Cleo Integration Cloud for Manufacturing enables manufacturers to confront market volatility

Cleo serves over 2,000 manufacturing customers with its Cleo Integration Cloud (CIC) for Manufacturing solution. And for most of them, it’s aiding in their fight against a common enemy: chronic market volatility.

Managing supply chain volatility and fluctuations is a major integration technology challenge. Besides supply and demand spikes caused by the explosion of eCommerce, there’s also the downstream ripple effects of this uncertainity – factory slowdowns, supply shortages and changes to trading partner relationships. A recent survey shows 89% of manufacturers struggle with integration issues caused by supply and demand volatility, and for almost one-fifth (18%), poor integration is costing their companies $1 million or more per year in lost revenue.

To overcome such challenges, manufacturers using Cleo’s CIC for Manufacturing solution benefit from its ability to automate integrations across revenue-critical, end-to-end business processes like Order-to-Cash or Procure-to-Pay. In fact, over the past twelve months, Cleo’s CIC for Manufacturing solution has processed record-breaking transaction volumes representing over 250% year-over-year growth.

Much of this increase in transactions is being driven by the market shift to D2C (direct-to-consumer) models, as consumers expect eCommerce and online purchases to be promptly delivered through any means, such as fulfilled by the manufacturer, directly drop-shipped, or fulfilled by a third-party, e.g., Amazon.

Ripple Junction Design Company, a leading designer of licensed apparel and accessories for globally recognized brands, has expanded and enabled a multi-faceted digital ecosystem through an omni-channel sales and distribution strategy powered by Cleo.

“The marketplace continues to move, and we must be changing faster within our business than it is changing outside our business. To keep up with the high-opportunity stakes of today’s eCommerce explosion, we knew we needed to employ a B2C & B2B strategy that streamlines the flow of data between all channels and platforms, while minimizing the touchpoints along the way. We decided to diversify and expand one sales channel at a time, offering just a handful of products at first, pushing more product through each new channel as we add new retail, wholesale, and individual customers. Cleo is enabling us to throttle our eCommerce business growth on our own terms as we control and manage all these different revenue streams through one centralized integration platform, Cleo Integration Cloud,” said Jon Baker, Vice President IT with Ripple Junction.

Cleo Integration Cloud: Key differentiators

Cleo Integration Cloud’s unique ability to foster operational agility through real-time data and insights enables manufacturers to make better, faster, more profitable business decisions. CIC’s integration capabilities run the gamut, from enabling online order capture to omni-channel fulfillment, including eCommerce enablement through online marketplaces and digital platform integrations, and supporting reverse logistics.

Only CIC allows both API & EDI integrations on a single platform; enables end-to-end integration and business process visibility; and offers customers their choice of self-service, managed service, or a blend of the two deployment options, to optimize total cost of ownership (TCO).

Common benefits that customers see with Cleo’s CIC for Manufacturing solution include:

• Fuel eCommerce-driven digital transformation
• Ensure a predictable cost model with flexibility to scale up
• Reduce DSO (days sales outstanding), errors and chargebacks
• Connect easily to new fulfillment partners
• Accelerate ASN delivery to improve customer score cards

Many customers have praised the platform, earning Cleo “Leader” badges in both the Mid-Market and Enterprise EDI categories in G2’s Summer 2021 reports. This marks the 14th consecutive quarter the company has earned this distinction. Additionally, Cleo earned Best Relationship, Most Implementable and Best Usability recognitions amongst other integration vendors.

“As customer expectations have spiked with the accelerated shift in shopping habits from traditional brick and mortar to eCommerce, manufacturers are forced to evolve and meet changing market needs. Cleo Integration Cloud is helping thousands of manufacturers manage volatility and create sustainable value during this period of digital transformation,” said Vidya Chadaga, vice president of products and strategy of Cleo.

“By moving their integration processes to the cloud, companies can harmonize ecosystem-wide data flows to yield real-time business insights, orchestrate end-to-end business processes in concert with variable business conditions, and achieve a more agile supply chain that drives revenue velocity. Cleo’s ecosystem integration platform helps them outsmart volatility at every turn.”