About

New Balance Team Sports outfits customers across the US, from Little League teams to major universities, as well as New Balance dealers and partners. As a premier apparel wholesaler in North America, the New Balance Team Sports web store represents one of the brand's crucial first impressions, often ranking highly in search results. Recognizing the importance of this touchpoint, New Balance partnered with XCentium to create a cutting-edge digital experience that streamlines team management and elevates a uniform ordering process.

Challenge

New Balance Team Sports needed a robust platform capable of handling the complexities of team uniform ordering, customization, and management at scale. This included empowering coaches to manage rosters and orders, enabling players to personalize their uniforms, and providing business users with efficient bulk ordering capabilities. The platform also needed to seamlessly integrate with existing New Balance systems and support a diverse range of users, from individual players to large schools.

Solution

Using the XCentium Accelerator for Apparel Wholesale and Retail (RCG), this implementation provides a modern system based entirely on Salesforce Commerce on Core able to handle B2B as well as D2C flows.

Highlights include:

Salesforce Team Store Management Application:

This powerful backend application empowers New Balance to efficiently manage hundreds of team stores.

Key features include:

• Visual Drag-and-Drop Store Builder: Streamlines the creation of team stores. 
• Store Lifecycle Management: Handles design, customer previews, activation, and closure of team stores.
• Flexible Payment and Delivery Options: Allows for granular control over who pays for uniforms and how they are delivered. Stores support product mixes that are team paid as well as individual paid.
• Team and Player Management: Provides tools for managing team rosters and player information.
• Targeted Communication: Enables sending group emails with deep links directly to specific team stores, simplifying registration.
• UnMade Customizer Integration: Facilitates the design of custom uniforms, with design management capabilities within a central library. 

Salesforce Commerce on Core B2B/D2C Web Portal:

This unified portal caters to both business users and consumers, dynamically adapting to each user's needs. Key functionalities include:

• Personalized Uniform Customization: Allows team members to design their own uniforms and purchase necessary gear.
• Coach Management Tools: Empowers coaches to manage team rosters and place orders for hundreds of members.
• Grid-Based Ordering: Enables business users to quickly select and add large quantities of products to their cart.
• B2B Financial Approvals: Provides a streamlined workflow for order review and approval.

Technical Highlights:

• LWR/LWC Storefront: Delivers a modern and performant user experience.
• Team Sports Promotions: Enables granular control over promotions, targeting specific accounts or products.
• Dynamic Billing and Buyer Group Switching: The system switches players transparently among billing accounts and buyer groups based on team selection.
• Cart approval framework for business partners. Allows a team of buyers to process carts through a person with financial authority to execute purchases.
• Integration with Existing New Balance Systems: Seamlessly connects with New Balance's customer service and lead generation processes.
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Outcome

The new platform has transformed the Team Sports experience, providing a streamlined and efficient process for teams, coaches, and players. By leveraging the power of Salesforce and integrating with key systems, XCentium has empowered New Balance to further solidify its position as the leading apparel wholesaler in North America and enhance its brand image through a premier digital experience.

https://www.newbalanceteam.com/