How a $50M Apparel Company Left Their Previous $100K+/Year ERP and Found a Better Fit

DigitBridge Knowledge Team

Download the Case Study

Harbor Threads is a leading apparel manufacturer and distributor with over 20 years in the fashion industry. With annual revenues exceeding $50 million, they supply department stores, specialty boutiques, and online retailers nationwide. Known for their seasonal collections and quick turnaround times, Harbor Threads has built its reputation on both style and reliability.

The Challenge

For years, Harbor Threads relied on NetSuite to run their operations. While they were happy with the software, it had become increasingly cost-prohibitive—topping $150,000 per year in licensing and maintenance fees, with future annual increases upcoming. The company’s leadership began to question whether the cost matched the value, especially since many features went unused while the essentials could be handled by more cost-effective solutions. At the same time, they were hesitant to switch for fear of losing functionality critical to their complex apparel workflows, such as style/color/size matrix management, season-based inventory control, and line sheet creation.

The Solution

Harbor Threads explored numerous options, but all-inclusive operating systems were all exceeding six-figures, not to mention exhaustive onboarding fees. They entertained a la carte options where they would adopt a more moderate ERP and supplement that with a ShipStation + Channel Advisor-type tech stack, but that too became cost-prohibitive, not to mention the complexities with getting them to speak to each other effectively.

After a thorough evaluation, Harbor Threads selected DigitBridge as a more affordable, apparel-focused alternative to their existing ERP and the multi-channel integration software. The DigitBridge Customer Service Team made the implementation seamless, with DigitBridge replicating all the core functions they relied on—inventory management, order processing, sales channel integrations, and reporting—while adding industry-specific features tailored to apparel companies. The style/color/size matrix, seasonal product organization, and digital line sheet creation were all handled more intuitively in DigitBridge than in their previous system. Best of all, the switch reduced their annual software spend by more than 50%, freeing up budget for marketing and product development initiatives.

Key Features & Benefits

  • World-Class Operational Efficiency and Support:
    Completely replaced their existing tech stack, ERP and channel integration software, for less than half their total costs.
  • Built For All, But Especially Apparel:
    Founded by a successful veteran of the apparel industry, apparel-specific features are abundant.
  • Dedicated Account Manager:
    More personalized service and attention to get results faster.
  • All-in-One Technology:
    No need for additions to the tech stack - everything is under one roof:
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
  • Warehouse Management System (WMS)
  • Product Information Management (PIM)
  • Sales Channel Integrations
  • Point of Sale (POS)
  • B2B Customer Portal
  • Dropship Center
  • Quickbooks Integration:
    DigitBridge’s seamless Quickbooks integration ensures that the accounting function remains smooth.

The Results

Since transitioning to DigitBridge, Harbor Threads has maintained the same operational efficiency they had with their previous ERP, and plus a state-of-the-art PIM, while dramatically reducing costs. The savings from the software switch have been reinvested into new product lines and promotional campaigns, driving a 12% year-over-year sales increase. The efficiency in managing ecommerce listing and daily operation has increased 100%. Staff report being happier with DigitBridge’s user-friendly interface and apparel-focused design, noting that it “feels like it was built for our industry.” By replacing a costly, generic ERP with a targeted, affordable solution, Harbor Threads proved that better doesn’t have to mean more expensive.

Download the Case Study

Harbor Threads is a leading apparel manufacturer and distributor with over 20 years in the fashion industry. With annual revenues exceeding $50 million, they supply department stores, specialty boutiques, and online retailers nationwide. Known for their seasonal collections and quick turnaround times, Harbor Threads has built its reputation on both style and reliability.

The Challenge

For years, Harbor Threads relied on NetSuite to run their operations. While they were happy with the software, it had become increasingly cost-prohibitive—topping $150,000 per year in licensing and maintenance fees, with future annual increases upcoming. The company’s leadership began to question whether the cost matched the value, especially since many features went unused while the essentials could be handled by more cost-effective solutions. At the same time, they were hesitant to switch for fear of losing functionality critical to their complex apparel workflows, such as style/color/size matrix management, season-based inventory control, and line sheet creation.

The Solution

Harbor Threads explored numerous options, but all-inclusive operating systems were all exceeding six-figures, not to mention exhaustive onboarding fees. They entertained a la carte options where they would adopt a more moderate ERP and supplement that with a ShipStation + Channel Advisor-type tech stack, but that too became cost-prohibitive, not to mention the complexities with getting them to speak to each other effectively.

After a thorough evaluation, Harbor Threads selected DigitBridge as a more affordable, apparel-focused alternative to their existing ERP and the multi-channel integration software. The DigitBridge Customer Service Team made the implementation seamless, with DigitBridge replicating all the core functions they relied on—inventory management, order processing, sales channel integrations, and reporting—while adding industry-specific features tailored to apparel companies. The style/color/size matrix, seasonal product organization, and digital line sheet creation were all handled more intuitively in DigitBridge than in their previous system. Best of all, the switch reduced their annual software spend by more than 50%, freeing up budget for marketing and product development initiatives.

Key Features & Benefits

  • World-Class Operational Efficiency and Support:
    Completely replaced their existing tech stack, ERP and channel integration software, for less than half their total costs.
  • Built For All, But Especially Apparel:
    Founded by a successful veteran of the apparel industry, apparel-specific features are abundant.
  • Dedicated Account Manager:
    More personalized service and attention to get results faster.
  • All-in-One Technology:
    No need for additions to the tech stack - everything is under one roof:
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
  • Warehouse Management System (WMS)
  • Product Information Management (PIM)
  • Sales Channel Integrations
  • Point of Sale (POS)
  • B2B Customer Portal
  • Dropship Center

The Results

Since transitioning to DigitBridge, Harbor Threads has maintained the same operational efficiency they had with their previous ERP, and plus a state-of-the-art PIM, while dramatically reducing costs. The savings from the software switch have been reinvested into new product lines and promotional campaigns, driving a 12% year-over-year sales increase. The efficiency in managing ecommerce listing and daily operation has increased 100%. Staff report being happier with DigitBridge’s user-friendly interface and apparel-focused design, noting that it “feels like it was built for our industry.” By replacing a costly, generic ERP with a targeted, affordable solution, Harbor Threads proved that better doesn’t have to mean more expensive.

Download the Case Study

Harbor Threads is a leading apparel manufacturer and distributor with over 20 years in the fashion industry. With annual revenues exceeding $50 million, they supply department stores, specialty boutiques, and online retailers nationwide. Known for their seasonal collections and quick turnaround times, Harbor Threads has built its reputation on both style and reliability.

The Challenge

For years, Harbor Threads relied on NetSuite to run their operations. While they were happy with the software, it had become increasingly cost-prohibitive—topping $150,000 per year in licensing and maintenance fees, with future annual increases upcoming. The company’s leadership began to question whether the cost matched the value, especially since many features went unused while the essentials could be handled by more cost-effective solutions. At the same time, they were hesitant to switch for fear of losing functionality critical to their complex apparel workflows, such as style/color/size matrix management, season-based inventory control, and line sheet creation.

The Solution

Harbor Threads explored numerous options, but all-inclusive operating systems were all exceeding six-figures, not to mention exhaustive onboarding fees. They entertained a la carte options where they would adopt a more moderate ERP and supplement that with a ShipStation + Channel Advisor-type tech stack, but that too became cost-prohibitive, not to mention the complexities with getting them to speak to each other effectively.

After a thorough evaluation, Harbor Threads selected DigitBridge as a more affordable, apparel-focused alternative to their existing ERP and the multi-channel integration software. The DigitBridge Customer Service Team made the implementation seamless, with DigitBridge replicating all the core functions they relied on—inventory management, order processing, sales channel integrations, and reporting—while adding industry-specific features tailored to apparel companies. The style/color/size matrix, seasonal product organization, and digital line sheet creation were all handled more intuitively in DigitBridge than in their previous system. Best of all, the switch reduced their annual software spend by more than 50%, freeing up budget for marketing and product development initiatives.

Key Features & Benefits

  • World-Class Operational Efficiency and Support:
    Completely replaced their existing tech stack, ERP and channel integration software, for less than half their total costs.
  • Built For All, But Especially Apparel:
     Founded by a successful veteran of the apparel industry, apparel-specific features are abundant.
  • Dedicated Account Manager:
    More personalized service and attention to get results faster.
  • All-in-One Technology:
    No need for additions to the tech stack - everything is under one roof:
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
  • Warehouse Management System (WMS)
  • Product Information Management (PIM)
  • Sales Channel Integrations
  • Point of Sale (POS)
  • B2B Customer Portal
  • Dropship Center
  • Quickbooks Integration:
    DigitBridge’s seamless Quickbooks integration ensures that the accounting function remains smooth.

The Results

Since transitioning to DigitBridge, Harbor Threads has maintained the same operational efficiency they had with their previous ERP, and plus a state-of-the-art PIM, while dramatically reducing costs. The savings from the software switch have been reinvested into new product lines and promotional campaigns, driving a 12% year-over-year sales increase. The efficiency in managing ecommerce listing and daily operation has increased 100%. Staff report being happier with DigitBridge’s user-friendly interface and apparel-focused design, noting that it “feels like it was built for our industry.” By replacing a costly, generic ERP with a targeted, affordable solution, Harbor Threads proved that better doesn’t have to mean more expensive.