Customer story

Butler Lighting: from paper to live operations

How one of the most robust lighting showrooms in the South East uses Showroom Ignite: what they replaced, what changed, and what shipped.

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Butler Lighting

From paper to live operations

What they replaced, what changed, and what shipped. One of the most robust lighting showrooms in the South East left paper files, notepads, and catalog site hunts, and put the live order on one record.

Hours to minutes

Drastically cut time organizing purchase orders meeting FFA, mixed with special and stock orders

One record

Sales, purchasing, receiving, and customer service

Nearly 900,000

Catalog items loaded in the first implementation

99.99%

Cloud uptime. Data is backed up. Security sits on the same cloud technologies used by the top companies in the world.

Cloud, backup, and security

The same cloud stack the top companies use

Butler Lighting did not leave paper for a box in a closet. Showroom Ignite is cloud hosted: 99.99% uptime, data backed up, and secured on the same cloud technologies used by the top companies in the world.

99.99% cloud uptime

Showroom Ignite runs in the cloud so the floor, warehouse, and office can reach the same order. Uptime is 99.99%.

Data is backed up

Orders, catalog, and customer records are backed up. The paper file is no longer the only copy of the job.

Security of the top companies

Security sits on the same cloud technologies used by the top companies in the world. Your showroom runs on that stack, not a server in a closet.

The story in three parts

What they replaced, what changed, and what shipped

The first Showroom Ignite implementation followed the work the showroom already did. Paper stopped being the source of truth.

What they replaced

Paper files for sales and customer service, vendor notes on notepads, distributor net on catalog sites, and a warehouse that told someone in person or marked one shared list: received, or not received.

What changed

An approved quote became the sales order. Status came from the live record, not a walk to the file. Purchase orders that used to be typed into a legacy system every day now go out in a few clicks.

What shipped

Showroom Ignite on the floor: catalog and locations loaded, departments trained on the same order, and quote through delivery no longer living in a paper file.

A working showroom, not a lab

Butler Lighting is a family lighting business. The software was built against their real order path, then proven on their floor.

See Butler Lighting online

Family owned since 1948

The Butler family has sold lighting since 1948. Carlos Butler opened the High Point, North Carolina showroom in 1991. The third generation now helps run and expand the operation.

Retail and trade on the same floor

Homeowners, designers, builders, contractors, electricians, and multi family teams all buy here. The High Point showroom is about 10,000 square feet, stocks more than 5,000 display pieces, and works with 150 plus brands in the showroom.

Before Showroom Ignite

Paper in every department

The problem was not one messy desk. Sales management, customer service, vendor facts, and costs lived on paper, notepads, or catalog sites. The warehouse told the floor when something arrived, or marked it on one list.

Sales management lived on paper

Sales management lived on paper or in a large paper file, nowhere else. Selections, pricing, and install notes sat on a quote sheet. A dedicated install location for each line was easy to lose when the next department copied the job by hand.

Customer service lived in a paper file

Customer service lived on paper or in a large paper file, nowhere else. When a designer or homeowner asked for status, someone walked that file. Delivery and follow up were a scavenger hunt, not a view of the live order.

Vendor information lived on notepads

Vendor contacts, terms, and buying notes sat on notepads, the way FFA notes did. That knowledge left with the pad, not with the order.

Distributor net lived on catalog sites

Distributor net was stored only on catalog sites like Lights America and XO, or on a messy desktop full of product costs. Pricing for a quote meant leaving the paper file and hunting another screen.

Purchasing entered POs by hand every day

Using a legacy purchasing system, purchase orders were entered manually every day. With Showroom Ignite, it is a few clicks. No manual entry.

Warehouse said what arrived, or marked a list

When stock or a special order came in, the warehouse either told someone in person or marked one shared list: received, or not received. That was the only update. Sales could not open the order and see receiving for themselves.

Inventory lived apart from the sale

Showroom stock, special orders, and manufacturer availability were not on the same record as the customer order. Staff answered availability from memory, phone calls to the vendor, or their catalog provider’s availability lookup tools.

Billing sat beside the order, not on it

A deposit, pay in full upfront, or an order set to be invoiced in the future had to be tracked next to the paperwork. Terms and the job were easy to separate.

The path off paper

Implementation followed the work the showroom already did. We did not invent a new process and ask Butler Lighting to learn it from a binder.

Map the real workflow
Sales, purchasing, receiving, and the people who talk to customers walked the order from quote through delivery. The software had to match that path, including install location on every line and the way they take a deposit, pay in full upfront, or set an order to be invoiced in the future.
Load catalog and locations
The first implementation loaded nearly 900,000 catalog items across more than 100 brands. Catalog size was a data job, not a reason to stay on paper. Showroom and warehouse activity had to share the same product record.
Train the departments together
Sales, purchasing, and receiving learned the same order. Training stayed short because the screens follow lighting showroom work, not a generic retail register.
Run the live order in one system
An approved quote became the sales order. Vendor purchases, freight, backorders, receiving, and customer updates stayed on that record. Paper stopped being the source of truth.

What the floor looks like now

The quote sales builds is still the order purchasing, receiving, and delivery pick up. That is the whole point of leaving paper.

See how a lighting order moves

One record from quote through delivery

Selections, a dedicated install location on every line, payment as a deposit, pay in full upfront, or an order set to be invoiced in the future, vendor splits, and ship dates stay together.

Purchase orders in a few clicks

The legacy purchasing system meant typing POs by hand every day. With Showroom Ignite, sending a purchase order is a few clicks. No manual entry.

Retail and trade without workarounds

Walk in shoppers and trade accounts use the same system. Project work, special orders, and cash and carry no longer need a second set of paper.

Keep reading

Implementation in weeks, not months

Setup, catalog review, locations, and training sized to your showroom. No invented day count.

How implementation works

Generic Software vs Showroom Ignite

The problems with generic POS and ERP systems, and with specialized templates that still need you to explain your operations.

Generic Software vs Showroom Ignite

About this use case

Questions buyers ask about Butler Lighting

Did every department leave paper at once?

The work started by mapping the live order path, then catalog, locations, and training. Departments moved onto the same record so sales, purchasing, and receiving were not keeping three versions of the job.

What does hours to minutes mean here?

Hours to minutes is the time to send off purchase orders meeting FFA, mixed with special and stock orders. Before Showroom Ignite, a legacy purchasing system meant entering POs by hand every day. Now it is a few clicks. No manual entry. We are not publishing a timed study.

Is the system hosted in the cloud?

Yes. Cloud uptime is 99.99%. Data is backed up. Security sits on the same cloud technologies used by the top companies in the world.

Will my catalog be too large?

The first implementation loaded nearly 900,000 catalog items across more than 100 brands. Catalog volume is a data job. We will review your sources during the conversation.

See it with your workflow

Bring us your hardest showroom process

Your conversation is built around your business, not a generic product tour. Show us where orders slow down, and we will focus on how Showroom Ignite keeps the work moving.