Propper Extends Sales Processes to the Web

Uniform manufacturer sees productivity gains, reduced costs after going live with Intentia solution

Uniform manufacturer sees productivity gains, reduced costs after going live with Intentia solution

Schaumburg, IL — March 31, 2004 — Uniform manufacturer Propper International has gone live with its implementation of a Web-based sales solution from Intentia, resulting in productivity gains and reduced operating costs by providing access to real-time product information, online order configuration and order entry.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Propper has three business units, including Government, serving government agencies, military and defense; Public Safety, serving police, correctional and other state, county and municipal organizations; and Commercial, serving a variety of specialty retailers. The company has manufacturing sites in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and a distribution center in Tennessee. Propper's 2,000 employees service more than 3,500 accounts globally, and the company sells direct, as well as through distribution channels.

The company has implemented Intentia's Web-based e-Sales solution. Integrated with Propper's Movex Fashion enterprise backbone, e-Sales provides an XML-enabled "gateway" that allows Propper to adapt to the varied process requirements of customers and manage multiple and diverse sales channels and market segments in a more cost-efficient manner, according to Intentia. Propper runs Movex applications on a centrally located IBM iSeries/400 Server.

According to Devin McCarthy, Propper's global director of information technology, the company wanted to bring its business to the Web to provide customers and distributors with more information, faster service and convenience, without adding information technology (IT) infrastructure or resources.

"Movex e-Sales enables all of that and more," McCarthy said. "With our product catalogs, specifications and pricing online, and secure emailing capabilities in place, our distributors now have 24/7 self-service access to configure, order and track order status right from their desktops."

In addition, McCarthy said that with much of the company's information online, custom-tailored to each of its marketplaces, it has become faster and easier for Propper to update the product mix in real time, thereby eliminating errors and confusion that can result from outdated print materials.

"Our goal in implementing Intentia's e-Sales solution is to serve customers better," McCarthy continued. "Armed with Movex Fashion and Movex e-Sales, we have been able to ramp up productivity and output to meet growing customer needs and, at the same time, significantly reduce our operating costs."

In its deployment of e-Sales, Propper implemented several B2B initiatives, including quoting and configuration of orders, customized pricing and generation of forms for new account credit applications. The new order entry system not only displays photographs of products with features and specifications but also provides photos of actual fabric swatches on-screen.

Propper is continuing to work with Intentia on additional functionality, such as Web-based facilitation of customer returns.

McCarthy concluded: "The beauty of Movex e-Sales lies in its power to transform a static, one-way Website into a dynamic and interactive communications portal that will help Propper International grow sales and reduce costs, while providing higher levels of customer interaction, service and support."

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