Gloucester, Mass., — Originally posted on April 7, 2015 —
TradeStone is a game-changing merchant experience for retailers, brands and suppliers that form some of the world’s largest retail communities. Carolina Pad, most recognized at retail stores under the brand Studio C (www.shopstudioc.com), is a leading supplier of fashion accessories to retailers worldwide and is known as the brand that first brought fashion to school and office products by focusing on consumer trends and design rather than strictly manufacturing. Carolina pad is using TradeStone’s Merchandise Lifecycle Management (MLM) platform to design, source and buy great products faster and more cost effectively with lower administrative overhead than ever before.
Carolina Pad took a best-in-class approach with TradeStone’s platform to unify its entire buying process, improve margins and get new products to market faster. By basing the implementation on an industry best practice model, Carolina Pad was able to replace multiple, disparate applications with a single TradeStone system in less than six months. Thus, speeding time-to-market and offering Carolina Pad end-to-end control and visibility across its entire supplier community without disruption to on-going business. The platform is used daily by Carolina Pad associates in their US, Vietnam, Shanghai and Hong Kong operations to collaborate with Carolina Pad’s global supplier community. Many of those users interact with the system via mobile devices to update message threads concerning products and processes in real-time from the field.
Carolina Pad benefits from TradeStone’s unique merchant-centric approach to:
- Design: Develop products intelligently, manage artwork, create dynamic tech packs, product samples and more while continuing to rely on their Adobe suite of tools
- Source: Collaborate on offers and proposals, analyze cost and run what-if scenarios
- Buy: Utilize progressive order management, supplier compliance, and order track and trace, all within a short peak-season window
“We applaud the commitment that Carolina Pad’s entire supplier community dedicated to this project. With their support, we were able to get them up and running quickly, slashing new product timelines from weeks to days,” said Brian Marsden, President, TradeStone. “Carolina Pad is realizing the power of a collaborative platform with mobile usability. They are truly poised for growth in today’s complex global market.”
About Carolina Pad
Carolina Pad(TM) is a leading supplier of fashion school and office products. They are headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. Its school, office, and arts and crafts products can be found at mass merchant, office supply, grocery, and drug stores. The Carolina Pad(TM) portfolio of brands include Studio C(TM), JACK!E(TM) by signature designer Jacqueline Savage McFee, Note2Self(TM), Ghostline(R), Notebound(R), Sasquatch(TM), and u:create(TM). Carolina Pad is also a recipient of the DiversityBusiness.com 9th Annual National Multicultural Award. Learn more about Carolina Pad at www.shopstudioc.com.
About TradeStone Software, Inc.
TradeStone’s Merchandise Lifecycle Management (MLM) platform brings together retailers, suppliers and B2B customers, unifying the processes to find, design, source, buy and sell both private label and branded goods. TradeStone customers include American Eagle Outfitters, Ascena Retail Group, Belk, Alliance Boots, Eddie Bauer, Family Dollar, Groupe Dynamite, Guitar Center, Kohl’s, Le Chateau, Lowes’s, Lululemon, Genuine Parts Company, MGF Sourcing, Shoprite, Urban Outfitters, Landmark Group and over 30,000 suppliers across the globe. TradeStone’s platform increases market share, improves margins and reduces brand and product risk across global trading communities.
TradeStone Software is headquartered in Gloucester, Mass., with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Bangalore, Hong Kong and London.
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