Tones is more than just a manufacturer of premium nail essentials. It’s a family owned, women-led nail industry leader. And although Eva Villalobos and her small team enjoyed over a decade of success, they reached a point where they needed to add one more precision tool to their toolkit — an ERP partner who could modernize and unify their entire operation.

About Tones, A Vibrant Community of Innovative Nail Professionals

Tones is based in Miami, Florida and started manufacturing and selling acrylics, gels, nail art, tools and accessories in 2010. In addition to providing products to nail professionals nearby, they also launched direct-to-consumer website sales. They grew little by little, and their small team was doing it all using paper, pencil and spreadsheets.

In 2023, Tones’ founder Eva Villalobos faced two challenges head-on. She adopted an ERP partner and she hired Tones’ first Operations Manager, Patty Concepcion. As a trained chemical engineer with a background in cement manufacturing, it might seem like a drastic shift for Patty. But as it turns out, her roles were quite similar. “When I joined the team at Tones, they had just signed on with Wherefour. My first task was to input all of our data and get us started on the platform,” says Patty. “In my previous job, I was integrating new digital systems and modernizing our operation with software solutions for all levels of our workforce,” she explains. As her transition to Tones would prove, management duties in the cement and luxe nail industries have a lot in common.

How Tones Digitized Cosmetics Manufacturing with Cloud ERP

Over a decade’s worth of inventory, production and sales data could present an intimidating workload for a data manager, but Patty says that the process was pretty quick and straightforward. “The Wherefour team took care of most of the migration and onboarding was so smooth. I provided our records and they provided everything else — classes, tutorials, videos and all the help I needed,” she remembers.

Tones’ old manual data management process required a lot of time to record, verify and double check records. But once their systems were integrated into a cloud-based platform, everything was quicker, easier and more accurate. “Immediately the single source of truth improved our operations. Having our inventory connected end-to-end from raw materials to finished products was amazing. That level of traceability improved our purchasing, production and accounting, and we were more organized overall,” says Patty.

For an industry where shelf life tends to be lengthy, handwritten inventory records can easily get lost. “In the early days of Tones, they were purchasing raw materials when they went to the shelf and saw that it was running low. Now with Wherefour, we are able to purchase inventory items using accurate data and sales forecasting. And when we’re talking about a material that isn’t frequently ordered, we never have to dig for who and where it came from. Our vendor information is as accessible as the lot codes, receiving data and every other piece of data connected to the items. Reordering and staying in touch with our vendors has improved significantly,” says Patty.

Scaling Cosmetics Sales with ERP and E-Commerce Integrations

Once Tones experienced the ease of inventory management with Wherefour, they were able to scale up their sales strategies and processes. In addition to selling single items, they added “Kits & Bundles” to their e-commerce store. Combining multiple products into a single shopping cart item can be a hassle when inventory is tracked on a clipboard. But Wherefour eases the burden of data management by accurately tracking on-hand quantities and updating quantities in real-time with e-commerce integrations. “We integrate with Shopify, QuickBooks, and ShipStation. Every operation of our business happens through Wherefour and it makes order fulfillment a breeze,” says Patty.

Better data management and inventory accuracy also enabled Tones to get placement in Walmart and add Amazon FBA to their sales stream. Tones is now proudly selling D2C, B2B and working with over 40 distributors.

Achieving ISO 22716 Certification with Wherefour's Cosmetics ERP Software

Shortly after all aspects of their operation were migrated to Wherefour’s cloud-based ERP, Tones reached a prestigious milestone: They achieved ISO 22716 Certification. Patty remembers that the regulatory process — a process that can be rigorous and intimidating — was smooth and stress-free with Wherefour. “During our audit, we were able to satisfy the requirements for traceability, production workflow and process control. Our database met the criteria for the Master Production Record, a standard that is mandatory according to the International Organization for Standardization in the cosmetics industry,” she says. “And maintaining our certification is straightforward because creating reports with Wherefour is easy, and being able to scan barcodes as a way of searching through data saves so much time,” she adds.

Cosmetics ERP Boosts Tones’ Operational Efficiency by 80%

Over the years, Tones has scaled their business with hard work, creativity and a spirit of entrepreneurship. Along the way, they made an intentional move to partner with Wherefour, allowing for an estimated 80-90% boost in overall efficiency.

Tones leveled up so they could stay true to the promise they make to their customers: “Let’s take your passion for nails to the next level.”