“Digital transformation has taken years in the past but now it takes months because companies realise that it’s not if and when but it’s how to make it happen,” Morichaud said.
“There’s no sign of any slow down at all, we just keep winning business and we even see with existing clients they are saying ‘how can we do things better, how I can grow’ and that’s through the continuing evolution of the digital transformation.”
The wine industry is a prime example of a sector needing to adjust its business practices quickly following the pandemic and Chinese tariffs that effectively shut down Australia’s largest wine export market overnight.
Morichaud said Solutions + had been working with numerous small to medium wineries in South Australia, Western Australia and in the NSW region of Hunter Valley as they quickly adjusted their business models from large scale distribution and export to direct-to-consumer sales online.
“They needed to move more into the direct-to-consumer market, which is online and through wine clubs that provide recurring revenue and the winery is guaranteed a high margin compared to a wholesaler,” he said.
“But what that does is it puts pressure on the winery because instead of selling pallets of wine to a distributor or for export, it’s cases so the transaction volume just goes through the roof.
“In order to manage that they need proper processing systems that are fully integrated so that when you go online to order wine it automatically feeds into the delivery system, inventory system and accounting system.”
Morichaud moved to Adelaide from Denmark in 2005 and started the business in 2014 after six yexjmtzywars working for SA-based Codan.
His business partner Jay Cheah, an IT specialist and former COHDA Wireless engineer, joined the business a year later.
Solutions + opened its Perth office in November and has three staff there. It is currently recruiting for staff in Queensland with the aim of opening its Brisbane office later this year.
It has also recently moved into a significantly larger Adelaide office on King William St.
Morichaud said his growth goal was to reach 100 staff within five years – 60 in Adelaide, 20 in Perth and 20 in Brisbane.
He said doing business in Brisbane, like Adelaide and Perth was about building strong relationships, unlike Melbourne and Sydney, where business deals were more transactional.
