Stanley 1913 Elevates Decision Making & Order Management to Keep Up With Virality
With the potential for virality and demand to spike at any time, building a responsive and scalable direct-to-consumer (D2C) infrastructure has never been more important for brands.
PMI WW Brands’ Stanley 1913, the heritage brand known for its recently viral hydration products, has embraced this challenge head-on by leveraging cutting-edge technology to strengthen its supply chain operations.
In an exclusive interview, CIO Raj Chudasama tells CGT how the company modernized its order management system to meet surging consumer demand and unlock real-time insights that are reshaping the way it serves shoppers.
Increasing Supply Chain Responsiveness
As the lead for Stanley’s tech strategy and execution, Chudasama is tasked with ensuring the company’s digital infrastructure scales effectively and seamlessly to keep pace with business growth, especially as it continues to expand its D2C operations.
Following its viral success, which spiked in 2020 with hydration products such as the Quencher H2.0 FlowState tumbler and other limited-edition collections, Chudasama knew he had to seek out a solution that could quickly adapt to changes in demand.
Also: Stanley adopts AI for proactive problem-solving in supply chain
As a result, the company partnered with Blue Yonder to optimize its D2C order management and fulfillment operations so it could better support high-volume orders and improve operational responsiveness.
“One of the main drivers was the variance and volume of orders during some of our major product launches,” says Chudasama. “We needed our existing systems to scale faster, and we needed a partner that could provide us with real-time data and insights into inventory availability across channels.”
New Capabilities and Benefits
The company leaned into cloud-native, composable microservices that could easily integrate into its existing tech stack within just three months. “This allowed us to adapt quickly and efficiently, enabling real-time visibility into order demand as well as achieving faster order processing times.”
Aligned front- and back-end systems worked in tandem with external platforms such as Shopify to support an enhanced D2C experience. As a result, inventory planning is now more dynamic, leading to improved decision-making because of new data-driven processes that inform Stanley teams on how to better meet demand.
“With real-time data and automation, we’re able to fulfill thousands of orders accurately and on time, especially during peak demand periods,” he says. “This transparency not only improved our internal decision making, but also boosted customer satisfaction.”
Additionally, onboarding didn’t add unnecessary complexity, allowing for a smooth transition process.
“The [partnership] provided high-touch implementation support throughout to ensure our team could quickly adapt to the new systems and workflows,” says Chudasama.
For CPG brands looking to install similar functionality, Chudasama recommends prioritizing real-time data visibility across the organization.
“By equipping teams with real-time data, it allows organizations to make faster and smarter decisions that are informed by accurate data,” he says.
“I also encourage collaboration throughout the partnership process. The smooth implementation was a result of a strong synergy between the two teams, and we plan to expand our capabilities in the long term as our business needs shift.”
