Abstract

All for Color was chosen for a case study because it represents a common need for modern businesses. Third party logistics is a great way for businesses to streamline their back-end and focus on the product they are selling their customers. However, logistics is important and tight communication between the 3PL and their customers is important. eMerge Technologies creates an integration application that automates the sharing of information between the 3PL’s and their clients, making this fragmented approach to logistics more seamless and efficient for both companies.

The Client

“Welcome to All For Color — your destination for wholesale apparel, tote bags, tennis bags, golf bags, and personal gifts & accessories for women. Everything you need to color your lifestyle! We are dedicated to bringing you the quality and customer service you expect. From colorful resort apparel, large tote organizers, insulated bags and crossbody bags to ladies golf bags and tennis racquet backpacks – we have the perfect gift or accessory in a wide range of bold colors and stylish patterns. Our items are a colorful, classic practicality that women love, and they are sure to bring a splash of personality anywhere they go. Our wholesale customers are select boutiques, gift shops, sports specialty stores, and independent retailers across the US and abroad.”

All for Color is a prominent retail and wholesale outlet for women’s clothing and accessories. They specialize in bright and colorful accessories for women of all ages, that are sure to light up a room with dazzling color and gorgeous designs! All for Color provides retail sales on their website, www.allforcolor.com, as well as provides a wholesale portal for retail businesses.

The Problem

NetSuite and All for Color’s third party warehouse were speaking two separate languages when it came to fulfilling sales orders. NetSuite’s SOAP API was unable to communicate with the 3PL’s system that only understood CSV files. This forced All for Color to devote unnecessary labor costs to a cumbersome integration process that required 30 hours of labor each week and constant monitoring of the system. This wasteful process, and added risk, lead All for Color to look for a solution.

eMerge’s Solution

eMerge proposed the best way to solve this problem was to get All for Color’s NetSuite account and their 3PL’s FTP on the same page; so we proposed to integrate NetSuite with the 3PL’s FTP. Once that was achieved, the entire process could be automated. eMerge would build a custom, innovative integration application, with Java, that would take the Sales Record information from the NetSuite API, convert it into a CSV file, and send it to the 3PL. Upon the completion from the warehouse, the order fulfillment would be sent back to NetSuite and automatically updated in ‘real-time’.

The Results

The integration was a success! Every day orders from All for Color are sent to their warehouse and fulfilled without an employee lifting a finger. Automating this process has become critical for All for Color; saving them $25,000 annually in labor and eliminating the chance for human errors. Due to the new integration, All for Color is now more efficient and capable to scale with less growing pains in the future!