WebEDI Case Study - Zarbee's Inc.
In 2008 traditional cough syrups came under increased scrutiny by the US Food and Drug Administration. After identifying health concerns related to giving cough syrup to younger children, the FDA increased the age restriction on over-the-counter cough remedies to the age of four.
Shortly thereafter, pediatrician Zak Zarbock began to research alternative cough remedies for his patients. Research done by Dr. Zarbock found that buckwheat honey could help accomplish the same goals of traditional syrups – only without the drugs and chemicals typically found there. Zarbock began to work on his own formulation of throat-soothing honeys and, a few short months later, Zarbee’s All Natural Children’s Cough Syrup was born.
Beginning with just a handful of small retailers in 2008, Zarbee’s has grown to be offered in approximately 30,000 stores and pharmacies across America. The all-natural formula of honeys and immune-boosting ingredients provides parents with a safe and effective way of treating sore throats and coughs.
As the company began to expand its sales presence past its Salt Lake City beginnings into larger national stores, the need arose for a system to help them comply with the stringent ecommerce requirements of their larger partners. "We quickly found that we needed a way to comply with EDI requirements mandated by our customers," recalls Nick Johnstone, VP of Operations. Many large chains are happy to begin by faxing purchase orders but after a time will either mandate the use of EDI or will set a charge for each non-EDI order faxed. According to Johnstone Zarbee’s would, on average, be facing around $5.00 in fees for each transaction not sent via EDI.
“Since June 1st, 2010 we have processed over 400 customer orders, which cover a minimum of 2 transactions,” recalls Johnstone. “Without an EDI provider we would theoretically face $4,000.00 in fees for paper-based transactions. Additionally, the labor saved over manually processing hard-copy POs and Invoices would amount to another $1,000.00 in wages.”
Johnstone had used internal EDI systems at another company and was familiar enough with the process to know that they didn’t have the resources to setup an EDI system in house. In the summer of 2009, with ease of use and cost effectiveness in mind, Zarbee’s began to look into other solutions for their EDI needs.
ZarBee’s search for an EDI solution brought them to DataTrans’ WebEDI system. WebEDI was developed for businesses looking for a way to comply with their trading partners requirements without the traditional EDI requirements such as EDI software, previous EDI experience or existing infrastructure. Johnstone quickly found that DataTrans WebEDI was the perfect combination of ease-of-use, accessibility and cost effectiveness that they had been looking for. The web-based interface proved to be easy to learn and use and allowed access to the system from any computer, both in the ZarBee’s office and on the road. It also worked perfectly in their Mac-based environment.
“It’s been great. I can login from anywhere in the office, I can login real time. It’s just really easy to use. The interface is great, the other capabilities… I probably don’t know half of what’s there right now,” said Johnstone.
WebEDI provided Zarbee’s with a solution that allowed them to manage their EDI transactions without having to purchase costly in-house EDI software. It also meant less paper flowing around the office and faster invoice processing.
Though initially drawn to WebEDI by the simplicity of the interface, Zarbee’s soon found DataTrans to be a capable and responsive business partner. “I work with several other third-party businesses and would have to say that DataTrans is at the top of the list with regard to providing a great solution, being extremely reliable, and having excellent support teams,” says Johnstone. “As a smaller business we typically do not receive this level of service.” WebEDI has helped the Zarbee’s team realize additional gains in office efficiency as well. Interacting with customers via EDI removes the need for invoices to be faxed or mailed. This means that customers are receiving invoices within minutes or hours, not days. Easy compliance with EDI requirements also helps Zarbee’s to avoid costly non-compliance charges.
As Zarbee’s continues to grow their business, the number of their customers using EDI grows as well. They currently connect to fourteen of their largest customers via WebEDI and have plans to expand into as many as one dozen new channels in the coming season. Their growth has not been unnoticed as they’ve received national attention through such outlets as Fox News channel, People magazine and American Baby magazine.
For more information about Zarbee’s Cough Syrups visit www.zarbees.com
