect risks and conflicts
From a traditional distributor to an intelligent commerce partner; built to anticipate and not just respond.