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Australian Entrepreneur Selects Dell Boomi Platform to Optimise eCommerce Start-Up’s Expansion Plans

Announcement posted by Boomi 09 May 2017

Integration technology to underpin GRANA’s expansion into eight new markets, and support the opening of bricks-and-mortar showroom
Sydney, AustraliaMay 9, 2017Dell Boomi (Boomi) has announced that international direct-to-consumer eCommerce start-up, GRANA, is using its integration platform to support rapid business expansion and optimise its omnichannel strategy, as the brand continues to extend its market presence into key markets and seek investment from venture capitalists in 2017.
 
GRANA is a Hong Kong-based online apparel retailer founded by Australian entrepreneur, Luke Grana. Luke, in partnership with Pieter-Paul Wittgen, launched Grana.com in late 2014 with ambitions to take on Japanese giants Uniqlo and the United States’ Theory with high-quality clothing at affordable prices. The company currently ships to 12 countries from a centralised warehouse in Hong Kong.
 
The start-up has implemented Boomi’s integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) to underpin and connect critical applications the business relies on for all internal and online customer-facing operations. This includes the start-up’s enterprise resource planning, product lifecycle management and warehouse management platforms which its 75 staff use daily.
 
“The retail sector is undergoing a transition and the challenge is catering products and services towards digital consumers with increasing expectations from brands,” said Luke Grana, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at GRANA. “This means connecting the disjointed pools of important data dispersed across the organisation to make informed decisions and create meaningful online experiences for customers.
 
“Boomi helps to integrate everything that goes on behind the scenes at GRANA - all the apps to help run the business – so we have full visibility into the data coming in and can make sense of it to add value across our omnichannel.”
 
Importantly, the integration platform accurately and securely centralises data generated within these systems for analysis to inform business decisions and further optimise operational efficiencies and online-to-offline customer experiences.
 
“This capability is critical to our business as we are rolling out aggressive expansion plans and two-day express shipping into mainland China, Japan and Korea,” said Grana. “Boomi gives us a better understanding of customers across the globe, equipping us to execute a strategy that meets their constantly evolving purchasing habits and expectations.”
 
During its evaluation, GRANA considered other vendor solutions, however selected Boomi based on its ability to deliver the best functionality and performance. Additionally, a key factor was the ability to operate its cloud-based iPaaS with minimal training, removing the need for specialist IT resources.
 
“Grana is shaking up the hotly-contested and highly-globalised retail sector with an intentionally unconventional expansion strategy that capitalises on the potential of technology to make better-informed decisions,” said Michael Evans, Managing Director Asia-Pacific and Japan at Dell Boomi. “By using iPaaS as the linking mechanism for its operation, it is not only boosting its ecommerce business, but preparing for a physical presence by analysing customer data to determine the best place to open stores, and determine what those shops will look like. This differentiator will allow it to create experiences on its customers’ terms.”
 
About Dell Boomi
Dell Boomi (Boomi), an independent business unit of Dell, accelerates business agility by integrating the information organisations need whenever and however they need it. The Boomi integration platform dramatically transforms the way organisations connect, create, manage and govern all their applications and data. As a result, more than 5,300 organisations of all sizes use the Boomi platform to run smarter, faster, and better. Boomi also helps customers drastically reduce implementation times over traditional integration, MDM, API management and workflow automation solutions. Visit http://www.boomi.com for more information.
                                                              
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About GRANA
GRANA is a direct-to-consumer eCommerce apparel brand designing wardrobe essentials in-house, using the finest fabrics from around the world, available at low and honest prices. GRANA ships directly to 12 countries within 1-2 days. www.grana.com
 
Strategically headquartered in Hong Kong, GRANA was founded by Luke Grana and co-founded with Pieter Paul Wittgen, officially launching in October 2014. To date, the start-up has raised US$16 million in funding from 500 Startups, Alibaba’s Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, Golden Gate Ventures and MindWorks Ventures.