Vendor search and management for subscription business launch
- March 14, 2023
- Posted by: Barry Blumenfield
- Category: Case Study
Challenge
A client was launching a new collectibles subscription business. They already had the in-house marketing expertise, merchandise and branding but did not have experience in selecting or managing an Order Management System (OMS) or fulfillment partner. Their business model required many non-standard functions which would require custom development by whichever OMS vendor was selected. They also did not have sufficient staffing in-house for ongoing operations management.
Solution
The client retained Blumenfield Consulting to assist in the vendor search, oversee implementation and to then manage Operations on an ongoing basis. We provided the following services:
- Provided client with our recommendations for requirements for optimal success based upon our firsthand experience in their vertical.
- Following a review and fine tuning of those requirements, we created a highly detailed Request for Proposal which clearly defined all requirements to eliminate any ambiguity or misunderstandings.
- Identified potential OMS and fulfillment vendors who could potentially meet the requirements, attended demos to narrow down the field to best possible partners.
- Distributed an RFP along with a pre-built response template which would allow for easy comparison of each vendor’s ability to deliver upon the requirements.
- Upon receipt of responses, applied scoring to all vendors based upon RFP response worksheet and pricing. Submitted final selection recommendations to client and upon vendor selection, ensured that the final agreements accurately reflected all services and requirements as defined in the RFP.
- We worked directly with the OMS vendor to scope out all custom development, perform system configurations and then managed integrations between new and existing vendors for the product launch.
- Performed call center training based upon the OMS capabilities and client business rules and retention policies.
Results
The project was launched on-time and on-budget. Rigorous User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for all custom development and integrations between vendors as well as end-to-end testing ensured that entire order processing and fulfillment process was operating correctly prior to going live, eliminating any surprises or problems upon launch.
We continue to manage the order management and fulfillment on the client’s behalf, perform cross-check validation on all reports and vendor billing, provide call center monitoring and training as needed.
The business has been performing well, all vendors are happy with the relationship and the client is able to concentrate on marketing and supply chain rather than handling order processing or fulfillment issues, for significantly less cost than bringing in a full time Director of Operations.