Bubs Australia Teams with SPS Commerce to Accelerate Retail Onboarding During U.S. Infant Formula Crisis

Committed to clean, organic nutrition

Bubs Australia has safely provided infant and toddler formula to children in Australia and around the world for more than 17 years offering clean, organic nutrition without chemicals or toxins.

In 2021, the company introduced its U.S. label, Bubs Australia, to a handful of retailers, including Walmart, Amazon and Thrive Market. By spring 2022, the team saw an opportunity to help as the U.S. formula crisis unfolded.

During the formula shortage, families went to dozens of stores without finding any formula on the shelves due to supply chain delays and multiple product recalls. Out of desperation, parents were making their own formula or paying steep prices online for fraudulent products.

Responding to the infant formula crisis

The company’s leadership team knew they had the products and capabilities to help alleviate the shortage. Bubs Australia was the first brand to submit an application to the FDA as part of Operation Fly Formula, an initiative to import infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards.

After receiving FDA approval, the company committed to importing 1.25 million tins of formula to U.S. retailers. Not surprisingly, demand from U.S. retailers surged. Satisfying the burst in demand proved to be a logistical challenge for the company’s small team.

According to Kelly Phalen, Product Manager at Bubs Australia, “We only had three people to process an influx of orders from 50 retailers throughout the U.S. Plus, we needed to meet the complex requirements of each retailer, all at once, without adding resources to our team. We partnered with SPS Commerce because we knew they had the retail expertise and technology to help us meet our goals.”

Retail order management solutions provide relief

Bubs Australia committed to doing everything in its power to get more formula on U.S. shelves as soon as possible. The SPS Australia team understood the urgency of the situation and quickly created new retail connections to allow Bubs Australia to process orders without delay. In some cases, the team created new retail connections while the formula was in flight to U.S. retailers.

“We needed to process hundreds of orders every single day, so managing orders manually was not an option. We relied on the SPS team to help us quickly onboard 50 new retail customers and automate order processing by integrating our ERP system with the SPS network,” Phelan added.

Bubs Australia took advantage of SPS’s pre-built connections with leading retailers, allowing them to receive electronic orders and comply with all retail EDI requirements immediately. Integration between SPS Fulfillment and the company’s Unleashed ERP system automated order processing while minimizing data entry and errors.

During the crisis, the SPS team talked every morning with Bubs Australia to keep the project on track. The team’s thoughtful approach helped solve an immediate problem while setting Bubs Australia up for future success by receiving orders directly into their ERP system.

“With SPS, there are no hold-ups or red tape, so we can quickly get our products from the warehouse to the shelf. The SPS team is professional, fun, effective and a pleasure to work with. Without their help, we would not have been able to get our formula to stores as fast as we did,” Phelan concluded.

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