Rock’n roll merchandise is Cinder Block’s business. If you have purchased a rock-n-roll band’s t-shirt since 1986, chances are Cinder Block designed and printed it.
Cinder Block is a leading merchandising and licensing company having represented hundreds of bands including AFI, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Misfits and Weezer. From its headquarters in Oakland, California, Cinder Block delivers a wide array of items including t-shirts, specialty garments, and more – all printed onsite for superior quality and control.
Easy EDI and Catalog Compliance Since 2003
Music groups hire Cinder Block to produce and manage their merchandising needs for an upcoming tour, an online store for their fans, or products to be sold at a retailer store such as Anchor Blue or Best Buy. As a vendor to a growing number of retailers, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) quickly became a requirement of doing business for Cinder Block in 2003. That year, Cinder Block made its first EDI connection to PacSun using SPS Commerce’s outsourced EDI service. Since then, they have been expanding their EDI use with only their existing, non-technical staff.
Individuals within Cinder Block’s sales, accounting, and shipping departments are now each responsible for sending EDI documents (Advance Ship Notices, invoices, etc.) using SPS Commerce’s service. These individuals are not EDI experts but business users. By outsourcing their EDI needs to SPS Commerce, Cinder Block has a state-of-the-art EDI solution and skilled personnel at their disposal when they need it, but not the distraction of monitoring and maintaining it.
Today they have EDI connections with Anchor Blue or Hot Topic, Best Buy, Bentony, Carson Pirie Scott, Filene’s, Hecht’s, Stage Stores, Target.com, and Trans World Entertainment. Most recently they have begun using SPS’ Universal Catalog Service to comply with new requirements from Carson Pirie Scott, Filenes, and Hecht’s. The catalog service helps organizations, like Cinder Block, satisfy its retail customer’s compliance requirements for the electronic delivery of GTIN (UPC) item information, pricing data, and more. Vendors simply load and update their catalog using an online form, uploading a spreadsheet, or sending an 832 EDI document to SPS Commerce.
Helpful, Responsive Support Makes the Difference
With each additional EDI connection or catalog, Cinder Block has relied upon SPS’ solutions for reliability and its customer support staff to make it easy. “As our EDI use grows, SPS Commerce has walked along side us to make any changes or additions easy for all of us at Cinder Block,” explains Adrienne Droogas, Account Representative at Cinder Block. “When calling SPS’ customer support line, the person answering my call is always eager to walk me through the new process or document -- from logging in to submitting my final document. Unlike most companies, SPS’ support takes the time needed to walk me through the process step-by-step.”
With each new connection, Ms. Droogas has taken notes during her calls to SPS Customer Support. She documents the steps needed to create and send the new document. This personalized documentation is then copied and used by others at Cinder Block to ensure the document is entered properly every time.
“Our business is fast-paced as bands popularity can change literally overnight,” continued Droogas. “Confidence that our EDI solution is up to the task is imperative. SPS Commerce’s solution is reliable and easy to learn, and their customer support is responsive and helpful. What more could we ask for?”
