Kent Outdoors gives back to its retailers

Driven by a mission to create products that inspire joyful shared memories, Kent Outdoors has long recognized that a strong wholesale network is key to its success. With a portfolio featuring Hyperlite, HO Skis, O’Brien, Connelly, FatSac, Aquaglide, BOTE, Seipel Marine, Barefoot International, and Liquid Force, Kent’s Watersports Division needed a scalable platform that would not only support growth but also deepen its relationships with retailers. This led them to partner with Elastic Suite, a B2B platform designed to simplify and enhance the wholesale ordering experience.

Why Kent chose Elastic: inspired by success in snow sports

The journey with Elastic Suite began when Kent Outdoors brought on Arbor Snowboards, a well-established snow sports brand, and the onboarding experience was positive, with wide adoption in the snow sports industry. Arbor’s seamless transition highlighted the potential for streamlining operations across Kent’s entire water sports division. Seeing the success of this initial implementation, Kent’s team recognized that Elastic Suite was the right choice to support all their water sports brands, ensuring consistency and ease for their retail partners.

By joining Elastic Suite, Kent aimed to streamline its wholesale processes and create a seamless experience across its diverse lineup. Elastic’s multi-brand dashboard now enables Kent to manage everything from Hyperlite to Liquid Force in one place, streamlining the ordering process and making it easier than ever for retailers to place orders and access inventory.

Path to implementation and training

Kent embarked on a phased rollout of Elastic, with a focus on training to ensure each brand felt comfortable and capable with the platform. So far, five of their seven brands have successfully gone live, and Elastic has been there every step of the way, supporting the team to hit critical milestones, even reaching go-live goals on New Year’s Day.

Elastic’s flexibility in flat-file integration and support for Microsoft D365 individual instances has allowed Kent to customize the platform to each brand’s unique needs. Throughout this process, Elastic’s account manager, Brad, a former rep himself, provided invaluable support, including additional training, bridging the gap between technology and real-world sales challenges.

Supporting reps & retailers with streamlined ordering

For Kent’s reps, especially those handling HO and Hyperlite, adoption has come quickly. Many of their specialty retailers already had experience using Elastic, making the transition easier. With Elastic, ordering is faster and more accurate; reps can place orders, add products to shipments, and finalize orders over a quick video call, eliminating much of the back-and-forth that plagued the old, manual process.

Kent’s retailers now experience a streamlined process that not only saves time but also boosts accuracy. Elastic’s digital catalog has helped reduce the need for printed materials—a transition Kent hopes to complete in the coming years. As more retailers adopt this modern approach, Kent can focus on delivering exceptional customer service through a more streamlined, rounded ordering process.

Growth & Retailer Commitment

Since adopting Elastic Suite, Kent has seen meaningful growth in retailer engagement and order volume. With tools designed to streamline the ordering process—such as real-time inventory updates and the ability to add products to existing shipments—Kent’s sales reps can process orders faster and more accurately, benefiting both retailers and the business.

Building Towards the Future of Customer Support

Looking ahead, Kent plans to expand its customer support team, further enhancing retailer support through Elastic Suite’s advanced tools. With this partnership, Kent is more than just a brand—they’re a dedicated ally to retailers, committed to shared success.

Through Elastic Suite, Kent Outdoors is giving back to its retailer base, delivering a technology-driven wholesale experience that meets today’s needs and builds toward tomorrow’s goals.