MIAMI—May 8, 2017—NGC® Software, a leading provider of fashion PLM, supply chain management and apparel ERP solutions, today announced that Escalade Sports, a large sporting goods manufacturer with leading brands across multiple categories, has implemented NGC’s Andromeda® Product Testing and Compliance Software to streamline compliance with CPSIA, Proposition 65, Conflict Minerals Reporting and other regulations.

Escalade Sports is a global manufacturer and distributor of sports and outdoor recreational equipment with distribution at sporting goods retailers and independent dealers nationwide as well as all major online retailers. Leaders in their respective categories, Escalade Sports has 46 brands across multiple product lines and has achieved demonstrable growth in online sales over the last several years. To support the company’s rapid growth, Escalade needed a way to simplify and manage the complex regulatory compliance processes.

Prior to implementing NGC’s Andromeda Product Testing and Compliance Software, Escalade Sports relied on spreadsheets to manage testing for more than 5,000 SKUs.

“Prior to NGC Andromeda, we cobbled together very primitive systems to manage this, and it was getting overwhelming,” said Mike Guerzini, director of product development and engineering, Escalade Sports.

Guerzini notes that the amount of time required to adhere to compliance requirements has grown significantly and now requires advanced technology such as NGC Andromeda to streamline compliance reporting and improve visibility. Escalade Sports sought a solution to manage the end-to-end testing process including alerts on when products need to be tested or retested, and tracking the standards and protocols for each of Escalade more than 5,000 products.

“With all the different types of products and tests, the lines were getting blurred,” said Guerzini.

His search led him to NGC. Guerzini found that NGC’s software was much more flexible than other compliance solutions, while giving Escalade Sports the unique ability to manage CPSIA, as well as Prop 65, Conflict Minerals Reporting and other regulations.

Using NGC’s Product Testing and Compliance, Escalade Sports has seen benefits including:

• Time savings, improved accuracy. Information from NGC’s Andromeda platform can easily be shared with Escalade’s product content software, Salsify, resulting in significant time savings and improved accuracy.
• Instant compliance updates. Prior to implementing the NGC Andromeda platform, test results were manually entered into spreadsheets, creating delays. Now the results are entered into the software at the factory or testing lab and immediately available to Escalade Sports and its customers – enabling Escalade to improve customer service and responsiveness.
• Proactive management of compliance testing. The NGC Andromeda calendars and alerts give Escalade Sports proactive alerts several months before test results are due. Previously, it was easy to overlook a product with Escalade’s manual systems but now they’re able to get ahead of testing instead of chasing the testing.

“Millions of families around the world use Escalade’s products every day, so product safety and compliance are vitally important,” said Mark Burstein, president of sales and development and Chief Strategy Officer, NGC Software. “We’re thrilled NGC is giving Escalade Sports an edge in product testing and compliance, and we look forward to continuing to work with them.”