Challenge

Traditional home textile brands overproduce to meet customer demand. This leaves excess, unsold merchandise sitting in a warehouse, eating away at profit margins until sold at a loss or disposed of. To temper these costs, brands negotiate lower rates with their suppliers resulting in poverty wages and unsafe conditions for factory workers and farmers.

But Boll & Branch is a different company. Sustainability, transparency and ethical practices are core values behind every strategic decision. Committing to Fair Trade means their product comes with higher production costs. To maintain profit margins, Boll & Branch needed to build an ultra-efficient infrastructure and automate processes wherever possible.

When David Reid joined as the COO and CFO in 2016, his mission was to scale Boll & Branch for future growth, by adding new product lines and sales channels. Staying true to the brand while meeting customer demand required unconventional thinking and innovative systems.

The company was evolving from a single Shopify store and warehouse to a complex ecosystem of headless eCommerce, branded storefront and retail partners selling made-to-order and warehoused goods.

Solution

NetSuite was chosen as the ERP system to streamline business flows and support day-to-day operations. But Boll & Branch needed more than an ERP - it needed a holistic solution of interconnected systems; a way to streamline business functions while ensuring actions trigger changes in other systems.

VML Commerce built a comprehensive ERP integration that orchestrates complex processes, interconnecting data from order sources to their supply network.

The integration makes strategic customer experience initiatives possible, including abilities to:

  • shop with up-to-date accurate inventory
  • purchase from a single checkout regardless of where and when merchandise is fulfilled or manufactured
  • upgrade shipping from options available with the lowest cost carrier in the state
  • track and manage orders online with real-time updates
  • purchase gift cards: physical with a handwritten message, or digital

Internally, processes have been automated and a suite of tools created to manage the business, including:

  • a panel for Customer Service to manage orders and process refunds
  • potentially fraudulent orders flagged and presented in a panel for review
  • routing of orders to the appropriate fulfilment centre or made-to-order factory
  • zip code mapping to send made-to-order mattress orders to the factory nearest the delivery address
  • virtual warehousing of inventory set aside for retail partners
  • options to override and retry automated processes

Results

As the first Fair Trade home textiles brand, Boll & Branch meets strict standards for labor practices and sustainability. Boll & Branch is now the largest D2C bedding brand in the world. The company's revenue exceeds $100m, a 430% increase from when it started with VML Commerce.

VML Commerce's advanced ERP integration orchestrated the business without the need for manual intervention. There is no better example of this than at checkout: a single cart can have sheets from the Boston warehouse, rugs from another warehouse, and mattresses from a made-to-order factory requiring white-glove delivery and installation. Eight custom APIs ensure data is routed correctly while the customers, business and suppliers get real-time updates.

The peace of mind provided to Boll & Branch knowing their operations are running smoothly means the company can focus on strategic initiatives. Growing the business while investing back into its product to improve the livelihood of farmers and factory workers that make their coveted bedding.

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