Arena Brands Outsources EDI Operations

Arena Brands Inc. is the name behind many of the most well-known and respected brands in western apparel, including Lucchese boots, Stetson, Resistol and Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hats.

Like many suppliers, Arena Brands has a small IT staff and faced the daily challenge of too many projects with not enough staff or resources.

Its EDI system was no exception. Arena Brands owned a PC-based EDI software system that required all communications to be manually entered.

Furthermore, it required an IT staff member to monitor it constantly for inbound EDI transactions from its retail customers. 

When its retail customers began requiring Advance Ship Notices (ASNs) and other advanced EDI requirements, Keith Ritchie, Arena Brand's corporate IT director, realized that something needed to change, and change quickly.

Arena Brands opted to replace the PC-based system and completely outsource its EDI to SPS Commerce. By outsourcing, Arena Brands would be relieved of its EDI operations and could focus on other IT projects, including implementing a new shipping system.

Easy Integration

When considering outsourcing EDI providers, Ritchie came across SPS Commerce's name in his research in addition to discussions with his colleagues. SPS Commerce's customer base included many suppliers with the same trading partners as Arena Brands. The EDI mappings for Arena Brand's transactions were already created and in use by these suppliers today. With its multi-tenant architecture, SPS Commerce only needed to be integrated with Arena Brand's ERP system, Oracle Financials.

Today, Arena Brands has EDI connections with 21 trading partners. It can also bring on new trading partners in just one or two days.

These partners include small mom-and-pop western apparel shops, which often don't have their own EDI capabilities, to large retailers such as Cabela's, Burlington Coat Factory, Dillards and LL Bean.

Getting Noticed

In 2007, Arena Brand's IT staff discovered that adding new trading partners quickly isn't just good for business; it turns out that it also enabled them to shine in front of their executive management.

For example, when Arena Brands' CEO returned from a business trip to the West Coast on a Tuesday, he mentioned to Ritchie that one of the customers he had visited would like to begin doing EDI with Arena Brands. By Friday, Arena Brands' EDI connections with its retailer were fully implemented, and they were already processing orders via EDI.

"Using a standardized format to integrate with our Oracle solution, we can quickly add new trading partners without taking time or resources away from other IT projects," says Ritchie. "By outsourcing to SPS Commerce, Arena Brands has been able to improve our productivity and enhance our supply chain relationships."