Almwelt & Wirkes: Upgrade to Dynamics 365 Business Central with BE-terna Fashion & Automated Warehouse Logistics with AutoStore

The World of Traditional Bavarian Fashion

Wirkes Dirndl Trachten & Ledermoden GmbH is one of the largest regional retailers of traditional Bavarian clothing, operating 27 stores across Bavaria and Austria. The company works with renowned brands such as Marjo, Wenger, Sportalm, Krüger, and Stockerpoint, while also offering its successful private labels Gamsbock and Sissi ey!, known for their contemporary designs and high quality.

Following its expansion through the merger with Almwelt GmbH, managing the business became increasingly complex.

New locations, a growing product portfolio, and rising demands for product availability made it necessary to modernize the company's IT systems and logistics processes.

Tradition Meets Innovation

Almwelt & Wirkes recognized the need for a standardized solution to ensure long-term efficiency and competitiveness. Its previous ERP system was based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, but years of extensive customization had made it impossible to update. Financial accounting and merchandise management operated in separate systems, significantly limiting transparency and efficiency. Furthermore, the existing system lacked the flexibility needed to keep pace with the company's evolving requirements.

After a thorough evaluation, Wirkes decided to upgrade to BE-terna Fashion for Dynamics 365 Business Central. The solution provides standardized processes specifically designed for the fashion industry while maintaining a high degree of flexibility.

As a long-standing partner of Almwelt & Wirkes, BE-terna was able to support the migration efficiently, ensuring that established processes were preserved and optimized.

From Planning to Go-Live

The ERP project began in 2023 with a detailed analysis, followed by the official kick-off in February 2024. One of the major challenges was data migration. While master data was transferred to the new system, the company deliberately decided to start fresh with transactional data to ensure higher data quality.

The successful go-live in November 2024 marked the completion of an intensive testing phase. Close collaboration, personal interaction, and a final team event strengthened confidence in the new solution and encouraged cooperation across locations.

Initial improvements became apparent shortly after implementation: more flexible inventory management, more targeted store replenishment, and a user-friendly interface that simplifies employees' daily work.

However, the ERP modernization was only the beginning. As Almwelt & Wirkes continued to grow, optimizing warehouse logistics and order fulfillment became an increasingly important priority.

Initial Successes and Long-Term Benefits

Digital Transformation Continues: Automated Warehouse Logistics with AutoStore

With the successful implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and BE-terna Fashion in 2024, Almwelt & Wirkes established the foundation for the continued digitalization of its business processes. Another milestone followed in October 2026, when the company put an automated AutoStore warehouse into operation at its new location in Dietmannsried in the Allgäu region of Germany.

Together with BE-terna, the new warehouse system was integrated into Business Central via eManager, provided by partner Element Logic. The integration covers key processes such as goods receipt and storage, automated picking for webshop orders, and store replenishment. One particular technical challenge was serial number management: While eManager manages inventory at the item variant level, Business Central handles and validates individual serial numbers in conjunction with scans and system feedback.

Alongside the introduction of AutoStore, the webshop processes were further developed. Business Central takes available inventory and predefined location priorities into account to coordinate the fulfillment of orders from different warehouse areas and stores. Items can be consolidated for a single shipment or dispatched directly from stores as separate partial deliveries (ship-from-store). In addition, the AutoStore integration supports automated picking for store replenishment. Information on order allocation and shipping status provides transparency across processes involving multiple locations.

Following a successful go-live after approximately ten months of project work, Almwelt & Wirkes has taken another important step toward modernizing its logistics operations. The project demonstrates how an existing ERP platform can be continuously adapted to new business requirements through targeted process enhancements and interface extensions.

A Step Toward the Future

The successful modernization of Almwelt & Wirkes' IT landscape is the result of a long-standing partnership built on close collaboration.

The ERP upgrade in 2024 was completed on schedule and almost entirely within the planned budget, despite unexpected challenges during the project.

“The collaboration with BE-terna was consistently professional, efficient, and on equal footing. We were especially impressed by the transparent communication.”
— Martin Spingler, IT Director, Wirkes

The successful AutoStore go-live in October 2026 marked the continuation of this partnership. The integration of warehouse automation and the redesign of webshop processes demonstrate how a modern ERP platform can be gradually extended to support evolving business requirements.

From ERP modernization to automated warehouse logistics: Almwelt & Wirkes now benefits from a future-ready IT foundation that supports efficiency, flexibility, and continued growth.

This allows the company to continue focusing on what it does best: combining tradition and innovation in traditional Bavarian fashion.