Fechheimer Achieves Ecommerce Objectives with Znode®

CUSTOMER SUCCESS
Fechheimer Achieves
Ecommerce Objectives
with Znode®
“We now have a single solution that can handle our entire catalog
and more, is centrally managed, easily customized, and can support
our stores with a promotions engine that is only limited by our
imagination.“
-Sydney Taylor, Director of Software Development
© 2011 Znode, Inc. | 888.755.5541 | www.znode.com
CS2 - 9.27.11
a Yell Group Company
Customer Success - Fechheimer
Since 1842, The Fechheimer Brothers Company, a Berkshire Hathaway
Company, has been manufacturing uniforms for the public safety industry.
The company maintains the largest in-stock offering of public safety uniforms
in the U.S., and also produces custom uniform programs to meet customers’
specific requirements.
Business Challenge
Former ecommerce platform limited growth potential, systems integration and functionality of online apparel storefronts.
Solution
Multifront was seen as the clear choice to manage large apparel database, multiple stores and ERP system integration.
•
Multifront’s content manager automates changes to product database allowing these tasks to be moved from
IT to Administration, saving time and money
•
Multiple stores share products, attributes and functions such as promotions, taxes and shipping rules
•
True ERP integration enables real-time shipping rates and local fulfillment
Fechheimer Brothers Company
4545 Malsbary Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Phone: (800)543-1939
www.fechheimer.com
www.wearvertx.com
Expand Your Online Footprint™
© 2011 Znode, Inc. | 888.755.5541 | www.znode.com
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a Yell Group Company
Customer Success - Fechheimer
Previous Storefront Software Brings Progress to a Halt
With a network of 500+ U.S. dealers, two domestic manufacturing plants, three domestic distribution centers, 13
corporate-owned retail stores and several global manufacturing partners, Fechheimer has established a physical
presence that rivals many major consumer clothing companies. In 2002, Fechheimer launched its first online store,
Berkshirewear.com, for its Berkshire Hathaway Activewear Collection, followed by online stores for select corporateowned retail stores.
With the launch of its Vertx brand in 2009, and a renewed emphasis on building the brand, Fechheimer quickly
determined that it would not achieve its aggressive goals without an ecommerce application that offered greater
flexibility and advanced multi-store capability. Specific limitations of its previous ecommerce platform included:
•
Content management system could not support the complexity and breadth of Fechheimer’s product catalog
•
Shopping attribute requirements (style, color, size) could not be achieved without significant customization
•
Lacked multi-store functionality to support rapid and efficient store-front additions
Fechheimer also felt that the system’s structure and navigation made it difficult to create the look and feel that the
company wanted, and in some aspects, made customers hesitant about buying its products online.
Fechheimer Redefines Ecommerce Business Objectives
Fechheimer redefined its ecommerce business objectives and began searching for an ecommerce solution that would
put the company on track with its goals. The objectives included:
•
Use of an updated development platform, such as Microsoft .NET
•
Ability to centrally manage the product database and feed multiple stores with the same data
•
Customizable look and feel to service varying requirements
•
Innovative promotion and coupon engine
•
Seamless integration with ERP and other enterprise systems
•
Ability to accommodate apparel industry requirements including style, color, size and alteration requirements
Expand Your Online Footprint™
© 2011 Znode, Inc. | 888.755.5541 | www.znode.com
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a Yell Group Company
Customer Success - Fechheimer
Znode is Selected to power their Ecommerce Websites
After evaluating several solutions, Fechheimer’s clear choice was Znode. “What made Znode standout from the
other solutions we evaluated was that it literally met all of our requirements,” said Sydney Taylor, Director of Software
Development for Fechheimer Brothers Company. “We now have a single solution that can handle our entire catalog
and more, is centrally managed and easily customized, and can support our stores with a promotions engine that is
only limited by our imagination. Multifront makes it easy for us to quickly move forward with our multi-store strategy
by allowing us to manage all of our online stores through a
single product database. It also gives us the ability to open
and manage more stores without having to start from scratch
“Multifront makes it easy for us to
every time. All of our stores can share products, attributes and
quickly move forward with our multi-
functions like sales tax, shipping rules and promotions.”
Managing Extensive Apparel Catalog
store strategy by allowing us to manage
all of our online stores through a single
product database. It also gives us the
In the past, to manage its large online catalog, and reflect the
collection’s vast style, color and size attributes, Fechheimer had
ability to open and manage more stores
to upload one or multiple changes using Excel spreadsheets
without having to start from scratch
while price updates had to be done through SQL Server
every time.”
queries. Today, all of the changes to the product database can
be made through Znode’s content management system (CMS),
and for Taylor, that means one less task for IT. “What I can do
today with Znode in 30 minutes might have taken a day with our previous solution. The thing that strikes me the most
about Znode’s ease of modification, however, is that content management no longer has to be an IT task. For us, the
responsibility of the CMS has moved from the programmer level to an admin.”
Employing a Multi-Store Strategy
Since deploying Znode, Fechheimer has launched an additional site for its new Vertx brand of tactical apparel, and the
company is planning to quickly add ecommerce sites for each of its brick-and-mortar store groups.
Taylor commented, “Znode’s multi-store capabilities will help further establish brand recognition for our retail stores,
improve distribution and drive sales of the Vertx and Flying Cross brands across multiple channels. Because we already
have the infrastructure in place and the content we need, we should be up and running quickly with our second online
store scheduled to be up in July 2010, a third will launch by September 2010 and a fourth will open before the end of
the year.”
Expand Your Online Footprint™
© 2011 Znode, Inc. | 888.755.5541 | www.znode.com
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a Yell Group Company
Customer Success - Fechheimer
True ERP Integration
In addition to streamlining content management, Znode has also simplified integration with Fechheimer’s ERP system.
Previously, Fechheimer had developed its own modular middleware for use with its previous ecommerce system. With a
few minor adjustments, Fechheimer was able to leverage its investment and quickly plug its middleware into Multifront.
The shopping cart is fully integrated with the company’s ERP system, which also links Fechheimer’s three distribution
centers and shippers. Now, when an order is placed, the customer receives real-time shipping rates, and the order is
instantly routed to the appropriate location or locations for seamless fulfillment.
“Our previous solution was cumbersome, so we struggled to customize, make simple changes and fully integrate our
other systems into our ecommerce environment,” said Taylor. “Znode’s standards-based architecture allows us to quickly
make changes. and the high quality of the source code has truly eased the integration with multiple systems.”
Brand Building Through Ecommerce
Armed with Znode’s unlimited customization capabilities, simplified content management and fully integrated backend
infrastructure, Fechheimer is ready to make a significant ecommerce push.
“We see ourselves further building our brands in the public
“Znode’s standards-based architecture
allows us to quickly make changes and
the high quality of the source code has
truly eased the integration with multiple
safety apparel industry with Znode because we now have
the flexibility of an ecommerce solution that aligns with our
ecommerce initiatives,” stated Taylor. “Znode is a natural fit for
the apparel industry and our brands, and we see Znode as a
catalyst for fueling our long-term ecommerce growth.”
systems.”
Expand Your Online Footprint™
© 2011 Znode, Inc. | 888.755.5541 | www.znode.com
5
a Yell Group Company
About Znode, Inc.
Znode® a Columbus, Ohio based company has established itself as an
industry leading ecommerce solution. Our highly flexible ecommerce
platform enables businesses to easily build and manage rich, multi-store and
multi-device ecommerce websites with a significantly higher ROI.
Znode is trusted by leading global brands including LoJack, Waste Management, Wawa, Channellock, Arbor Day
Foundation, Sonos, Fechheimer (Berkshire Hathaway) and others.
Znode is ranked #223 on the INC 500 list of America’s fastest growing companies.
Znode is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yell Group - a Global company that owns several media brands with over
1.3 million customers worldwide.
Contact Us
Znode, Inc.
8760 Orion Place, Suite 120
Columbus, Ohio 43240, USA
Tel: 1.888.755.5541
Intl: 1.614.768.1150
Web: www.znode.com
Resources
Product Overview: www.znode.com/znode-multifront
Live Demo: www.znode.com/demo
Customer Portfolio: www.znode.com/portfolio
Expand Your Online Footprint™
© 2011 Znode, Inc. | 888.755.5541 | www.znode.com
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