From December 2007

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Looking ahead
In designing the system, Vera Bradley did not look only at its current needs, but projected those needs out five to 10 years. And like most companies in the retail business, it had to look at the ability to meet peak holiday requirements, as well. “Even with their current growth, this facility should be capable of handling Vera Bradley’s needs” for at least another decade, says Forte senior consultant Alan McDonnell.

While vendors associated with the undertaking admit that such an automation project is not unique, what sets Vera Bradley apart from much of the rest of the retail industry is the fact it was able to start from scratch. “There were no pre-conceived notions of how things had to be done,” Wohlwend says. “From the beginning they were able to pick the ultimate solutions and then train employees in the correct way” to operate and implement them.

Critical to selecting a vendor was evaluating the implementation teams that Vera Bradley would work with, Wojewuczki says. “We had to see how they would fit in with our staff. Are they willing to work the long days and nights it takes to go live? Are they willing to stay when we say, ‘We need you’ – or are they going to need to catch a flight back to their office?”

Once Forte was chosen as the designer and integrator, it was able to assist Vera Bradley in selecting specific items used in the automation process. It was also able to assist in the design of the new warehouse, helping to determine what size facility was needed.

And while there were immediate benefits from the redesigned system, Vera Bradley is already looking at future applications for the technology. The current system is being used only to fulfill orders from Vera Bradley-licensed stores and other retailers that carry the brand; the company is considering expanding the use to fulfill orders that come from the brand’s e-commerce site, Wojewuczki says.

Additionally, access to some of the order status could be expanded to the store level, McDonnell says. That way, store employees could get real-time status updates on inventory in the warehouse. Not only could sales associates check the status of an order they have submitted, but they could check the availability of the product requested by customers and assure them that “they could have the item to them by a particular day.”

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