John H. Daniel, a custom men’s clothier in business since 1928, faced a challenge: they needed a more efficient way for dealers to order complex custom garments, replacing their outdated fax method. They aimed to digitize the ordering process, allowing dealers to configure and order custom garments online.

Ordering a men’s custom suit involves considerable complexity. Dealers must pass all required customer measurements to the manufacturer, choose from numerous options like lapel style, pocket piping, and vents, and select fabrics and linings. This information needs to be accurately transmitted to John H. Daniel to serve as the factory ticket, payment object, and order history.

Antrim Creek partnered with John H. Daniel to thoroughly understand the manufacturing and shipping of custom garments. We visited their factory, took in-depth discovery notes at each manufacturing station, and analyzed the needs of each user. We asked: What tasks does this user need to perform? How can we make their job faster and more accurate?

After researching the manufacturing process and user needs, we mapped out a new system called ATLAS. We defined the order flow, detailing each step from order placement to delivery. Once the order flow was agreed upon, we designed the UX for the dealer ordering process and the backend factory processes, handling the order from receipt to shipment.

We developed a custom Ruby on Rails application as the central hub for all order and customer information, supported by other Ruby and React applications for various manufacturing stations. Each application focused on user needs, providing the necessary information in an accessible format.

This project exemplifies the the great things than can happen when decades of manufacturing expertise and a people-driven technology team. JDI’s ATLAS platform has significantly improved John H. Daniel’s daily business processes.