Success story: How Care-A-Lot Pets modernized its retail ERP with ArcherPoint by Cherry Bekaert

For retail organizations, upgrading an ERP system is more than a technology decision — it’s a strategic move that affects long-term growth, supportability, and consistency across locations. For Care-A-Lot Pets, that realization led to a successful transition from LS Retail’s LS NAV to LS Central on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, guided by ArcherPoint by Cherry Bekaert’s Retail practice.

In a recent video testimonial, Denise Clarke, Vice President and co-owner of Care-A-Lot Pet Supply, shares why the company chose to modernize its ERP platform and how a focused, retail-specific approach helped make the project manageable and successful.

About Care-A-Lot Pets

Care-A-Lot Pets is a specialty pet retailer serving customers through a growing retail footprint. Like many retailers, the company relied on a legacy ERP system that had supported the business for years but was increasingly limiting flexibility, supportability, and access to newer ISV solutions.

As their ERP, LS NAV aged, Denise and her team recognized that staying on an older ERP platform would create challenges — from limited ISV support to missed opportunities for standardization and scalability.

Why upgrading was a strategic necessity

One of the driving factors behind the move was the realization that remaining on an older ERP version came with growing risks.

Older systems restrict access to new retail functionality, create dependency on heavy customizations, and make it harder to integrate with modern tools. Moving to LS Central provided a future-ready platform designed specifically for retail — supporting POS, inventory, pricing, and back-office operations in a unified system.

ArcherPoint by Cherry Bekaert’s deep experience in retail ERP and LS Retail solutions helped Care-A-Lot Pets approach the upgrade strategically rather than reactively.

Prioritizing out-of-the-box retail functionality

One of the most impactful decisions Care-A-Lot Pets made was to prioritize out-of-the-box functionality.

Drawing from lessons learned in earlier ERP implementations, Denise and her team focused on reducing complexity by limiting customizations. The result was a dramatic shift — from more than 100 customizations down to fewer than 20.

This approach helped:

• Reduce long-term maintenance and support challenges
• Keep the system aligned with LS Retail and Microsoft updates
• Simplify training and adoption across the organization

ArcherPoint by Cherry Bekaert worked closely with Care-A-Lot Pets to evaluate where standard functionality met retail needs and where minimal, strategic customization made sense.

Building internal ownership and buy-in

Another key to success was internal engagement.

Rather than relying on a single project owner, Care-A-Lot Pets built an internal team of department experts who took ownership of testing, training, and process validation. This structure helped ensure the system reflected real retail workflows and encouraged buy-in across teams.

ArcherPoint by Cherry Bekaert supported this approach by guiding testing, helping teams understand best practices, and ensuring the solution stayed aligned with retail operations.

Hear directly from the customer

A retail-focused foundation for the future

Care-A-Lot Pets’ journey highlights what’s possible when retailers combine modern ERP technology with a partner who understands the retail landscape.

By upgrading to LS Retail’s LS Central, reducing unnecessary customizations, and partnering with ArcherPoint by Cherry Bekaert’s Retail practice, Care-A-Lot Pets now has a scalable, supportable platform designed to grow with the business.

For retailers evaluating an ERP upgrade, Denise’s experience shows that success comes from strategic planning, retail-specific expertise, and a partner who understands both the technology and the realities of retail operations.

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