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End-to-end Integration at Boston Proper

Boston Proper is a leading direct-to-consumer retailer of women’s high-end apparel and accessories based in Boca Raton, FL. In the 1990s it selected a powerful and flexible order management system that it continues to use today: CWDirect from MICROS-Retail.

 

In 2008, the company decided that the front end of its eCommerce site needed a refresh. After an extensive search, it selected Fry OCP eCommerce platform from MICROS-Retail.

 

Noticeable Enhancements

"We had a useable site, that was in need of a facelift. We wanted a new platform that would allow us to manage the creative-in house, while still providing robust functionality and scalability. We also required that the solution seamlessly interface with CWDirect. Fry OCP met all these requirements and more," says Margaret Moraskie, vice president of eCommerce at Boston Proper.

 

"We were able to update the site’s functionality using Fry OCP out of the box with only a few minor modifications," she continues. "We got all the functionality we wanted without having to wait for customization."

 

Among the site upgrades were:

  • A perpetual shopping cart that continuously calculates tax and shipping
  • More product views
  • Additional sorting functions that implement OCP’s refinement options on the sub-category level to allow users to sort products by relevance, size, color, and price range
  • Real-time, product availability messages

"Since the call center receives inventory availability information from CWDirect, the staff there always knows exactly how many items are available and whether they will be reordered. Online shoppers, however, had no visibility into inventory levels. If customers had difficulty ordering an item online, they would call the contact center to try to resolve the problem. Now, with OCP and its integration to CWDirect, we can set proper expectations. The message ‘Almost gone’ appears next to an item when inventory is running low. This capability has relieved the contact center of many calls from frustrated customers," says Moraskie.

 

"The new design and sorting functions have also changed shopping behavior and encourages customers to browse the site," she adds. Front end enhancements to the site did not require an overhaul of the back end systems. Boston Proper continues on its existing version of CWDirect.

 

Infrastructure Upgrade

Many improvements are transparent to customers. "The system is simply more stable," says DeAnne Judd, director of information technology at Boston Proper. OCP and CWDirect are tightly integrated. For example, with the legacy system, the payment information occasionally became separated from the order forcing the IT team to reconcile them manually. The new solution has seamless credit card integration, saving valuable staff time.

 

"The architecture is more streamlined," continues Judd. "One place where we have saved a lot of time is in loading catalog and item information to the site. It used to take hours, and now it takes minutes. That is a tremendous improvement."

 

Smooth Launch

"Working with MICROS-Retail has been a true pleasure," says Judd. "There were no surprises during the implementation. The OCP and CWDirect teams were genuinely interested in working together, which made the process much smoother. I can honestly say that this was the best development and launch process I have ever gone through."