Business Challenge
The U.S.-based manufacturer of embroidery equipment and embroidery digitizing software faced increasing competition for its products from China, Japan and other countries. Looking for a differentiator and market growth, the firms research revealed that there was no ecommerce solution for small businesses to create their own storefronts for customer-designed embroidered products.

Services Provided by IBS
IBS developed an ecommerce storefront that could be quickly customized and branded by embroidery business owners to provide online design and visualization of customers orders.

The website utilizes a sophisticated Flash user interface that the customer can use for embroidery or print orders. The customer can select a product, add custom text and graphics, resize and reposition objects and view an image of the completed article. The software is the first customer-facing embroidery visualization tool. The software also allows online ordering and payments, and interfaces with e-commerce services providers such as VeriSign.

Other features of the software include:

• Customizable, multiple page templates to create unique store identities
• Multi-lingual capabilities
• Multi-currency capabilities
• Domain name registration
• JIT ordering with third party product providers
• Shipping by UPS
• Tax calculation with third party provider
• Order management tools
• CRM capabilities
• Built-in designs
• Integration with clients CAD/CAM software to create digitized design files that can be fed directly to the embroidery machines
• Affordability for mom and pop shops
• Scalability to enterprise-level customers

In addition to the ecommerce product, IBS developed a production management system that automates shop floor embroidery operations.

The project was executed using IBS typical blended shore modelan onsite project manager and an offshore development team, with a lead architect who traveled to the client location in the early phase of the project to develop requirements. IBS India development team included .NET developers, Flash developers and interface design specialists.

Benefits
The client has a unique product for the custom embroidery market that creates e-commerce opportunities for its customers and increases sales opportunities for both the client and its equipment purchasers. Offshore outsourcing reduced development costs for the client.