How Sleep Corp integrated MachShip with Netsuite for seamless shipping
Sleep Corp is a leading provider of products that help people to achieve great sleep. The brand has an unwavering commitment to innovation–not just through developing patented bedding protection technologies, but also in the ways it makes, sells and ships its products.
Sleep Corp has more than 50 different lines of mattress protectors, pads, pillows and bedding and other sleep products. It operates a comprehensive manufacturing operation and distributes all over Australia. Sleep Corp also sells a small percentage of its products via ecommerce, which it plans to expand in the future.
Making the situation more complex is the set up of the business; its manufacturing arm is a separate subsidiary to its warehousing arm, which presents challenges from a financial analysis perspective.
Sleep Corp also has an eye towards Industry 4.0, and is currently in the process of automating all of its current manufacturing processes, partnering with Swinburne University in a co-funded government sponsored manufacturing project.
Sleep Corp’s checklist when choosing an enterprise resource planning solution was clear:
Ryland Joyce, Sleep Corp Operations Manager, says the focus on a solid technology foundation is essential to Sleep Corp’s success.
“Our infrastructure, and the ‘bones’ of that, are the essential foundational elements,” says Ryland.
“No matter how flashy a robot is outside, if you don’t have a system and infrastructure that supports that, there’s no point in having the robot – it’s not intelligent. The most important thing is the data and the systems that support those robots. That is the core of why we need a powerful ERP that’s connected to every area of our business.”
Part of Sleep Corp’s commitment to innovation is an openness to working with partners who can streamline processes and make life easier. MachShip approached Sleep Corp with the promise of simplifying and automating Sleep Corp’s logistics operations, which Sleep Corp recognised as a compelling proposal. However, previous NetSuite integrations had seen their timelines creep out, leaving Ryland under-resourced to take on the project.
“MachShip came in and showed me the product, and I said, ‘It’s very cool but I don’t have the capacity to get it going right now,’” recalls Ryland.
However, after looking more closely at the numbers, Sleep Corp saw that the project made a lot of sense and decided to engage MachShip. The integration began in July 2021 and MachShip was fully functional in Sleep Corp’s Netsuite system in under two months.
“It was a very, very easy integration, six weeks from signing the contract to going live. The tools and resources that James from Machship was able to provide made it a bit easier,” says Ryland.
Immediately after integration, Ryland and his team saw the amount of time they were spending on admin and paperwork, along with the headaches and stress of miscommunication, slashed.
“My life is made easier,” says Ryland.
MachShip systemised many previously manual processes, Ryland explained.
“We went from triple entry of data out of NetSuite onto a manual piece of paper, and then into their manual system, and then back again… into single-entry scan and packed, and immediately printed labels. It’s chalk and cheese comparatively, in terms of the process flow.”
This new way of working has opened up new opportunities for growth for Sleep Corp. Whereas previously, growth of its logistics operation was tied to headcount, now it could achieve more with the same amount of people.
“We’ve had year-on-year growth for the past three years of at least 5%, if not 10%”, says Ryland.
“And in terms of staffing down on the floor, I haven’t actually seen a headcount increase in the packing section of the business. And I would say that MachShip plays a very significant part.”
MachShip’s automatic carrier integrations also give Ryland and Sleep Corp the ability to compare quotes and introduce new carriers quickly and easily–a huge potential money-saver.
“The pleasant surprise to me was how simple it is to look at any new carriers, or any changes that we want to make to our carrier systems,” says Ryland.
“Before, I would have to go and consolidate invoices from the carriers, and it would take hours of my time to get all the data together and compare it manually. Now if I want to go to a new carrier, I just say, ‘No worries, we use MachShip – I’ll send you three months’ worth of data, tell me if you can offer a better price.”
While Sleep Corp’s ecommerce operation only represents a fraction of its total business, there are plans to expand. Getting shipping right will be a fundamental part of that growth, and Ryland can already see that MachShip’s positive impact on Sleep Corp’s processes make this growth much more achievable.
“As we move more into ecommerce I’m now able to compare our carrier pricing, and then actually predict and review our website costs.
“I can make quicker, more effective decisions based on the data.”
MachShip integrates seamlessly with Netsuite and many other ecommerce, ERP and WMS systems. Our expert integration team are with you at every step to walk you through the process and handle the technical work. Find out more here.
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