Learn how Shipwell modernized its EDI processes, enhanced supply chain efficiency, and accelerated partner onboarding with Orderful. Read the full case study.
Business Challenge
Shipwell prides itself on seamlessly connecting its customers to its cloud-based shipping platform. However, as more customers were requiring EDI connections, Shipwell found that it was taking way to long to build custom EDI integrations, delaying customer onboarding and revenue by months.
Solution
Shipwell integrated Orderful’s modern EDI platform into its shipping platform to simplify integrations and provide a better overall experience for its customers. Using Orderful, Shipwell provides digitized requirements to its customers who then use Orderful to test, validate, and fix transactions in real-time allowing them to go live in days.
Results
- Reduced carrier onboarding from a few months to a few weeks.
- Moved the majority of carrier EDI transactions to Orderful.
- Increased support efficiency for troubleshooting and connectivity issues.
- Gained agility to meet the unique requirements of customers quickly.
Transportation costs fluctuate and the flow of materials can be unreliable for manufacturers and materials providers. Companies need to be able to book, track, and trace their shipments with carriers from a single platform. That’s what Shipwell provides.
Shipwell empowers companies of all sizes and across industries to scale their supply chains efficiently. Shipwell’s 3-in-1 cloud-based platform includes a powerful TMS, advanced visibility, and an integrated network. Its extensible technology enables seamless integrations that reduce implementation time while giving companies end-to-end shipment visibility and data centralization. The critical difference is that Shipwell’s platform runs on modern REST API technology, which makes it easy for companies to share real-time information with their CRM, ERP, OMS, and WMS systems.
Orderful“Companies need complete visibility into where all the goods are in their supply chains,” explained David Bianconi, Director, Professional Services, Shipwell. “What separates us from our competitors is that our platform is built on newer technology. It’s very easy to connect to Shipwell, instead of relying on CSV or XML transmissions. Customers can go right to our API documentation to figure out how to pull in the information they need, and we support them every step of the way.”
As Shipwell worked to gain market share, the company realized there was one major bottleneck in its customer onboarding process – EDI. Many customers wanted Shipwell to build custom EDI connections into its shipping solution. Prior to working with Orderful, it took Shipwell’s team longer than expected to build custom integrations.
Orderful“It’s part of our mission at Shipwell to provide easy connectivity to our customers,” said Bianconi. “But it was taking us a while just to build EDI connections. We knew we could gain a competitive advantage by servicing our customers faster, so we started looking for a faster, more reliable way to handle EDI.”
Shipwell began evaluating potential cloud EDI partners. The company was immediately intrigued by the fact that Orderful, like Shipwell, was a startup that offered a modern cloud-based solution.
Orderful“There’s a huge difference between cloud and on-premises solutions, and we wanted to work with a partner that truly understood that,” said Bianconi. “Orderful fit the bill. They also shared our startup mentality where every customer relationship matters to us and we focus relentlessly on customer success. We knew that in addition to getting the EDI technology we needed, we were entering a partnership where we would help each other grow.”
Shipwell engaged Orderful to help it connect with its customers, carriers, and partners. Any customer that needs an EDI connection between Shipwell and their carriers now leverages Orderful functionality that is integrated with the Shipwell platform. Most of Shipwell customers take advantage of this connectivity. By integrating Orderful’s modern EDI platform, Shipwell gained the ability and confidence to promise customers that it can connect them to their carriers quickly and gain visibility for their goods.
Onboarding Process Reduced to Weeks
Integrating with Orderful’s cloud EDI capabilities had an immediate impact for Shipwell. The company has streamlined its average partner onboarding time to weeks.
Victor GarciaSenior Solutions Engineer, Shipwell“Orderful has dramatically reduced the complexity of our EDI connections,” reported Victor Garcia, Senior Solutions Engineer, Shipwell. “They’re the piece that actually does the translations as we process EDI transactions. Without them, it just wouldn’t be possible to do what we’re doing for customers. It would be like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.”
Cloud EDI Enables a Superior Customer Experience
Since integrating with Orderful, Shipwell has increased its efficiency and can now offer better service for its customers’ unique needs. Garcia points to Orderful’s business rules engine as a key feature that helps Shipwell remain agile enough to meet a wide variety of customer needs on a tight timeframe.
Orderful“The manufacturers and carriers we work with have a host of different EDI equirements, but in the end, they all have to meet Shipwell’s standards if they want to connect with our platform,” explained Garcia. “Orderful’s business rules engine makes it easy for us to pivot and adjust for each new client account. By pointing and clicking, we can translate their requirements into rules that will work consistently, saving time and money for our customers as well as for us.”
Storing EDI Requirements Centrally Streamlines Onboarding
Shipwell stores and manages all its EDI requirements within Orderful and has found that doing so saves time in establishing connections for new customers. New customers have access to the requirements and can start testing immediately.
Orderful“When it comes to building EDI connections, it’s essential to shave as many steps as possible off the process,” said Garcia. “Orderful helps us save time so that we can continue to provide the level of service we’ve become known for. In each relationship, we set ourselves up as the leader and our carrier as the follower, and then simply start creating rules.”
Mutual Exchange of Ideas Powers Continued Growth
Just as importantly, Shipwell and Orderful have formed a partnership for mutual growth. Because both companies are technology innovators at a similar stage of their development, the two teams consult each other frequently to exchange mutually beneficial ideas about developing their platforms.
David BianconiDirector, Professional Services, Shipwell“There’s no doubt Orderful has helped us grow,” concluded Bianconi. “Their customer service has been excellent, and they continue to invest in enhancing their technology so that they can support the increased volume of customers like us. This has been a beneficial relationship for both parties, and we’re looking forward to the next chapter.”
Orderful
Orderful is the modern EDI platform that gives logistics providers, retailers, manufacturers and technology companies full control to onboard and manage all of their EDI trading partnerships and transactions in real-time. Forward-thinking companies are replacing their existing EDI infrastructure and using Orderful as a bridge for adopting modern API principles. Orderful customers are onboarding new trading partners in days by simplifying integrations, accessing our pre-connected network, and proactively solving problems in a self-service experience.
Shipwell
At Shipwell, we empower supply chain efficiency and service effectiveness at scale. The Shipwell platform includes capabilities previously out of most shippers’ technical reach and affordability today. Our solution combines everything shippers need, from transportation management and visibility to procurement, in a comprehensive, easy-to-use platform. It will adapt and scale as market and business demands change, allowing shippers to operate, manage, and optimize the shipping process seamlessly. Industry experts have recognized Shipwell’s traction in the market and have differentiated Shipwell as a leader in the logistics industry. Awards include Gartner Magic Quadrant for TMS 2022, 2021, Food Logistics’ 2022 Top Software & Technology Providers, and FreightWaves’ FreightTech 2022 and 2021 Awards for Innovation and Disruption in Freight Industry. Shipwell was also named the fourth fastest-growing Company in North America on the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Forbes 2020 Next Billion-Dollar Startup. To learn more, visit www.shipwell.com.
