Case Study: Rapala achieves predictable EDI costs and streamlined trading-partner integration with SPS Commerce

Rapala - Customer Case Study

Normark Rapala, the world’s leading fishing-lure brand with global manufacturing and distribution and major U.S. volumes (33,000 orders, 11,600 SKUs, 3.2M pounds of freight annually), faced an increasingly complex supply chain and growing EDI requirements from retailers like Target, Wal‑Mart, Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Gander Mountain. When an in‑house EDI specialist left and customers began upgrading EDI standards, Rapala decided to outsource EDI rather than rebuild internal resources.

Rapala partnered with SPS Commerce to provide outsourced EDI integrated with its JD Edwards system; SPS reused existing maps and matched file layouts for a fast implementation in 2007, enabling Rapala to start its 2008 EDI initiative early. The move delivered predictable monthly fees, eliminated software maintenance and server costs, removed the need to hire a new EDI specialist (allowing redeployment of staff), and improved Rapala’s ability to meet changing trading‑partner requirements while staying focused on its core business.

Rapala