CenterStone Technologies, Inc., an international developer of Web-based sales order management software for manufacturers of apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories, has added Sole Technology, of Lake Forest to the list of clients using the company's iVendix software application. iVendix will provide Sole Technology with a business-to-business (B2B) on-line ordering solution for more than 2,000 of their retail dealers and sales reps in North America. When Sole Technology goes “live” on the application later this year, dealers and sales reps will be able to view automated catalogs, check on the availability of product, place orders, and track and monitor the status of those orders using iVendix since it is accessible 24/7 via the Web.  


“CenterStone is providing us with a proven technology that would have been very time-consuming and costly for us to develop and implement ourselves. I wanted to capitalize on CenterStone’s domain expertise to get a solution into the hands of our reps and distributors that would make it easier for them to do business with us and seamlessly add another dimension to our technology infrastructure,” said George Bock, Senior Director of IT for Sole Technology.  “We will be able to leverage our existing infrastructure for EDI and our Dynamics AX environments in order to deliver a solution to our reps, distributors and ultimately our dealers at half the time and cost,” Bock added.


Tom Detmer, chief executive officer of CenterStone Technologies, commented, “Sole Technology understands the importance of the specialty retail distribution channel to the building of world-class consumer brands.  It is the specialty retailers that truly support, promote and protect a company’s brand identity.  Look at all the successful brands in the apparel, footwear and hard goods markets, and all the great ones started out in specialty retail.  Sole Technology understands the unique value that this distribution channel provides, and wants to maintain it as a distinct, strong and vibrant channel for its brands.  So, we’re thrilled that Sole selected CenterStone to help them with their brand expansion by providing their dealers with our on-line B2B solution.  We interact with hundreds of specialty retailers every day, and we’ve heard from them that they want to conduct business with Sole Technology at their convenience on a 24/7 basis using the CenterStone solution.  Our iVendix solution delivers a large and extensive user community that is continuing to grow at a very rapid pace.  And it is the adoption rate by this user community that will drive the ROI for Sole Technology and will help them continue to grow their brands in the specialty retail channel,” Detmer said.


Brands that currently use CenterStone’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model and make the company’s other solutions available to retail customers and sales reps include: The North Face, JanSport, Vans and VF Imagewear, part of VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC); Pearl Izumi, a division of Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS); Marmot Mountain, Ex Officio, Marker Apparel, Adio Footwear and Planet Earth, part of K2 Corporation (NYSE: KTO); Under Armour (NYSE: UA); Helly Hansen; Perry Ellis Intl. (NASDAQ: PERY); Geneva Watch Group; Cleveland Golf, and Fidra Golf, part of Quiksilver, (NYSE: ZQK); SmartWool, a division of Timberland (NYSE: TBL); RipCurl; Billabong; Sport Obermeyer; Smith Optics; Garmont and Bridgedale; KHS Bicycles; Dale of Norway; O’Neill Clothing; Hot Chillys; Petzl and others.