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- ACE Embroidery
- Overview
ACE Embroidery Case Study
ACE Embroidery supplies embroidered and printed clothing to schools, colleges, sports clubs and businesses. Behind the scenes it runs on three systems built and looked after by wildesoft.net: Logo Manager, the internal system where ACE creates logos for embroidery and print; Proof Manager, a public-facing site where clients approve their designs; and a white-label ordering platform that runs over 65 active branded online shops for schools and organisations, such as the Halesowen Town FC Club Shop.
The Business Problem
ACE's work runs from logo to proof to shop to production, and each step had grown up separately. Approved proofs had to be re-keyed to become products in a shop. Logos couldn't be shared with partners or other systems without someone sending files by hand. Every online order went to production on its own, even when a school wanted one delivery for all its pupils. Card payments needed to meet tighter banking security, families entitled to funded uniform had no way to order online, and parts of the platform relied on ageing frameworks that were starting to cause problems.
All of this had to change while schools, clubs and parents kept ordering every day.
The Solution
Over the last five years wildesoft.net has developed the platform continuously, a step at a time:
- From proof to shop: approved proofs now become shop-ready products automatically, with garments in several colours grouped as one product.
- Logos on tap: a secure API lets approved systems find a customer and retrieve their logos at the size they need, and every logo is linked to the code it uses in the shops.
- Better ordering: secure card payments with 3D Secure checks, collated school orders with box and pack labels, sale pricing tied to stock, flexible discount codes and fast catalogue tools for ACE's staff.
- Funded orders: Pupil Premium, Learner Support Fund and invoice orders, each approved by the school or college before anything is made.
- Joined-up production: order feeds bring orders from the shops and from partner Penn Studio's website into ACE's OrderWise order-management system, and tell Penn Studio when its orders have been processed.
- A modern platform: upgraded frameworks, a move away from unmaintained libraries, performance profiling and the removal of unused code.
The Result
ACE now has a connected platform where a logo, a proof, a product and an order all flow through without re-keying. Customers get secure payments, organised deliveries and funded ordering, while ACE's team spends less time on manual work and more on making clothing. The platform continues to improve month after month, without disrupting the shops customers rely on.
Get in touch if your business runs on several systems that should be working as one.
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