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For the past 134 years, Carhartt has built a global following of dedicated fans. The brand\u2019s workwear is produced with such high quality that it\u2019s legendary for being passed down for generations. Carhartt looks good. And their brand is among the most recognizable in the world \u2013 worn by hip-hop artists like Dr. Dre and featured prominently in TV series\u2019 like Yellowstone<\/em>. Their brand creative department is in-house and their product placement is organic \u2013 celebrities and influencers want<\/em> to be associated with them<\/em>. And amid all the popularity, Carhartt continues to innovate. For example, their durable, insulated, lightweight gear is now the exclusive outfit worn in-studio and in the field by reporters on The Weather Channel.<\/p>\n All this growth requires the brand to remain on the cutting edge on the IT front. Carhartt has streamlined operations, migrated to the cloud, and pursued new revenue streams with the help of Cisco FSO solutions.<\/p>\n Carhartt was founded in 1889 in Detroit, Michigan, in a small loft with five workers and two sewing machines. The early company made sturdy clothes for railroad workers and other laborers, working closely with their customers to make sure the workwear was designed to meet their needs while on the job. Carhartt soon expanded to become a global brand, and they\u2019ve continued to grow to record heights.<\/p>\n Carhartt is family-owned company. They\u2019re an SAP shop \u2013 using the software to manage everything from sewing the workwear, to operating their distribution centers, to maintaining their 24\/7 global ecommerce site. They use Cisco FSO solutions to monitor all their critical applications because they have no margin for downtime \u2013 a glitch in their distribution site or a disruption in their ecommerce site would result in a significant financial impact, all while leaving consumers and customers with a bad experience.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t afford downtime. We\u2019re making sales around the world now, and our main distribution centers are operating 24 hours as well. So, we\u2019ve got to have the visibility, and we\u2019ve got to have uptime. The only way to do that is to know when something\u2019s going wrong and head it off before it impacts the business.\u201d<\/em> Four years ago, Carhartt embarked on a journey to migrate all their systems to the cloud. They started with their core ERP system, and today, 96% of their operations are in the cloud. Laszlo said, \u201cBeing in the cloud gives us improved availability along with sustainable flexibility, scalability, and reliability we\u2019ve never had before. We couldn\u2019t keep investing in data centers, hardware, and staff to build and run them- we had to get ahead of the business\u2019 technology and capacity needs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Without having to invest in new data centers and more IT staff to run them, and knowing they have a strong cloud-based IT infrastructure, Carhartt has been able to invest in the business and grow exponentially. Not only has Carhartt established a store on Amazon.com, they also sell through Cintas, directly to businesses like United Airlines, and opened two new Carhartt company retail stores during the pandemic. On the retail front, they\u2019ve pioneered setting up \u201cstores within a store\u201d at Tractor Supply and Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods, endcaps at Home Depot, and glove stations at Ace Hardware. Laszlo says, \u201cWherever hardworking people are \u2013 that\u2019s where we\u2019re trying to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n Carhartt has truly reimagined their applications in the cloud and built an IT infrastructure that drives their business growth \u2013 instead of inhibiting it. With Cisco FSO solutions giving them the visibility they need to rapidly fix issues and the actionable insight to prevent them in the first place, Carhartt will continue to succeed and grow.<\/p>\n Share:<\/p>\n \n \t<\/div>\nFrom humble beginnings to a global powerhouse brand<\/h3>\n
Streamlining operations \u2013 from warehouse distribution to retail<\/h3>\n
\u2013 Bryan Laszlo, Carhartt\u2019s Manager of Application Performance<\/p>\nMigrating to the cloud and pursuing new revenue streams drives exponential growth<\/h3>\n
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