Case Study: SMYTHE Tailors its Tech Stack for Growth with Altura Innovation
SMYTHE started 20 years ago as a bold idea: bring the tailored sophistication of men’s blazers to women’s workwear. Over two decades, the brand grew from a single iconic blazer to a full ready-to-wear collection, opened retail stores in Toronto and Calgary, and launched a growing online presence.
But with growth came complexity. Managing inventory, analyzing sales performance, and integrating various sales channels became increasingly challenging. SMYTHE chose NetSuite as the backbone of their scaling business operations, but unlocking its full potential, particularly with Celigo integrations, required expertise they didn’t have internally.
Driven to address critical integration challenges with Celigo, NetSuite, and Shopify, SMYTHE partnered with Altura Innovation to stabilize and optimize their tech stack for seamless operations.
Building a scalable foundation with NetSuite
SMYTHE had begun with a system made for the apparel industry, but as their company expanded, they needed a more unified, scalable solution to support their growing complexity.
Adopting NetSuite is a strong strategic move that unifies finance, inventory, and reporting in one system. But after the initial rollout, the system wasn’t fully meeting expectations, particularly with integrations.
“From a logistics and fulfillment perspective, the transition was difficult. Key functions like production planning and inventory forecasting weren’t fully operational months after go-live,” said Lindsay Vilensky, SMYTHE’s ERP Project Manager.
Legacy integrations with platforms like Shopify, Loop Returns, and EDI had to be recreated from scratch for NetSuite. Some rebuilds stalled or became too costly, draining time and resources without delivering results.
To manage the growing backlog, Vilensky built an internal ticketing system — but the load was still overwhelming.
SMYTHE’s leadership quickly realized that while NetSuite offered robust data and functionality, the integration challenges, particularly with Celigo, were preventing them from leveraging it effectively. The technology they had invested in was powerful, but without the right support structure, it wasn’t delivering the seamless experience they had envisioned.
“We were drowning in Celigo variances,” said Vilensky. “We had 40 open integration issues at any given time, and I was under pressure from every department.”
SMYTHE wasn’t facing a technology failure; they were facing the growing pains of a scaling brand with real-time demands across platforms, customers, and time zones. NetSuite and Celigo were powerful tools, but the missing piece was specialized support to resolve integration issues.
“We didn’t need a different system. We needed a partner to help us move past these Celigo flags and make the pieces work together.”
Rebuilding confidence with Altura, one problem at a time
Realizing that overcoming their integration challenges required specialized expertise, SMYTHE sought a partner with deep knowledge of Celigo, NetSuite, and system integrations. That’s when they found Altura Innovation, a team known for delivering practical solutions tailored to complex needs.
Altura’s diverse group of specialists brought expertise across NetSuite, Celigo, and system integrations, enabling them to tackle issues efficiently and build a solution that could support SMYTHE’s operations.
Altura quickly got to work, helping SMYTHE’s Finance team streamline Shopify deposit reconciliations directly within NetSuite, eliminating tedious manual spreadsheets and speeding up month-end close processes.
Unlocking operational wins with data-driven tools
One of SMYTHE’s most significant breakthroughs came in the form of a deceptively simple deliverable: the Available-to-Sell report.
“Our sales team was manually copying and pasting images and data into Excel,” said Vilensky. “By the time they sent the report out, those units could already be sold.”
Altura replaced that manual process with a fully automated, image-rich PDF that refreshes every two hours. The impact was immediate: faster sales cycles, more confident wholesale buying, and a meaningful reduction in overhead.
“It really improved our wholesale channel,” said Vilensky. “This is something we had in our old system, but we couldn’t replicate it in NetSuite — until Altura.”
Simplifying support with a dedicated client partner
Altura Innovation simplifies collaboration within its diverse team through AlturaCare, a service agreement that pairs each client with a dedicated client partner who serves as a single point of contact. This clear line of communication keeps everyone on the same page and prevents confusion about who to contact or how to escalate issues.
For SMYTHE, this meant a clear, reliable process for handling technical issues—routing requests, prioritizing tickets, and receiving quick, knowledgeable responses.
“You don’t have to worry about who to email or where to escalate because there’s one trusted contact who knows your business and can coordinate with the team,” said Vilensky. “It’s so important having someone who understands our issues and can prioritize them for the right resources.”
This streamlined communication established a trusted channel that efficiently coordinated services for SMYTHE, fostering confidence and speeding up problem-solving across the board.
Celigo: Now core to operations
With a trusted partner in place, SMYTHE turned its focus to unlocking the full power of Celigo, a platform that had become essential to the company’s daily operations.
“Celigo is a non-negotiable for our business,” said Vilensky. “We couldn’t run our DTC channel without it.”
Altura helped rebuild and stabilize critical integrations between NetSuite and platforms like Shopify and Loop Returns. That clarity and automation eliminated hours of manual reconciliation, accelerated order flows, and dramatically reduced errors.
“We had a really bad view of Celigo, but I think it was skewed,” said Vilensky. “It’s an amazing product. We now understand how powerful it is — we just didn’t have the right team backing us at first.”
That realization, that the right technology needs the right partner, changed everything. With Altura managing the complexity, SMYTHE could rely on Celigo to support real-time inventory syncs, automated returns, and fully integrated EDI workflows.
“It’s not just NetSuite support,” said Vilensky. “Altura is also our go-to for Celigo, and that keeps everything aligned and working smoothly.”
Building a scalable foundation for the future
Thanks to Altura Innovation’s partnership, SMYTHE turned frustrating manual processes into smooth, automated workflows that support their evolving business. Enhanced data usability and operational agility have empowered SMYTHE to confidently pursue new growth opportunities while trusting their technology backbone to deliver.
"We wish we had found Altura from the beginning,” said Vilensky. “The difference with Altura is the team—they really know NetSuite and Celigo inside and out. When issues come up, they understand them quickly and can solve them without a lot of back and forth. Having that kind of expertise from the start would have saved us a lot of time and frustration."
The partnership between SMYTHE and Altura laid a strong foundation for sustained growth and continuous innovation, positioning SMYTHE to confidently meet the challenges ahead.
The Impact
✔ 50%+ reduction in recurring Celigo errors
✔ Eliminated manual Shopify reconciliation
✔ New automated Available-to-Sell report saving 3+ hours per wholesale cycle
✔ EDI sales orders fully integrated for the first time after 18 months of struggles
✔ Significant improvement in financial month-end close processes
✔ Better operational visibility and faster decision-making across teams
About Altura Innovation
Altura Innovation is a strategic partner specializing in optimizing and scaling NetSuite and Celigo ecosystems for fast-growing brands. By embedding dedicated client partners and delivering deep technical expertise, Altura Innovation helps companies transform complex operations into efficient, growth-ready systems.
About SMYTHE
SMYTHE is a contemporary women’s fashion brand known for redefining professional style with tailored, sophisticated apparel. SMYTHE’s ready-to-wear collection empowers women with confidence and timeless design. Committed to quality and innovation, SMYTHE continues to evolve its operations and technology to support sustained growth and meet the demands of a dynamic fashion market.
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