Aptean Apparel ERP, Exenta Edition Case Study: MindsInSync, Inc.

MindsInSync is a leader in home décor solutions for the kitchen, bath and bedroom. Founded in 2005, the company showcases products from its 12 successful brands—including MicroDry, Aquatopia, GripTex and Home Circle—across the shelves and websites of the world’s largest retailers.

With more than 200 employees around the globe, MindsInSync actively identifies market needs and develops innovative new products to satisfy them.

The Challenge

MindsInSync was growing too rapidly for its outdated business systems to handle. The company’s Quickbooks accounting system and third-party electronic data interchange (EDI) provider were not scaling up enough to meet the transaction processing demands of Bed Bath & Beyond, MindsInSync’s newest and largest trading partner at that time.

“Our business with Bed Bath & Beyond had gone from zero to $55 million over a very short period,” recalled CEO, Iain Scorgie. “They have more than 1,000 stores and order a SKU per store, almost every day. That increased volume exploded our QuickBooks and EDI.”

With such an increase in order volume, MincInSync’s basic systems were simply not able to provide the functionality, scalability and real-time visibility required to keep up with the company’s growth.

The Solution

The executive team realized the need to invest in a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with built-in EDI to accommodate additional large retailer customers. MindsInSync selected Aptean Apparel ERP because it was purpose-built for the apparel and soft goods manufacturing industry and offered a centralized, fully integrated system that enabled real-time visibility from the concept phase of new products all the way through to the delivery of orders to customers.

“Aptean Apparel ERP was the best of the pack in terms of value, implementation, ease of use and ability to handle the volume of transactions,” says Scorgie.

The Result

Aptean Apparel ERP helped MindsInSync improve efficiency and accuracy throughout its operations, while reducing workforce costs and costly chargebacks. These benefits were the direct result of having a fully automated EDI process that eliminated duplicate data entry and provided real-time data analysis.

• 90% of U.S. and China headcounts reduced or allocated

• Processed 10x greater volume of transactions with a smaller staff

• 90% fewer chargebacks

• Gained 80% more time

“Aptean Apparel ERP’s built-in EDI functionality and the interface with the customers is fantastic. Before, we retyped the same information in six different places. Now, we key it in once and everybody taps into that information and views reports. There are now three people running them where we had 50 people before, in the U.S. and China. EDI was the massive part of that savings,” Scorgie said.

Accelerating Growth

MindsInSync began acquiring major retail accounts rapidly as time savings and efficiency of automation kicked into high gear. In a relatively short span of time, the company was able to open new lines of business with many major mass market retailers—with the new Aptean ERP powered processes handling the rapid growth with no need for additional staff.

“In that period and with Aptean Apparel ERP, we expanded our business by 10 times—literally,” Scorgie commented. “Aptean Apparel ERP gave us more confidence to go after more new customers, because we didn’t have to hire a hundred people to deal with more customers. We knew the system could handle it.”

Improving Inventory Management

Additionally, the real-time information provided by the system greatly improved MindsInSync’s inventory management. Prior to implementation of the Aptean solution, three people worked at reconciling the stock numbers reported from the company’s warehouse while accounting for shipped orders and new receipts.

Today, with Aptean’s ERP for apparel and soft goods businesses, inventory data automatically reconciles each day against the stock inventory position and orders in transit. The built-in EDI also automates Amazon drop-shipments through the warehouse, providing a growing source of new orders.

Looking to the Future

Thanks to Aptean Apparel ERP, the MindsInSync team spends less time bogged down in operational analysis, leaving more time to innovate new products and make strategic moves.

“We set up a lot of exception reports in Aptean Apparel ERP. I love it because I get all the information I want on a daily basis. And if I don’t get a report that means things are not going wrong,” Scorgie noted.

He explained his staff used to spend 90% of their time processing day-to-day operational tasks and just 10% on product development. Once Aptean Apparel ERP was up and running, that ratio completely flipped, and the company is able to focus on future growth.

“We are about to launch some super-hot new items as a result of having more time to think about product and not be so worried about the numbers. We’re working on some massive programs.”

Ready To Clean Up Inefficient Processes in Your Business?

Between stringent retailer compliance requirements, changing consumer preferences, supply chain disruptions and rapidly rising operational costs, businesses in the apparel, soft goods and homewares industries are under more pressure than ever.

That’s why you need advanced software on your side, supported by a partner that knows your industry and can advise on best practices to accelerate your digital transformation and power future growth. Enter Aptean.

With a full suite of innovative software for apparel and consumer goods companies—from ERP to product lifecycle management and shop floor control software—we’re here to help you streamline processes, improve profitability and enhance customer service.

Get in touch with our expert teams to find out how our apparel software can help solve your business challenges, or schedule a personalized demo to see the system in action.