Scalable Rental Module in Business Central for the LEGO of the Event Industry
beMatrix, founded in Roeselare in 1993, can be considered the LEGO of the event world: they offer an innovative modular system for building, dismantling, and reusing trade show booths in an ecological way. This is quite unique in a market that, until recently, offered few sustainable options. beMatrix produces its frames both in Belgium and the USA, and they are sold or rented to customers in 42 countries. In close collaboration with beMatrix, NORRIQ implemented Business Central for the production site in the USA and developed the optimal technical solution for the rental business in both Europe and the USA. Here's how we did it.
The market changed, and so did the business model
The international trade show market faced a temporary collapse in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2021 onward, the market in the USA rebounded relatively quickly, while recovery in Europe was slower. As trade shows resumed, a shift in trends became apparent. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for reusable and sustainable materials for booth construction. As a result, companies are increasingly opting to rent rather than purchase, or choosing a mix of both. The integration of interactive displays and AR (Augmented Reality) is also on the rise, and companies are looking for flexible solutions that can be adapted to different trade shows.
beMatrix capitalized on this trend with their sustainable booth components and began collaborating with agents in various countries for rentals. This local presence was beneficial, but with growth came growing pains: agents operated in separate systems, with no uniform way of working or reporting. To support controlled growth, a scalable all-in-one solution was necessary for sales, rental, finance, and logistics. beMatrix chose Microsoft Business Central and NORRIQ as their partner for digital transformation.
Fast-moving market, high service level
beMatrix is a highly flexible company that aims for a fully automated and foolproof way of working. In the trade show market, the service level is exceptionally high: same-day order changes just minutes before pickup? It's possible! The challenge for NORRIQ was to translate this business flexibility into the IT system.
The full implementation scope included
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
NORRIQ Business Intelligence Accelerator
Power BI
Continia Expense Management
Continia Document Capture
Insight Works
The key benefits for beMatrix
Future-proof
Thanks to a scalable solution, new localizations and additional entities can be added effortlessly.
Platform approach
A well-thought-out platform strategy, combined with the expertise of our solution architects and functional analysts, ensures that beMatrix is ready for future integrations and applications.
Flexibility
Each country has its own system with a separate database, supporting local needs without sacrificing central control and efficiency.
Kristof Decoster, IT ManagerIT Manager
beMatrix
First things first
The U.S. trade show market recovered quickly. During this time, beMatrix had become 100% owner of its factory in Georgia, USA, and recognized the need for a structured system with full visibility. The first step in the transformation project was migrating beMatrix’s production to Business Central.
From 2022 onwards, the growing rental business was evaluated. beMatrix shifted from working with independent agents to managing rental companies in various countries under its own operations. Currently, 5 out of 10 European rental entities and both American rental entities are live with the rental module. Another 5 European rental entities are scheduled to go live soon.
Turning a challenge into an opportunity
One key lesson that beMatrix learned from the COVID-19 period is that their business applications must be scalable and flexible in terms of licenses, users, and order volumes. Customers may choose to purchase products, rent components, or both. For beMatrix, it was essential to integrate both processes into a single system. Previously, various local rental packages or Excel were used. The rise of the rental market pushed beMatrix to rethink its approach. They did so successfully - thanks to the new rental module in Business Central, they can now easily and quickly launch new rental companies in other European countries.
About beMatrix
beMatrix is a Belgian company specializing in the development and production of modular systems for booth construction and the events industry. Their innovative frame systems offer solutions for quickly and sustainably building trade show booths, conference walls, pop-up concepts, and both indoor and outdoor events.
The beMatrix system is designed for repeated use, which not only reduces costs but also contributes to environmental sustainability. With production sites in Belgium and the United States and a global network of service centers, beMatrix provides local support to customers in over 40 countries.