Having selected NetSuite’s Cloud ERP for their business management and financial controls and WAERlinx for their Warehouse Management, Cox & Cox realised that fully integrating these, and other, best of breed systems would be instrumental in making their re-platforming successful.
With a significant portfolio of successful NetSuite customers, as well as being the UK and Europe’s leading Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), Patchworks were an obvious candidate for Cox & Cox.
Aynsley highlighted a number of elements as to why he chose Patchworks as his integration partner:
The more we worked with Aynsley and Cox & Cox on this case study, the clearer it became that Patchworks’ impact was felt across the entire business, here are the highlights:
Secure payment options
Cox & Cox required the ability to pre-authorise card payments at the point of order – both online and over the phone – to then charge on despatch. Not complex on the face of it. However, Cox & Cox take a large volume of pre-orders for new / limited production products. Those orders will often also contain lines for items that are already in stock. All of a sudden, payment on despatch for part-fulfilled orders becomes a complex issue. With PayPal and Cancellations also in the mix, along with other customisable requirements, the homeware retailer certainly didn’t make life easy for themselves. Patchworks ensure that payment communications are kept clean and simple, enabling Cox & Cox to offer the level of service their customers require, whilst helping to ensure that payments are processed securely, efficiently and without error.
Putting the ping in Shipping
With a product portfolio that ranges from ottomans to outdoor dining sets and rugs to brass hooks, Cox & Cox have to cater for a vast range of delivery options – with more than 30 on offer at the time of writing. The Company continue to push the boundaries of what can be offered to the customer, confident in the knowledge that Patchworks will be able to handle the requests and map them into a format that their NetSuite ERP and other systems can understand. More importantly, the Patchworks iPaaS means that there is flexibility built in for changes / additions to be made quickly and easily as they are required.
Stock Levels and more besides
Pre-sales, seasonal product and the vast array of processes that come with any established multi-channel retailer mean that stock levels can’t just be fired up to Magento. Defining custom rules and mapping within the Patchworks iPaaS has enabled Cox & Cox to fully control and automate their eCommerce stock levels from their back office, without having to compromise on functionality or the complexity their business model requires.
An extension to TeamCox
Having worked with a variety of eCommerce and ERP platforms during his career, including Hybris, SAP and Demandware, Aynsley is in an excellent position to compare the level of service Cox & Cox receive from Patchworks. Whilst running the interview for this piece, it became clear that Patchworks’ consultative and collaborative approach was key to the success of the system re-platforming as a whole. Team Patchworks’ ability to collaborate with Cox & Cox, NetSuite and other stakeholders in the re-platforming project ensured that roadblocks were removed and bumps in the road were smoothed out, enabling a complex program to remain on course.