A lean luggage operation packs a lot in.
The lean operation and the startup mentality at Travel Plus International (TPI) is exactly the kind of work environment Maricela Guerrero craves. She sees challenges as opportunities, and the ability to make a real, daily impact is exciting.
Working with major retailers demands attention to detail.
But even for someone who loves the fast-paced nature of her company, there are limits. Maricela, Wholesale Sales Support Specialist at TPI, doesn’t like being stretched too thin or worrying that being over-extended will lead to costly mistakes. The products the company sells — backpacks, bags, and luggage under the Orben and Bondka brand names — require productive retail relationships for consistent success. While TPI may not be large, their Trading Partners are — WalMart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Target are a few of the major stores that carry their products. All of them have very specific EDI requirements and Maricela wants to be sure that TPI stays in compliance and avoids costly chargebacks.
The thing is, Maricela doesn’t want to be an EDI expert. After all, she has enough going on as she helps the company manage its rapid growth. With the previous EDI provider used by TPI, she felt like she was operating outside of her comfort zone — trying to interpret data, navigating an interface that wasn’t particularly user-friendly, wondering if she was up-to-date with the changing requirements of her Trading Partners.
“I’m always learning something new at my job, and that’s one of the reasons I love it,” noted Maricela. “But EDI and order processing are things that I just want handled easily and efficiently, so I’m free to focus on creating more opportunities for our products.”
EDI and order management doesn’t have to be complicated.
For Maricela, one of the most appealing aspects of working with eZCom is the way that data is provided. It’s easy to understand — not a confusing jumble of information that only an EDI expert can truly understand. The eZCom Lingo application is also connected to the SAP ERP that the company relies on, so she isn’t toggling back and forth as she manages orders and inventory.
“There’s very little that isn’t automated,” added Maricela. “As far as I’m concerned, the less manual entry, the better. It saves me a bunch of time and lets me worry less about errors.”
Scaling up and managing online orders.
What’s more, as her company has grown, eZCom has been able to scale up with it, even developing features based on the specific needs of Travel Plus International. When Orben was developing a site for online sales, eZCom developed a way to merge those orders with everything else. When they began selling on Amazon Seller Central, eZCom offered features that made the process seamless.
Maricela has continued to add new elements to her EDI and order processing, utilizing the shipping and label features that eZCom has developed and she’s planning to upgrade further so the company can produce more UPC labels.
Of course, not everything comes off without a hitch — EDI and order processing can be complicated. But when she has questions, Maricela knows she can turn to the customer support team — and the customer support team is quick to provide the answers she needs.
“The people in customer support are always friendly, and they really know their stuff,” Maricela said.
EDI, online, SAP, ASNs, and everything else — companies need it all connected.
With a warehouse in Memphis, a US headquarters in California, and products in major retail outlets across the country, TPI is a business with a lot of moving parts. Connecting it all — the warehouse, SAP, EDI, online orders — is critical as the company grows. While helping them manage orders as their business expands is the kind of challenge we embrace at eZCom, our goal is the same as it is for all our clients — keep EDI and online order management straightforward, efficient, and hassle-free.
If you need to streamline and automate your data – reach out and we will be happy to listen and help build the perfect solution for your brand
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