Overview
Cora is a better-for-you organic period care brand. They are truly omnichannel, distributing across a growing list of big retail stores, DTC through Shopify, and Amazon. The company has experienced incredibly high growth over the last 6 years, and Fulfil has been their ERP partner for 5 of those years.
Cora currently operates out of three different warehouses, each serving a different channel, with a fourth location on the way to split their retail business across two sites. Accurate inventory across multiple 3PL locations is critical when each warehouse serves a different channel.
Why Cora Chose Fulfil Over Larger ERPs
Cora's prior ERP felt disconnected. There was a lot of manual work through spreadsheets and manual processes, and it was hard to get reporting that was accurate and meaningful. About 5 years ago, the team realized the system wasn't going to scale with the rate of growth Cora was experiencing.
"It was really difficult to get accurate inventory reporting split out by 3PL, to have the timing line up to where we could actually see an accurate snapshot of what we had and where and when," says Caroline, Senior Fulfillment Manager. "In our prior ERP, we actually couldn't even backdate inventory transactions or look at any type of snapshot in the past. It had to all be done in the moment if you wanted to pull that information."
What stood out about Fulfil was the team. "What really stood out for me with Fulfil was number one, the team and who we were having discussions with. We can work with you. We're going to give you the time of day to work with you," Caroline explains. "Some of those larger ERPs, it felt a little bit more transactional, or like here's our blanket way of doing things and you need to fit into that box. With Fulfil, it felt like we have the bigger structure of what we need to grow, but it still felt really small and really customized service."
Fulfil also had everything Cora needed for their omnichannel operations. Amazon integrations, Shopify integrations for DTC, and EDI integrations for retail. "Fulfil being a really strong CPG focused ERP, that was what we were looking for to make sure we had all of our channels covered and a lot of those integrations were going to be already existing so we didn't have to do a lot of the upfront work," Caroline says.
Structured Onboarding with Deep CPG Knowledge
The onboarding experience was structured, and the team had deep CPG knowledge. "That's what we were looking for, just a very industry-aware team that knew what are we trying to do here, what are the challenges that a lot of small, fast-growing CPG brands are experiencing," Caroline shares. "Being partners and giving us some of that knowledge and feedback about how we could be most successful in our CPG space."
That support has translated to 5 years of reliable post-launch partnership. "Anytime I need support and help, there's still just this team that's behind us to really help us. I know that in writing a ticket, I will get the support and the answers that I need really quickly and efficiently. Five years later and we're still feeling we have the tools we need."
Inventory Accuracy Improved by 20% Across 3PLs
Caroline used to calculate inventory accuracy percentage for each SKU manually. There was a time when that accuracy percentage was very low. Since switching to Fulfil, accuracy has improved by 20%.
"As a CPG brand I think it's really important to know what you have, where it is, and when you're looking at it," Caroline says. "That has improved drastically since moving to Fulfil."
The ability to see accurate inventory snapshots by location at any point in time, something their prior ERP couldn't do, has been foundational.
Month-End Close Cut from 10 Days to Under 5
A faster month-end close has been a major win. Making sure sales orders are closed and aligned, inbound shipments are closed and aligned, and everything is tied up at the end of the month. Having all those processes done quickly and accurately helps the company's month-end close timing.
"I think faster month-end close for us is a huge one. We can do things in a more efficient way. Fulfil makes sure sales orders are closed and aligned, making sure our inbound shipments are closed and aligned, making sure everything is tied up at the end of the month," Caroline explains.
Scaling from 10 to 18+ Retail Trading Partners
Cora currently has 18 retail trading partners, up from around 10 when they started with Fulfil. When new business comes in, speed matters.
"When we add a new trading partner and we get new business, it's really important to have quick action. We need to onboard this trading partner quickly," Caroline says. "Sometimes in the CPG space, you'll sign an agreement with a trading partner and depending on the time of year, they're going to start shipping right away."
The quickness of EDI onboarding for new trading partners has been critical. Testing doesn't take long, and it's easy to add multiple trading partners at a time. "Fulfil has the onboarding team, the support system to help us do that."
Along the way, the EDI support team has been proactive with recommendations. "I am definitely not an EDI expert, but I try my best. So it's really nice to have that support of someone who's an expert in the space say, hey, here's three options of ways that you could save time and automate and improve your processes, and walk us through each of those three options."
96% In-Stock Rate at Target with AI-Powered Demand Planning
Erin, Senior Manager of Retail Planning & Analysis, handles omnichannel demand planning across all of Cora's channels. Before Fulfil, data lived scattered across spreadsheets, and getting it all in one place was difficult.
"Before Fulfil it was just like we have it living in this spreadsheet or that spreadsheet and getting it all in one place was difficult. Now post Fulfil, it's all in one place," Erin says. "There are tools for people who aren't very technical like myself to be able to pull that information quickly and easily, and having as close to real-time data as possible has made my forecasting better."
Erin maintains a 96% in-stock rate at Target. The best demand signals come from retail partners, and Fulfil's reporting shows what they're ordering, how much inventory is sitting at their warehouse, and how Cora's forecast stacks up to the retailer's forecast.
"I think the best demand signal comes from our retail partners and how much is sitting at their warehouse and do I know that I'm sending the right amount of inventory to them," Erin explains. "We have reporting that shows us what they're ordering, how much they have, how our forecast stacks up to their forecast."
Claude AI + Fulfil MCP: Answers in Seconds Instead of Hours
Access to Fulfil's data warehouse was life-changing for Erin, who describes herself as not a very technical person. She didn't write her first query until two years ago. But the MCP connection with Claude has taken things further.
"I'm in Claude every day asking questions. How much did Target order last? When did they order?" Erin says. "Add on top of that this MCP connection. Being able to have as close to real-time data as possible has made my forecasting better."
Erin saves 4+ hours per week on data wrangling that used to involve pulling from multiple spreadsheets and systems. Now she can ask Claude questions about sales and inventory data and get instant answers without any technical skills.
"Fulfil has really been good about enabling operators like ourselves to build what we see as useful," Erin shares.
Revenue Reporting by Channel and Retailer
Caroline is responsible for Cora's revenue reporting. Fulfil makes it easy to pull information based on revenue, split out by channel and by retailer, with as much granularity as the team needs to make informed decisions going forward.
"Fulfil makes it really easy for me to pull the information that I need based on revenue, and we split that out by channel, by retailer. We get really granular with it so that we can have as much information as possible so that we're best informed to make decisions going forward."
A 5-Year Partnership Built on Trust
Both Caroline and Erin describe the relationship with Fulfil as a true partnership, not a vendor relationship.
"The number one thing I look for is the ability to be in true partnership with the platforms that we need support with. I think Fulfil is a great group of people and great platform and has that partnership mindset," Caroline says.
"It's not easy to have such high growth for a long period of time, but Fulfil has been a really good partner in helping us be confident when we are saying, hey, we're adding all of these new SKUs, we're adding this new business, we're adding this new warehouse. We know that Fulfil is going to be a great partner in that. It makes us confident that we can kind of chase after these new opportunities and this growth."
Erin echoes the partnership sentiment, especially around the AI tools. "Definitely in the last few months as Fulfil has brought on more AI tools, that's really been supercharging things. The tech focus has really been helpful and I really appreciate how Fulfil approaches tech. I'm not a technical person but I've been enabled to do a lot of the things that live in my brain because I am the demand planning expert on my team."
Caroline, Senior Fulfillment Manager
Erin, Senior Manager of Retail Planning & Analysis
View video transcript - Caroline, Senior Fulfillment Manager
My name is Caroline and I'm a Senior Fulfillment Manager at Cora. We are a CPG brand. We focus on organic period care products, and we distribute truly omnichannel. I really focus a lot on our retail business. We're in a bunch of big retail stores, and I also manage DTC operations, a smaller portion of our business, and also distribute on Amazon. So truly omnichannel, and have experienced just incredibly high growth over the last 6 years that I've been with Cora. I think Fulfil has been a great partner for five out of those six years.
Right now we are in three different warehouses and each warehouse kind of serves a different channel. And so for that purpose it's really important for us to stay organized and have accurate inventory across our 3PLs, and soon to be four 3PLs. We're going to split our retail business into two locations.
Our prior ERP that we were working with felt just really disconnected and there was a lot of manual work that we were doing through spreadsheets and manual processes that we were creating. I think it was just really hard to get reporting that was accurate and that felt meaningful information for our team. There was a point about 5 years ago where we realized this system is not going to scale with the rate of growth that Cora is experiencing. That led us to searching for another ERP partner that we felt could grow with us over the long term.
It was really difficult to get accurate inventory reporting split out by 3PL, to have the timing line up to where we could actually see an accurate snapshot of what we had and where and when. In our prior ERP, we actually couldn't even backdate inventory transactions or look at any type of snapshot in the past. It had to all be done in the moment if you wanted to pull that information. For me, it's just so valuable to have that accurate snapshot and be able to see by location at a certain point in time.
What really stood out for me with Fulfil was number one, the team and who we were having discussions with. We can work with you. We're going to give you the time of day to work with you. Some of those larger ERPs, I think it felt a little bit more transactional, or like here's our blanket way of doing things and you need to fit into that box. With Fulfil, it felt like we have the bigger structure of what we need to grow, but it still felt really small and really customized service. The team of people that we signed the contract with and onboarded with and now get support from have always felt like such a helpful group of people, aligned and believing in what Cora is doing.
We needed certain things. Integrations with the Amazon business, integrations that were available through Shopify that support our DTC business, options for EDI integrations for our retail side. Fulfil kind of had everything in that sense that we were looking for. Different ERPs sometimes are focused in different ways, in different lanes, but Fulfil being a really strong CPG focused ERP, that was what we were looking for to make sure we had all of our channels covered and a lot of those integrations were going to be already existing so we didn't have to do a lot of the upfront work, and easy to implement.
The onboarding experience was very structured and I feel like the team had that really deep CPG knowledge, and that's what we were looking for. A very industry-aware team that knew what are we trying to do here, what are the challenges that a lot of small, fast-growing CPG brands are experiencing, and giving us some of that knowledge and feedback about how we could be most successful in our CPG space.
Anytime I need support and help, there's still just this team that's behind us to really help us. And I know that in writing a ticket, I will get the support and the answers that I need really quickly and efficiently, and the accurate way forward. The onboarding experience was great and then that support has translated to post-launch and well after. Five years later and we're still feeling we have the tools we need.
The way we've integrated with our 3PL partners and Shopify and Amazon, that was really clearly structured for us of like here's the best way forward with some of those integrations. Along the way there was just a lot of helpful recommendations and tools. I am definitely not an EDI expert, but I try my best. So it's really nice to have that support of someone who's an expert in the space say, hey, here's three options of ways that you could save time and automate and improve your processes, and walk us through each of those three options.
I used to calculate the inventory accuracy percentage for each of our SKUs and there was a time where that inventory accuracy percentage was very, very low. Since switching to Fulfil, our accuracy has improved greatly. As a CPG brand I think it's really important to know what you have, where it is, and when you're looking at it. That has improved drastically since moving to Fulfil.
Faster month-end close for us is a huge one as well. We can do things in a more efficient way. Fulfil makes sure sales orders are closed and aligned, making sure our inbound shipments are closed and aligned, making sure everything is tied up at the end of the month and having all those processes done quickly and accurately. That helps our month-end close timing, which for our company is important.
Overall, our ability to scale and improve our processes over time has gotten better and better, and we get better each year as well. We currently have 18 retail trading partners that we are vendors for. I think when we started with Fulfil, maybe we were around 10 trading partners. So it's been a big increase over the years. When we add a new trading partner and we get new business, it's really important to have quick action. We need to onboard this trading partner quickly. Sometimes in the CPG space, you'll sign an agreement with a trading partner and depending on the time of year, they're going to start shipping right away. For my side, it's really important to have that speed, but also doing it right. The quickness with the onboarding of that trading partner is really helpful. The testing phase does not take long at all. I think it's easy to add many trading partners at a time. Fulfil has the onboarding team, the support system to help us do that.
Fulfil has given me the tools to handle a lot of things from my side, but then I always know that I can reach out to the support team and write a ticket. I'm responsible for our revenue reporting, which is a huge task. Fulfil makes it really easy for me to pull the information that I need based on revenue, and we split that out by channel, by retailer. We get really granular with it so that we can have as much information as possible so that we're best informed to make decisions going forward.
The number one thing I look for is the ability to be in true partnership with the platforms that we need support with. I think Fulfil is a great group of people and great platform and has that partnership mindset. Fulfil has been able to scale with Cora at a really high growth rate. I think that is the most important thing, and that we've been able to scale this much and we know that Fulfil can support us in this next part of our business journey. We're adding new items. We're adding new retailers, new warehouses, and I just see Fulfil being our partner through all of that. It's not easy to have such high growth for a long period of time, but Fulfil has been a really good partner in helping us be confident when we are saying, hey, we're adding all of these new SKUs, we're adding this new business, we're adding this new warehouse. We know that Fulfil is going to be a great partner in that. It makes us confident that we can kind of chase after these new opportunities and this growth.
View video transcript - Erin, Senior Manager of Retail Planning & Analysis
I do all our omnichannel demand planning. But because we're also a small company, I kind of dabble in data and analytics. I'm a data nerd and just getting to any data I can has never been a bad decision. I think before Fulfil it was just like we have it living in this spreadsheet or that spreadsheet and getting it all in one place was difficult. Now post Fulfil, it's all in one place. There are tools for people who aren't very technical like myself to be able to pull that information quickly and easily, and having as close to real-time data as possible has made my forecasting better.
I am not a very technical person. I probably didn't write my first query until like two years ago. But being able to have access to a data warehouse has been really life-changing, has been wonders for my reporting and also for my mental health. And then add on top of that this MCP connection. I'm in Claude every day asking questions. How much did Target order last? When did they order?
I think the best demand signal comes from our retail partners and how much is sitting at their warehouse and do I know that I'm sending the right amount of inventory to them. We have reporting that shows us what they're ordering, how much they have, how our forecast stacks up to their forecast. Really quickly being able to see how much we're sending our retailers, how much they're ordering. I do think we have seen our servicing levels go up for our customers over time.
Fulfil has always been a really great partner. I feel like we can send in a ticket and we get responses that feel like, hey, I've listened to what you asked, and really do address what we are hoping for. So it does feel more like a partnership. But definitely in the last few months as Fulfil has brought on more AI tools, that's really been supercharging things.
I definitely think the integrations have been kind of a game changer for us. The tech focus has really been helpful and I really appreciate how Fulfil approaches tech. I'm not a technical person but I have been enabled to do a lot of the things that live in my brain because I am the demand planning expert on my team, or any other operations expert at their company. They should be able to take that expertise and make it into something useful for them rather than somebody telling me this is the tool you need. I think Fulfil has really been good about enabling operators like ourselves to build what we see as useful. So yeah, I'm really excited about those opportunities.
See related: Hear from Cora's Operations team about their earlier experience with Fulfil
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