DataXstream Customer Success Story Series
Specialty Retailer in Flooring looks to DataXstream to resolve pain points resulting in the creation of OMS+
Hosted by: Jayelyn Ramey, Marketing Specialist, DataXstream
Featuring: Tim Yates, President and CEO, DataXstream
Blog Author: Aimee Ridgway
Legacy systems continue to be a stumbling block for any organization looking to digitally transform their business. Legacy systems are often defined as technology that is outdated and difficult to manage, yet vital to the day-to-day work functions and processes within an organization. Legacy systems can often be a barrier to a more efficient and profitable way of doing business, especially if the data is not being leveraged the way it should be. Such was the case back in 2010 when a large specialty retail/manufacturer looked to DataXstream to solve several process and order management issues they were having which inevitably led to the birth of OMS+.
Built on a strong foundation
DataXstream got its start over 20 years ago as an SAP consulting firm that specialized in integrating products to SAP and bringing data in and out of SAP. Over the years, the company expanded to a full-service systems integrator. In 2010, they were working with SAP on the implementation of a new enterprise planning system for a major specialty flooring retailer/manufacturer based in Virginia. With earnings of $1.15 billion in revenue and over 150 stores, this organization was in the process of upgrading their legacy system and had several hurdles they were trying to overcome. Specifically, DataXstream was brought in to assist with the following order management challenges:
- System limitations that were stunting business growth
- Complicated technology that required significant training to on-board new sales associates
- Poor visibility to master data that hindered sales and customer service requirements
Legacy systems hinder growth
With this particular retail manufacturer, they were using a legacy ERP system that was more of a traditional keyboard driven configuration and they had hit their limits of expansion. The customer had over 150 stores and aspirations to grow significantly, but that was not going to happen with their current system. These systems can be cumbersome, complex, and challenging to update. But if you do not invest in new technology, and instead stay with your legacy system, you hamstring your company’s ability to compete and remain a viable business.
Complicated technology = harder to use
The customer’s system also presented challenges to store management because it required significant training time, often weeks, to on-board new sales associates in their stores in order to properly use it. Because of the way their legacy system was originally architected, it created a lot of complexity and confusion in the transactions. Access to availability inventory, visibility to open orders, and visibility to transfer orders were complex and difficult to see. At one point the company said an average of 20 store employees a day often needed to speak to the call center in order to fix and correct orders coming in. If a company is relying on a handful of people within an organization to train new recruits to use their complicated order management system, what happens when those employees decide to move on? These were the challenges this flooring retailer/manufacturer was trying to resolve.
Limited Data Visibility = poor customer experience
Another challenge this customer faced was its limitations in being able to see their real-time data across the organization. Their sales process was such that it required them to interact with the order over an extended period of time, weeks and even months, picking up additional materials and making changes to their order continuously. Because their legacy network was siloed from a store perspective, it did not have good visibility to the Master Data. This limited the company from being able to easily see and access information such as where a product is, when it will be available and what the lead time was to get it. This level of inefficiency slowed down their ability to service customers quickly.
Resolving issues leads to the foundation of OMS+
The first version of OMS+ was born out of a series of custom modifications DataXstream made to help resolve these pain points for the customer. The goal was to help them better track an order from the start all the way through its completion. This included:
- changes to the order tendering
- delivery
- refunds
- returns
- cancellations
- exchanges
DataXstream spent significant time studying the challenges they had with the standard SAP tools. Their solution was to develop a way to overlay the required customizations over any existing SAP sales order process while simplifying the system interaction for the end-users.
The result became the core of the OMS+ product the company has in place today. Once the modifications were completed and the solution was deployed, the results were staggering for the customer.
An intuitive GUI was developed with the ease of use of a traditional online store interface. The user-friendly, responsive design allowed their users to work on tablets, smart phones, desktops – seamlessly within the same interface. This ease of use decreased employee training time from weeks to the matter of days or hours.
DataXstream also created excellent visibility to the Master Data as well, allowing the customer to see where the product is, when it’s available and what the lead time is to get it. This increased real-time data visibility made it easier for the customer service rep to find the products customers were looking for and adapt if that product wasn’t available. The real-time data also showed them a rating system to identify the risk in getting that product based on the supply chain. As a result customer transaction times were reduced by well over 50%.
Another compelling benefit DataXstream provided is sales process agility. When you take into account the additional complexity custom code adds to ERP upgrades, OMS+ is designed as part of the standard SAP processes. When a customer is ready to begin their SAP upgrade, OMS+ will be available with the new certified upgrade package. This greatly reduces upgrade requirements and not only eliminates the need to retrain users, but the user moves seamlessly to upgraded OMS+ with the cutover. This customer now has more agility to be able to adapt to market conditions and change sales processes quickly, giving them an upper hand over their competition.
To learn more about how OMS+ can transform your customer sales order experience and deliver measurable ROI go to https://www.dataxstream.com/.
