LS Retail
Microsoft Dynamics NAV
AS 400
Shopify Plus
D365 Business Central
Netsuite
D365 Finance and Operations
Blue Link ERP
Shopify EDI
INDUSTRY
Fashion Apparel
BUSINESSES NEEDED
Looking for help to eliminate a cumbersome manual returns process.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Looking for help to eliminate a cumbersome manual returns process, ComputerCare and VL OMNI’s joint customer was given a scalable EDI integration solution from their Shopify eCommerce store that has been able to reduce cost and operational complexity.
THE CHALLENGE:
Due to the changing eCommerce landscape and shifts in customer expectations, our Merchant needed an end-to-end strategy that allowed them to expand their operational capabilities to eliminate manual data entry in their returns process.
They chose Loop Returns to allow the Merchant to engage in the return process online with the challenge being to integrate the return flow into their ERP. ComputerCare (CCI) was approached by the Merchant who was concerned that, based on his projections for new sales growth, they would not be able to handle the resulting increase in returns with the manual method they were using.
They wanted to fully automate their returns process to eliminate the inefficiencies and inaccuracies they were currently experiencing. This meant they would need interfaces between the CCI ERP software (CAMS) and their Shopify store as well as their 3PL.
THE SOLUTION:
VL OMNI was engaged to implement the bi-directional integration between the Merchant’s eCommerce platform, Shopify/Loop and EDI with the specific workflows of 850, 856, 846 and bi-directional 180s for returns.
VL OMNI was able to quickly configure their platform to fulfil the complex set of requirements necessary for the client to manage and approve EDI transactions and seamlessly transport approved orders between systems for fulfilment.
ComputerCare facilitated the setup into the ERP. In addition, the Merchant was handling returns manually, which was causing multiple disruptions and impacting their customer experience. We were able to handle the EDI transaction 180 to their returns platform, Loop
This ensured that any errors in return data would be highly visible for the client, improving issue resolution time. ComputerCare (CCI) designed a new workflow for the client’s staff that included processing the EDI 180 documents provided by VL OMNI, in order to automatically create the RMA within the ERP system.
The result of RMA creation was the sending of a 943 EDI document to the client’s 3PL. Subsequently, the client would receive a 944 EDI document (once the 3PL received the returned goods) which updated the RMA and created and sent an outbound 180 to VL OMNI.
The 180 would be sent to Returnly/Shopify in order to close out the RMA. To complete the process, and as a by-product of the outbound 180, the ERP system would automatically create A/R Credits, update inventory, and create Sales Analysis data.
THE RESULTS:
By integrating their ERP and automating EDI communication, the Merchant can now handle return in an automated fashion. With VL OMNI’s integration to their Shopfiy store, ERP and Returns platform they continue to save money and time.
With these systems in place, the Merchant is operating at higher operational efficiency. This enables them to deliver on their customer bases’ demands and expectations of quality and excellent customer service. As a result of implementing the automated integrations with Loop/Shopify (via VL OMNI) and their 3PL, our Merchant is now able to handle a much greater volume of returns with increased response time to their customers, along with greater accuracy.
This has freed up time for the the client and their personnel to address the root of the returns problem, “fit”, in order to ultimately reduce their volume of returns and increase profitability.
The Benefits In Using VL OMNI’s EDI Integration
Our Merchant’s operational capabilities benefitted from processing their EDI transactions in VL OMNI’s iPaaS ecosystem directly. The integration enables the customer to connect their EDI trading partners to their ERP and Shopify eCommerce platform. In fact, the benefits of are endless. The benefits of EDI integration include:
- Eliminating their need for manual entry and maintaining their EDI software
- Configuring their integrations to fit our client’s specific business’ needs
- Enjoying automatic and real-time data movement. The VL OMNI Platform notifies the customer when new orders come in from their trading partners
- Strengthening their back-end systems to handle large order volumes.
