NEECOM 3

							Choosing a Next Generation Platform: New
Balance’s Evaluation Process
You Can’t Fit A Size 12 Foot Into a Size 5 Shoe!


Robyn D'Addario, Assistant EC Manager, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
Evroy Anglin, Senior EC Analyst, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
Agenda
•   EDI at NB
•   Why change?
•   Software selection process
•   Lessons learned
•   Q&A
The New Balance Family of Brands
Systems Supported

  Seven
 Business
Applications
EDI Milestones
                                          - ASN for overseas footwear factory direct       - EDI is 60% of business
- Electronic Remittance (JC Penney          shipments (print labels in factory)            - Spreadsheet order processing for
  1st account)                            - Brand Security tongue label                      Sample Orders
                                          - Consolidated Invoices                          - IT Automated PO updates to XPC with pre- - New EDI Software
                                          - On-line Visibility to EDI Error Recovery       pack table                                 -- 500 Trading Partners
                                            Suspense reasons.
                                          - Send ASN's hourly instead of once a day




                   2000      2001      2002    2003       2004        2005       2006       2007       2008           2009      2010




- 72 Accounts on EDI;
- Email ASN to replace faxed
  packing slip from warehouse
- Start receiving customer Sell-thru
                                                                                        - Ship Direct w/ASN's from Solar Link
                                                                                        - AS2 Direct Connect communications
- Dynamic DC Association                                                                -- Brine merged w/ Warrior
- PO Acknowledgments
- Added 1 headcount (from 3 to 4 EDI personnel)
                                                                                        - Update pre-pack table off EDI PO
 - EDI hits 56%                                                                         - Allow processing of Hash Orders via
 - 24 Hour Orders implemented                                                             spreadsheet processing
   (Hourly processing of EDI Orders)
 - Canada Order Processing Spreadsheet
 orders
Shared Services Group - 2001
Shared Services Group - Current
Determine Scope of software needed
• Where we fall short today
  –   Process monitors
  –   Are we missing any documents
  –   Did a process fail
  –   Visibility
Determine Scope 2
• EDI Mapping
• Migrate Business Processes
• Replace existing scripts
• End-to-end mature package
Limitations to be aware of
• Corporate IT Limitations
  – Databases supported
  – Server OS/Platform
  – Limited access to firewall changes
• Integrate with SAP
Who are the major players?
• Gartner magic quadrant
• AMR conference call
• Are consultants widely available?
• Due diligence
  –   General reputation of company and software
  –   How long have they been in the industry
  –   How widely known/used?
  –   Any upheavals? i.e. mergers, retention of top-level
      executives
Speak to actual users
• Determine ease of use, ease of installation,
  availability of training, effectiveness of software
• How complex were other companies
  requirements in comparison to ours?
• Do users need to be rocket scientists to get work
  done?
Assemble RFP
• Create Functionality Checklist
  –   Trading Partnership Management
  –   Tables
  –   Translation Capability
  –   Reporting/Metrics
  –   Communications
  –   Process Monitoring
  –   Security
  –   Training
  –   Installed Base
Analyze RFP responses as a team
• Put together scorecard spreadsheet of desired
  features and rate
• Scorecard was developed AFTER we had seen
  at least one demo instead of in the beginning
• At the end of the exercise, statistical dead heat
Vendor Demos
• In-house and web based
• Evaluated from the viewpoints of a technical user
  and administrative (day-to-day operations)
• What we could have done better
How Much Training Needed?
• Is there a painless migration path
• Knowledge Transfer
• Reference calls
Decision Making
• EDI Team roundtable
• Take the pulse of the group
• Who/what we liked/disliked and why
• Perceived risks
Other Decision Making Factors ($$$)
• Licenses & support plan
• Training
• Consulting services (migration, implementation)
• Pricing varies according to how work is allocated
Lessons learned
• Speak to a technical person in vendor demos
  – Can be a discrepancy between the marketing
    literature and the reality
• Standardize a list of questions
  – So you can compare apples to apples
• Don’t schedule the demos too far apart
  – You’ll forget a bunch of stuff
  – Harder to make an objective decision
• Stick to deadlines
• Contact more than one user
Questions?