By Ruth Richter • June 30, 2016
When Adam Buchanan joined SlipX Solutions as Director of eCommerce, their website platform and Sage 100 accounting system were partially automated. “We used an Access database to prepare the files to be sent via FTP,” stated Adam. “It worked to limit user errors and dual entry of data, to a degree, but still required significant human interaction and it wasn’t always perfectly smooth.”
SlipX Solutions offers home and bath products both direct to consumers through their website and through marketing channel partners Amazon and eBay. As the company started to do more with Amazon, they used spreadsheets to import and export, which still required manual involvement. Business grew to a point where SlipX Solutions couldn’t have manual involvement any longer.
They moved to an integration solution that looked great on the surface, but ultimately didn’t perform the way it was represented. Adam recalled, “It seemed like there was as much time and man hours figuring out things that didn’t work. Technically, we were automated but we were wasting time trouble-shooting errors and trying to understand why there were inconsistencies. Trying to fix issues was ongoing and we never got to a point where we were running smoothly. After a number of months, we decided it wasn’t going to be the best long term solution.”
Naturally, Adam was very skeptical after that about choosing a replacement solution. “I hadn’t been aware of other options, and on paper the first solution met all the qualifications. It was supposed to be a hands-off integration which is what we wanted, and they had experience in the channels. Maybe integrating ecommerce with Sage 100 was not possible.” SlipX Solutions didn’t want to invest money up front just to get into the same situation again.
SlipX Solutions’ Sage 100 reseller, SWK Technologies, was consulted. SlipX Solutions uses their MAPADOC EDI solution, which is native to Sage 100, so integration is seamless. SlipX Solutions wanted a similar solution for their website platforms and SWK highly recommended ROI Consulting and their IN-SYNCH solution. “I valued their recommendation and moved forward,” said Adam. “It turned out to be a great recommendation. The ROI Consulting team was terrific and we partnered well, which made the start-up process so smooth. And, the IN-SYNCH solution worked right from the beginning.”
Since that time, SlipX Solutions has grown their Amazon offerings, added a Magento website, and added eBay. “It’s hard to quantify the value IN-SYNCH and ROI Consulting has had on our business, but without integration we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the volume. I am absolutely satisfied with the return on investment and the significant time savings,” Adam exclaimed. “We had one staff member who was doing customer service for the website along with the other market places. As sales grew and demanded more time, she was able to refocus her time and provide a better customer service experience because the orders were in on time and accurate. In fact, we gained such efficiency that we are able to provide same day shipping for orders placed by 1:00 pm Eastern. We wouldn’t be able to do that without real-time integration.”
Because the IN-SYNCH solution works so well, and integration is available to multiple shopping carts, SlipX Solutions has the freedom to grow its business into more and more marketplaces. The sky is the limit!
