New Era turned to HighCohesion to expand while smoothing its order and returns process, automating its data transfer and boosting its efficiency.

The Snag

New Era was evolving from an American sports heritage brand to a lifestyle icon, collaborating with retailers across Europe.

The goal now was for New Era was to expand into New Zealand and migrate from SAP Commerce Cloud to Shopify. This meant safely transferring thousands of lines of data, assets, and historical transactions, but the potential payoff was huge.

The brand desperately needed a system upgrade that gave them greater control over returns and the customer pre-order experience, as the existing system relied on constant HQ communication, with weeks between requests and results.

The Project

HighCohesion’s reputation earned a recommendation from top Shopify agency, The Working Party, leading to discovery meetings with New Era in July 2022. By autumn, work began to support New Era’s global expansion and drive operational efficiency.

Despite extreme time zone differences, HighCohesion bridged communication between New Era’s US HQ and local teams in Australia and New Zealand to deliver a flexible, high-impact solution.

As well as migrating from SAP Commerce Cloud to Shopify, HighCohesion tackled three key challenges:

ERP Integration

Ensuring uninterrupted communication between New Era’s SAP ERP and Shopify, forming a critical foundation for the entire system.

Returns

Automating returns with Loop, eliminating manual processes, and delivering faster, smoother customer experiences. The warehouse received more detailed data, saving time and money, while Loop introduced smarter exchanges and credit options for better customer engagement.

Pre-orders

Fixing back-end issues that delayed deliveries. HighCohesion split same-basket orders, ensuring in-stock items were shipped immediately — no more waiting until after the final whistle.

The Results

Total Flexibility: Shopify enabled quick adjustments to promotions and product lines, improved responsiveness to sporting events, and faster brand and influencer collaborations.

Faster Order Processing: Smoothing out New Era’s in-stock and pre-order process, ensuring faster fulfilment and fewer delivery delays.

Revamped Returns: HighCohesion overhauled returns with Loop, reducing errors and replacing lengthy manual investigations with a faster, automated system.