Family-owned Korgers Furniture and Decorating has been serving the Chippewa Falls community since 1935. Originally founded as a chicken hatchery, Korgers changed its business focus to paint and wall coverings during the 1950s as many small farms began to disappear from the landscape. Today the well-established company includes a destination furniture store that also sells flooring, tiles, and window treatments. The company has a second decorating center located in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Situation

Wipfli has long been an accounting service provider and trusted advisor to Korgers. Years back when the retailer recognized a need for new accounting and point-of-sale software, it turned to Wipfli. Technology continued to become vital to Korgers’ business. The company ultimately recognized the need to enhance its business by implementing new technologies to communicate, collaborate, and securely store data. It again turned to Wipfli to help guide that process.

Strategy

Wipfli brought its technology expertise to Korgers’ business on four key fronts:

• Advisory Services. Wipfli realistically evaluated Korgers’ business needs and guided the company to the right technology solutions. For its financial accounting, that meant selecting and implementing Microsoft Dynamics® GP software.
• Cloud Services. Wipfli implemented cloud-based e-mail to give Korgers reliable, anytime, anywhere access to e-mail. Wipfli migrated the data so it could continue to be referenced.
• Project Services. For each project implementation, Wipfli first established the appropriateness of the project as well as developed the budget and the timelines. Wipfli leveraged experts within the firm to complete each project; for instance, leveraging knowledgeable accountants when implementing Korgers’ new accounting software. Wipfli then guided each project to ensure that Korgers understood the steps and managed its expectations accordingly.
• Managed Services. With the right technology in place, Wipfli provided system monitoring and ongoing support of Korgers’ IT environment.

In addition, Wipfli conducts annual planning meetings to provide technology recommendations and recommend appropriate technology investments.

Benefits

Korgers has effectively outsourced its entire technology environment to Wipfli. Because Korgers has entrusted Wipfli with all its technology needs, the retailer can focus solely on operating and building its business. And because Wipfli implemented the right technology solutions, Korgers reaps the many efficiency benefits that come with minimized downtime and a maximized use of its technology solutions, as well as a lower total cost of ownership. With Wipfli as its only technology partner, Korgers has only one vendor to manage, keeping its technology management simple and cost-effective.

Relationship Executive(s)

Michael T. Pynch, CPA, CMA, Chief information officer, Partner