Case Study: Touch of Modern achieves 96X faster, error-free supplier payments and scalable growth without adding AP headcount with Tipalti

E-Commerce Retailer Streamlines Supplier Payments To Grow Dramatically While Staying Lean

Touch of Modern is a San Francisco–based flash e‑commerce retailer serving modern, urban men; COO Jonathan Wu oversees global operations and single‑handedly managed finance as the company scaled. Rapid growth, a dynamic supplier base (4,000 partners), international payment rules, and manual AP/AR created error risk, slow onboarding and threatened margins—so the company needed a lean, automated way to manage supplier payments without adding headcount.

The company integrated Tipalti with its custom backend and Xero, using a branded self‑service supplier portal, automated tax/form collection, and multi‑currency/method payouts. The result: payment processing fell from 48 minutes to 30 seconds (a 96x improvement), saving roughly 4,000 hours a year, reducing errors, improving supplier experience, and enabling growth from $6M to ~$90M in sales without adding AP or finance staff.

Touch of Modern

Jonathan Wu

Chief Operating Officer