CUSTOMER STORY
Herm Sprenger Tames Order Chaos with NetSuite and Shopify
MANUFACTURING AND CONSUMER
Herm Sprenger, a fifth-generation, family-owned German manufacturer of high-quality products for dog, equestrian, and marine sports, has been a leader in the metals industry since 1872. The North American division, led by CEO Rachel Novak, handles US sales across wholesale and a new direct-to-retail (DTC) channel. Experiencing rapid growth, especially in the dog training collar markets, the US team needed a system that could keep pace with their increasing volume and complexity.
TECHNOLOGIES INVOLVED
Managing Growth in Two Systems
Herm Sprenger’s growth was fueled by an increase in demand for dog-related items and the launch of their direct-to-consumer site. This increase in demand quickly exposed the limitations of their existing systems. The US operations team, small and agile, was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of manual work required. Before partnering with Plative, the company managed inventory and accounting using two separate software systems: Cin7 for inventory and Xero for accounting. This fragmented setup led to significant complexity:
- Order Fulfillment Challenges: The previous software lacked necessary functionality for basic order fulfillment and managing backorders. This created roadblocks and required tedious workarounds for the warehouse manager.
- Data Mistrust and Time Drain: The small team had to spend hours gathering essential information, as they did not always trust the data provided by the previous system.
- Limited Customer Visibility: Customers had no way to view their order history, backorders, or outstanding invoices without contacting the sales or accounting staff directly via email, adding to the internal team’s workload.
“We were doing a lot of workarounds and a lot of added work for my warehouse manager. So it was time.”
— Rachel Novak, CEO Herm Sprenger North America
Unifying Systems with NetSuite and Shopify
To achieve the visibility and efficiency needed to support their expanding DTC channel, Herm Sprenger chose to implement Oracle NetSuite as their new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, integrating it with their Shopify e-commerce platform.
They selected Plative as their implementation partner based on key factors like geographic location, which eased scheduling with their German colleagues , and the perceived level of responsive support. Plative guided the small Herm Sprenger team through a complex transition, helping to extract, manipulate, and upload data from two previous systems into the single NetSuite environment. Plative’s approach, focusing on a clear schedule and benchmarks, helped the team stay organized.
“We felt the best connection to the Plative team. How they answered our questions, how they related to the software, it was a no brainer for myself and Danielle – my warehouse manager.”
— Rachel Novak, CEO Herm Sprenger North America
Immediate Impact on Efficiency and Customer Access
The move to NetSuite with Plative’s support delivered immediate, tangible improvements, transforming the day-to-day work of the Herm Sprenger US team.
Warehouse Productivity Skyrockets
The most significant impact was a dramatic increase in warehouse efficiency. The seamless order fulfillment process in NetSuite eliminated the need for duplicate tasks.
- 4 Hours of Time Saved Daily: The order fulfillment process is now so easy that it has saved the warehouse manager at least three to four hours a day.
- Improved Efficiency: The warehouse manager’s efficiency improved because she no longer has to duplicate tasks.
Enhanced Transparency and Customer Experience
The new system brought unparalleled transparency to both the internal team and Herm Sprenger’s customers.
- Empowered Customers: NetSuite’s Customer Center gives customers access to see backorders, their whole order history, and all outstanding invoices. This allows trainers and others with non-regular schedules to check balances late at night or on weekends, which helps them tremendously.
- Executive Visibility: Rachel gained an executive dashboard with all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) immediately accessible, saving her several hours of manual data gathering each day.
4
Hours of Time Saved Daily
“I don’t feel that there’s anything it can’t do. Just the functionality and the improved transparency on numbers and reports has been invaluable to me.”
— Rachel Novak, CEO Herm Sprenger North America
Barcoding and Further Growth
With a solid foundation in NetSuite, Herm Sprenger is prepared for continued growth and innovation. The team’s next steps include implementing more inventory management features, such as barcoding and using scanners for order fulfillment. They also plan to eventually explore bringing payroll and the HR side of things into NetSuite.
The successful, well-supported launch with Plative has provided Herm Sprenger with a scalable system that they can trust to support their future ambitions.
The Technical Breakdown
Plative transitioned Herm Sprenger North America from a fragmented Cin7 and Xero environment to a unified NetSuite platform using the SuiteSuccess methodology. At the core of the solution is a native Shopify integration that bi-directionally syncs product catalogs and inventory, capturing direct-to-consumer orders and flowing them automatically into a streamlined Order-to-Cash (O2C) cycle.
To ensure financial precision, we established a unified chart of accounts and automated journal entries to replace hours of manual data consolidation with real-time reporting and executive KPI dashboards. Operationally, the solution modernized fulfillment by configuring complex item masters that drive multi-location inventory allocation, effectively eliminating duplicate tasks and saving the warehouse manager up to four hours of manual work daily.
By deploying strategic bundles like the Enhanced Sales Center and Approvals Workflow, we replaced manual workarounds with a high-governance framework. The result is a scalable, omnichannel platform that connects wholesale and DTC channels into a single, audit-ready source of truth.
If fragmented systems and manual workarounds are slowing your growth , let’s automate your path to scalable omnichannel success!
SHARE