EDWARDS GARMENT

The Challenge:

COMPLEX CONFIGURATION OF ONLINE ORDERS

Edwards Garment’s e-commerce site was no longer making good on the company’s promise to provide satisfying customer experiences.

Uniform ordering can be highly complex. Often, customers need to place orders that include myriad variables, such as type of garment, (polo shirt), size (M) and color (red). They may need to choose a logo from the company’s logo library and then place that logo in the correct place on the garment, such as middle back or upper right front. Additionally, customers may want to add blank garments to an order, such as a pair of pants without a logo or other decoration, to pair with the uniform shirt. The e-commerce site needs to be able to accommodate these types of orders.

Edwards’ platform couldn’t handle this level of order complexity. Instead, customers would have to call and place the order with a customer service representative (CSR). This process was time consuming for everyone involved.

Additionally, Edwards original platform was built on top of PIC Business Systems, the ERP system the company used. “It really mimicked how order processing works for customer service, only it was pretty,” Lloyd says. “The integrations used smart templates rather than APIs.” This dependence on its ERP system was prohibiting the company from improving its site with tools that would make it more flexible and user-friendly for its customers. 

The company needed an e-commerce platform that would replace its existing site with a new modern look and feel. It needed flexibility for customizations and user experience behavior. That’s where QAD Digital Commerce stepped in.

The Solution:

COMPLEX INTEGRATIONS SUPPORTING REAL-TIME DATA AND A SEAMLESS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Once Edwards chose QAD Digital Commerce as its technology partner, the project management team took the lead, devising an online project plan working directly with Edwards. The online plan detailed every aspect and task required for completion. QAD Digital Commerce then presented a full statement of work, detailing from start-to-finish all steps necessary to deliver the site.

Because QAD Digital Commerce is already established as a trusted e-commerce platform provider for the uniform and apparel industry, many of its out-of-the-box solutions fit Edwards requirements perfectly. 

Those features included:

• Standalone products
• Products requiring color and size selections
• Products requiring logo selection from a prepopulated logo library
• Real-time inventory visibility of all products

But the Edwards project was much more complex than a standard website implementation due to the nature of the integrations. 

Typically, with most integrated platforms, QAD Digital Commerce stores the primary pricing behaviors for the customers. However with Edwards, APIs are used to pull customer pricing directly from Edwards’ ERP system in real time as the customer navigates the site. This was a new challenge for both QAD Digital Commerce and Edwards as the two companies had to take into account site optimization and speed. 

But the fact that Edwards site integrated with Edwards’ ERP system allowed the company to open up two-way communication for their end customers. So once an order is placed on Edwards new e-commerce site, it’s immediately sent directly to the ERP. As the order is processed and updated from Edwards’ site, order status updates and invoices are sent back to QAD Digital Commerce to update the original order placed. This means that, at any time, Edwards customers can log into the QAD Digital Commerce dashboard and see real-time order status updates.

Another key function added into the Edwards site was the main account/sub account module. As Edwards operates as a supplier to its distributors, this module allows each distributor, serving as an administrator, to login to the front-end of the website and manage their employees. This reduces the overhead for Edwards, as it allows distributors to administer their proceedings without intervention from Edwards.

Finally, QAD Digital Commerce’s returns module allows Edwards customers to trigger returns and exchanges on the front end of the site, rather than requiring them to contact Edwards’ CSR team — creating an easy, seamless experience for the customer and saving time and creating efficiency for Edwards.

The Benefits:

8,500 ACTIVE ACCOUNTS AND 4,000 DISTRIBUTORS SERVICED

Since moving to the QAD Digital Commerce platform, Edwards has experienced substantial improvements to its e-commerce business. With its previous site, the company serviced about 2,500 distributor customers. On the QAD Digital Commerce platform, it has more than 8,500 active accounts and is servicing around 4,000 distributors. And 29% of its overall sales are generated through its website alone.

Most importantly, the site is now able to accommodate the complexities associated with uniform ordering. “We have gone from being able to take zero decorated uniform orders through the site to now having the ability to handle all of those orders without customers having to pick up the phone,” Lloyd says. “That’s an enormous improvement.” 

“QAD Digital Commerce’s technology is tailored specifically to the uniforms and apparel industry — and we bring with it a wealth of industry knowledge and experience,” says Graham Anderson, Services Manager at QAD Digital Commerce. “With Edwards Garment, we weren’t starting at square one. All involved were familiar and could relate to the requirements immediately, which presented huge efficiencies and value to our customer.”

*QAD Digital Commerce was formerly known as WebJaguar