Integrated Ecommerce Bathes Company in Success

Headquarters: Minneapolis, MN

Industry: Consumer Bath, Body, and Home Keeping Products

Website(s): www.thymes.com

Download the Thymes case study.

Known for delicious, expressive, and evocative scents created using essential oils, The Thymes Co. is an international wholesaler of soaps, lotions, bath salts, and fragrances for the home and for the body. Sold in boutiques around the country as well as at larger retailers including Nordstrom and Disney, the company’s order processing system was in need of a makeover. Orders were faxed in and took up to three days to be processed into the system. Fulfillment and shipping took another seven to ten days, leaving some retail clients frustrated with the slow order fulfillment process. In addition, The Thymes Co. employed a large number of customer service representatives to process the orders, which resulted in considerable overhead for the company. Something had to change.

Insite Software supplied the solution: create two deeply integrated ecommerce websites—one for B2B retailers and the other for consumers who wish to purchase The Thymes Co.’s products directly from the company. Both sites would be fully integrated with the Thymes’ ERP and back-end business functions, like accounting, fulfillment, and shipping. Insite Software’s InsiteCommerce™ and InsiteShip™, would serve as the integration bridge between the sites and the Thymes’ ERP and back-end systems. Integration would allow The Thymes Co. to automate order entry, inventory management, and the customer service aspects associated with their business, while InsiteShip would complete the loop by taking order data from the ERP system and feeding it to the shipping and fulfillment areas without requiring manual entry of the shipping data.

The dual website solution was just what The Thymes Co. needed to streamline their business and improve overall customer satisfaction. The B2B site allowed retail clients to place orders directly with the Thymes’ distribution and shipping areas, providing a direct, real-time connection to the production system, while eliminating the paper and time-intensive email and fax orders of the past. The online system facilitates the tracking of orders as well as sales and account information via the Internet. Insite Software worked closely with the graphic designers at The Thymes to create brand-consistent interfaces, while ensuring that all unique business requirements were included in the tailored application. Additionally, the consumer-focused website allowed The Thymes to secure a new revenue stream directly from consumers without the need for customer service intervention. Both sites were developed under tight timeframes and were completed in time for the crucial holiday sales season.

Kelly Portmann, VP of Customer and Administrative Services, said that The Thymes dramatically shortened its order turnaround time from more than a week to less than 48 hours. “Retailers now know that we can provide ‘just-in-time technology,’ which a lot of them prefer because they are small, boutique shops with little or no storage or warehouse space...this really helped us develop our reputation with retailers.” Portmann added, “These improvements have allowed us to grow our business. We typically grow about 10 percent a year in sales without having to grow our staff. We have increasing sales without increasing staff numbers.”

For over six years, Insite Software has helped the wholesaler with a number of ecommerce and integration advancements. “The goal is efficiency,” said Linda Taddonio, co-owner of Insite Software. “It is taking non-value-added activities out of the process, whatever that process might be.”

To experience how Insite Software can revolutionize your business, call 1-866-746-0377 to speak to one of our sales team members.