How Nine Line Apparel Replaced "Tribal Knowledge" With Real WMS
Nine Line Apparel makes patriotic apparel out of Savannah, Georgia — built by two Army-veteran brothers into a 250-person, just-in-time manufacturer. Here's how Wisys gave its warehouse team the system it had been missing.
Nine Line Apparel's facility in Savannah, Georgia.
The problem with "tribal knowledge"
Nine Line started as a home business built entirely on manual processes. By the time Jordan Nearhoof joined as Director of Fulfillment in 2018, the company had grown into a just-in-time manufacturer running thousands of production orders a week — but without a warehouse management system to match.
Nine Line Apparel's warehouse and facility exterior.
"Without a warehouse management system, we were basically using tribal knowledge... We had to organize the goods by garment type, design, color and size so that the team could pick the right item based on a customer order. It was pretty complex... The team did an amazing job, but they weren't set up for success." Jordan Nearhoof, Director of Fulfillment, Nine Line Apparel
It also capped how fast the brand could grow: without a system to quickly add new products, fill them correctly, and track where they went, marketing and scaling stayed limited too.
Finding a WMS built for SAP Business One
The company already had a basic WMS in place, but needed something with far more customization for its specific business. The search came down to one requirement above the rest: a partner that could move quickly, integrate cleanly into SAP Business One, and tailor the system to fit — not the other way around.
"What impressed us with Wisys was that it could integrate directly into SAP B1 seamlessly and also incorporate our own tables as needed. That opens up the doors for a lot of customization." Jordan Nearhoof
The evaluation itself sealed it. Wisys sent its team — Don, Scott, Todd, and Jim — on-site in September 2019 to tour the facility and walk every process in person before proposing a solution.
An on-site rollout, start to finish
The company opted for an on-site implementation, which Jordan called extremely critical for a rollout of this size. When minor hiccups came up, Todd and Jim resolved them quickly enough that the go-live timeline never slipped — and the team started leveraging the new system almost immediately.
"We opted for an onsite implementation, which was extremely critical. We knew that a rollout this large was not going to go flawlessly. All the minor hiccups were handled very quickly by Todd and Jim so they did not delay the process." Jordan Nearhoof
The results — expected and unexpected
Wisys delivered the efficiency, accuracy, and inventory control the company was looking for. But Jordan pointed to a few benefits the team didn't see coming:
Team member empowerment
Hands-on training turned warehouse staff into employees the company could grow and develop, not just task-followers.
System-focused processes
Built-in safety measures minimize errors and keep everyone following process, without slowing anyone down.
Printing capability
Item, barcode, and pallet-location labels print to stationary printers; production and purchase orders print straight to wireless devices on the floor.
Accountability
Clear accountability surfaces training gaps early, so feedback can be targeted to the person who needs it.
"Wisys delivered on the typical WMS benefits that you would expect. We saw better efficiency, accuracy, inventory control, and we saved time and money through better processes." Jordan Nearhoof