Dover Saddlery

In the early 2000s, Dover began rolling out new stores and acquired existing tack shops, ultimately expanding their presence to 31 stores in 19 states. Today, more than 50% of the business comes from physical stores while the balance is divided between online catalog orders and call-center purchases. All stores run a heavily customized retail solution (TOPS) that forms the foundation of the order fulfillment system. To appeal to a wide range of customers, Dover Saddlery maintains approximately 30,000 SKUs, primarily apparel and equipment—often with multiple sizes and color choices—in a 65G database. Much of the higher end merchandise is physically located in the stores although Dover also guarantees in-stock items will be delivered to customers within a few days.

To support its rapid growth, Dover required a robust application database platform that could drive its expansion into different geographies. The company also needed a platform that was flexible enough to support its complex inventory and shipping processes across the stores as well as drive online operations.