Despite its strong retail presence, Kids2 struggled with an inefficient, manual process for updating and distributing sell sheets. Frequent changes to product details, ship dates, and designs required constant tracking, consuming significant time from sales operations teams. This repetitive workflow not only slowed down internal processes but also diverted sales teams from their primary focus—engaging with customers and driving revenue. To improve accuracy and efficiency, Kids2 needed an automated solution that could streamline the creation and distribution of sell sheets at scale.

Challenges

• Manual Process for Sell Sheets: Frequent updates to product details and designs created an ongoing need to update sell sheets. Sales coordinators spent too much time manually updating these documents, leading to inefficiency and a slow response time.
• Lack of Flexibility: Sell sheets were often rigid in format, requiring significant rework each time there was a design or content update.
• Data Inaccuracy: Data changes were frequent, and the risk of human error in manual processes was high.
• Sales Team’s Role: Salespeople, whose primary role should be to sell, were spending too much time editing and updating documents instead of engaging with clients.

Solutions

To address these challenges, Kids2 partnered with It’sRapid and Salsify to streamline the creation of sell sheets at scale. The game-changing solution automates the creation of sell sheets from product data stored in Salsify.

• Automation of Sell Sheets: With data from Salsify, Kids2 automated the generation of Powerpoint and PDF files, drastically reducing manual efforts. Sales coordinators and other team members no longer have to update each document by hand. Instead, they can update product details in one place, and the system automatically updates and publishes the corresponding sell sheets.
• Easy Template Customization: It’sRapid allowed the team to design templates that could be quickly adapted to fit different brands and sub-brands. The team could make template changes with a simple click, which was a significant improvement over the previous system that required manual edits.
• On-the-Fly Updates: The solution enabled team members to quickly update the sell sheets with the latest product data, ship dates, and other important details—without needing to dive into complex manual edits or spending hours looking for the correct versions.
• Adoption and Training: TWG’s experience with It’sRapid was supported by comprehensive training and support from the It’sRapid team. The adoption process was smooth, with brand and marketing teams quickly recognizing the value of the platform. Internal power users were identified to champion the platform, ensuring the tool was used to its full potential. The ability to scale across brand teams and rapidly deploy content also contributed to the platform’s adoption.
• Sales Team Focus: The overall aim was to allow the sales team to focus on selling. As Kids2’s Manager of Ecommerce Dawn Powell put it, “We want our salespeople to be making money, not be data analysts.” By reducing the need for manual data entry, they freed up their sales team to spend more time on client relationships and revenue-generating activities.
• Use of PowerPoint and PDF Formats: PowerPoint was initially chosen as a template for sell sheets because it offered the flexibility needed to create professional, customizable designs. With It’sRapid, Kids2 can also easily publish PDF versions of their sell sheets, which can be shared with customers seamlessly.
• Integration with Salsify: By integrating It’sRapid with Salsify, Kids2 ensured that their sell sheets were always up-to-date with the latest product information. As soon as a change is made, the updated sell sheet could be sent directly to retail partners, saving time and reducing the risk of outdated information being shared.
• Buy-In Process: The buy-in process was crucial for the success of the project. The key to success was clear communication and demonstrating the tangible improvements in efficiency and data accuracy.

Other Solutions Considered

Before It’sRapid, Kids2 explored several other options for sell sheet creation. Other solutions, including Excel-based templates and other sell sheet providers, were considered, but they were too clunky and not as easily integrated with their existing systems. The It’sRapid solution stood out because of its ability to manage complex product data while offering a streamlined way to create, update, and publish sell sheets at scale.

“We want our salespeople to be making money, not be data analysts.”

– Dawn Powell, Manager of Ecommerce

Results and Wins

The implementation of It’sRapid has yielded significant time savings and improvements in operational efficiency.

1. Time Savings: The company saved an estimated 40-50k hours annually by automating the sell sheet process. Prior to automation, the manual process consumed an excessive amount of time, especially when managing frequent updates across multiple teams.

2. Improved Data Accuracy: By centralizing product data and automating the creation of sell sheets, Kids2 saw a marked improvement in the accuracy of the information being shared with cus.

3. Streamlined Process: The integration with Salsify meant that once a sell sheet was updated, it could be shared quickly and easily with the Kids2 Sales and Marketing teams. No longer does the team need to manually track open edits or worry about outdated content being distributed.

4. Template Flexibility: It’sRapid provided multiple templates to fit different product lines and sub-brands. The system automatically recognized the appropriate template for each product, eliminating the need for the team to manually select the correct one each time.

Conclusion

By automating their sell sheet process and streamlining internal workflows, Kids2 was able to save significant time and resources. Sales teams were freed up to focus on selling, and the sales administration team saw a drastic reduction in time spent on manual tasks. It’sRapid allowed Kids2 to improve the accuracy and speed of their content distribution, leading to more efficient operations and better collaboration across teams.