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Achieving Global Scale: Urth's Journey with Cin7 and SMB Consultants
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Finance & Insurance
- Marine & Shipping
Applicable Functions
- Sales & Marketing
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Picking, Sorting & Positioning
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Urth, a mission-driven camera and art accessories business, was facing significant operational challenges. Despite being a well-established ecommerce business, Urth was struggling with inventory management. They were using Magento, an ecommerce platform, for both ecommerce and inventory management. However, Magento was not designed to function as a full-fledged inventory management system. This issue was further complicated by the fact that Urth was running inventory out of Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), and Magento and Amazon were not integrated. This led to several problems, including customers being able to place orders for items that were out of stock and limiting Urth's capacity for growth and expansion to new markets or sales channels. In 2020, Urth decided to move from Magento to Shopify and sought an inventory management system that integrated natively with Shopify and Amazon FBA.
About The Customer
Urth, formerly known as Gobe, is a mission-driven business that sells camera and art accessories. The company was founded following a road trip from California to Patagonia, which inspired the founders to create change by giving more people the opportunity to experience nature. Urth's products, grouped into the categories 'Art, Carry, and Camera,' help customers engage with nature. The company is committed to environmental sustainability, sourcing environmentally friendly products and materials, and offsetting all purchases against the carbon emissions they create. Urth also helps fund communities to plant trees. Today, Urth is a well-established ecommerce business with a focus on operations and finance.
The Solution
Urth engaged SMB Consultants to implement Cin7, an inventory management system that could integrate with Shopify and Amazon FBA. The implementation had to cater to international tax and compliance requirements, necessitating two instances of Cin7 for different regions, multiple sales channels, and fulfillment centers. SMB Consultants and Urth identified two key objectives for the implementation: an accurate inventory valuation and understanding of the cost of goods sold (COGS). With these objectives, automations were put in place to increase efficiency and ease of management. Cin7's powerful automations were implemented, reducing time spent on administrative work. Cin7's automation capability allowed Urth to ship their products to customers worldwide, with orders automatically routed to the appropriate FBA fulfillment location. SMB Consultants also set up a Cin7 automation with a Singapore-based 3PL warehousing facility called IMF to expand Urth's reach further.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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