GraduationSource transforms $5 Billion Industry with Celigo’s eTail 360 Solution: Company & Schools Positioned to Profit

Today, a cadre of ‘old school’ suppliers of graduation gowns and services have a predictable business model that includes high costs for struggling schools and students. Every September an army of 1099 sales reps go from school to school, meeting with graduation coordinators to get the May-June commencement order. They place the order with the manufacturer, sit back, and watch the money roll in. GraduationSource was determined to disrupt this model, going direct to the schools and the students and passing the saving back to the schools, PTA and students. But each school has unique pricing and packages, so to do this, they needed to transform into a more modern, eCommerce-like business, with custom online stores for each store, where ordering, customization and fulfillment could all run in a smooth, efficient and automated manner. Being able to transfer order data in real-time is critical to maintaining success in an online retail environment. GraduationSource previously used another integration solutions provider, but found it lacking in enabling the company to fulfill orders quickly and correctly. With their previous system, orders were delayed up to an hour and mapping was not efficient. GraduationSource wanted to have real-time data transfer between their Magento store and NetSuite, and to have a streamline ordering and fulfillment process.

GraduationSource is an online retailer of graduation regalia, providing gowns, accessories and custom products for all stages of education. The company aims to disrupt the traditional model of graduation gown suppliers by going direct to schools and students, thereby passing savings back to the schools, PTA, and students. They focus on creating custom online stores for each school, allowing for efficient ordering, customization, and fulfillment processes.