Web portal for all systems gave Newbody an efficient logistics flow .

Since 1987, Newbody has been helping children to earn money for their school class or sports team team by selling sportswear and products. With several different suppliers of clothing and products, it has been crucial for Newbody to have a good overview of the entire order flow - from customer order to delivery to the end customer.
 

The challenge for Newbody

Handling purchases and orders in email, Word, and Excel documents often led to errors that affected both quality and quantity. Until 2015, Newbody had no system for purchases and worked like many other companies with manual processes. It worked initially, but as the company grew, it meant considerably more work while also sometimes causing incorrect purchases. Newbody’s business idea is based on having precise control of which products, colors, and sizes are available to offer the best possible service.

Custom portal for customers and suppliers

A major challenge was to be able to gather all the details about an order in a single system, where all changes could be made directly by both customers and suppliers. One place to manage the entire chain from placing an order to the customer receiving their products.

Newbody and Epical’s collaboration goes back to 2012 when Epical’s operations were under the name Enfo. Since June 1, 2023, Epical is a subsidiary of Enfo, and the work to develop Newbody’s logistics flow continues to reach new levels. Thanks to the portal that Epical built on AWS components, a designer in Sweden can talk directly about specific products with the manufacturer in, for example, China about specific changes. With reduced risk of misunderstandings.

The advantage of using a web portal is usability - today, no one needs to worry about file formats, version or software updates.

"Newbody prioritizes long-term relationships, and we see Epical as a partner for the future. Both parties' striving to constantly improve ourselves in everything we do meant that we had a good common ground and vision to stand on right from the start," says Christian Karlsson, IT Solution Manager at Newbody.

Another major advantage of the web portal is that Newbody can now estimate and forecast the production of clothes, which creates significant differences in sales. Having the ability to estimate an autumn order of t-shirts in specific colors gives a significant competitive advantage.

Today, there is also traceability, so that Newbody can directly see which changes have been made in delivery time or quantity and by whom.
 

Serverless platform for system integration

With an IT structure consisting of several systems that need to talk to each other, there is a great need to be able to utilize data or specify data between the different systems. Instead of building connections between all systems, Epical built an integration platform - which gives Newbody the opportunity to connect almost any program into the operation and also facilitates future development.

Epical chose to build an integration platform that is much more lightweight - serverless. This means that development time can be shortened, thereby reducing costs for Newbody. A solution that means that companies in need of smarter and safer data processing only need to pay for what they use and utilize.
 

Christian's tips for a successful IT project:

• Choose a provider that listens 
  It is important that the provider listens instead of immediately starting to sell a platform. That they listen and ask for requirements and later come with proposals that they have adapted to my needs. I think that is important. When I want to develop a portal or a application, I must first know the customer's needs and then define a system need.
   
• Understanding of the business model
  It doesn't matter how good a provider is at listening if they never fully understand your business model in a deep way. The basic rule for a really good collaboration for both parties is that the provider must always understand your entire business model.
   
• Comfort in choosing a larger provider 
  There are of course pros and cons to choosing a large provider, but one of the big advantages is that through a large provider you get a feeling of security. If you have developed your own software together with the provider, you want them to be around in 5 years. Otherwise, it becomes both expensive and complicated.

About Newbody

Newbody helps non-profit groups earn money for their goals. Quite simply, they make it possible for sports clubs and school classes to earn money for their goals, efficiently and without financial risk. The company was started in 1987 and had a turnover of 213 million SEK (2022) with 47 employees. newbodyfamily.com