As Corinthian Furniture’s business grew, their existing inventory system couldn’t keep pace. The Mississippi-based manufacturer of custom sofas and upholstered furniture needed a more robust solution to support their expanding operations and maintain their reputation for quality.
Operating within a SYSPRO ERP environment and managing a complex production process that includes cutting, sewing, fabrication, and upholstery, Corinthian required a more reliable system to manage inventory and track products through manufacturing. By implementing TransLution in phases over two years, the company improved warehouse control, introduced
innovative RFID-driven work-in-progress tracking, and built stronger traceability across its operations.
The implementation addressed longstanding inventory challenges while providing management with clearer operational data to guide production and fulfillment decisions. As a result, Corinthian can ship complete orders with greater confidence, support promised delivery timelines, and maintain more reliable inventory data across the business.
KEY RESULTS
- Improved inventory accuracy with reliable, trusted stock data
- Complete order fulfillment – shipping customers exactly what they ordered, 100% of the time
- Greater traceability and accountability across production processes
- Enhanced visibility into workflow and departmental bottlenecks previously invisible to management
- RFID-based validation to definitively resolve customer claims about missing components
The Challenge: Outgrowing Their Existing System
As the business expanded, their existing system’s limitations became clear. The original vendor was experiencing internal challenges and could no longer provide adequate support. Corinthian proactively began searching for a more dependable solution.
Key requirements for the new system:
- Greater inventory accuracy to support confident decision-making
- Reliable vendor partnership with ongoing support
- Visibility into work-in-progress across multiple manufacturing stages
- Verifiable proof of components included in each shipment
Why Corinthian Chose TransLution
Corinthian evaluated several warehouse and inventory management providers before selecting TransLution. The decision was influenced by several critical factors:
Deep SYSPRO Expertise
TransLution’s deep understanding of SYSPRO’s architecture was the decisive factor. Their proven experience working within the same ERP environment used by Corinthian enabled seamless integration without disrupting existing business processes.
Right-Sized Partnership
Corinthian valued TransLution’s size – large enough to provide robust support and avoid the single-person bottleneck of their previous vendor, but small enough to remain responsive and personally engaged with their unique requirements. Strong communication and genuine understanding of Corinthian’s challenges during the evaluation process built confidence in the partnership.
Willingness to Innovate with RFID
A key differentiator was TransLution’s willingness to implement RFID technology in a way that was not typical
for most warehouse environments. TransLution had limited experience with RFID deployments but was eager to tackle the challenge and work collaboratively with Corinthian to make it successful.
The Implementation
Corinthian implemented TransLution in phases over two years, with Phase 1 delivering immediate improvements
and Phase 2 completing in early 2026. This phased approach allowed the business to solve immediate inventory challenges while gradually introducing more advanced operational visibility.
Phase 1: Outbound Warehouse Management
The first phase focused on improving control over finished goods leaving the production line. As completed furniture units pass the end of the production line, embedded RFID tags are captured by readers, triggering automatic serialized label printing and inventory receipt into the system. TransLution then directs the units either to order staging areas or overflow storage.
The outbound warehouse is organized into staging lanes, each representing a specific order or truck shipment. As items are placed into these lanes, the system tracks the serialized units and ensures that orders are complete before dispatch.
TransLution also supports receiving of bought-in finished goods and cycle counting of finished goods bins, helping Corinthian maintain more accurate stock records and better control of inventory.
Phase 2: Manufacturing Work-in-Progress Tracking
The second phase introduced RFID-based tracking across Corinthian’s entire manufacturing process – representing one of TransLution’s most sophisticated RFID deployments.
INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT: Multi-Tag Component Tracking
Unlike traditional warehouse RFID that uses one tag per item, Corinthian’s implementation assigns 8-9 RFID tags to each furniture unit – one for each component including the seat, back cushion, decorative pillows, left arm, right arm, and outside back.
This component-level tracking enables validation at every manufacturing stage and provides definitive proof of what’s included in each shipment – a capability that has transformed how Corinthian manages production and resolves customer disputes.
Sewing Line Validation
As component bins move through Corinthian’s two sewing lines (each with 8-10+ sewers), the system validates all component RFIDs both when bins enter and exit the production stage. This dual validation catches instances
where workers accidentally sew through tags during production, ensuring components remain trackable throughout manufacturing.
Intelligent Bundling and Production Staging
After sewing, TransLution’s bundling intelligence automatically directs reassembled pieces to the correct
staging buggies for the next production phase. The system monitors production readiness and alerts forklift operators when the upholstery line inventory drops below 50 units, directing them to specific buggies for delivery.
Fabrication and Assembly Tracking
As components move through cutting, sewing, fabrication (cushion filling and pillow stuffing), and upholstery, RFID validation points confirm that the correct pieces remain together and that production batches are progressing as expected.
This provides Corinthian with real-time insight into work-in-progress across the factory floor – visibility that was
completely absent with their previous system.
IMPLEMENTATION INSIGHT: Working Through RFID Complexity
The RFID implementation required careful hardware selection and configuration. Unlike simple warehouse scenarios, Corinthian’s readers needed to distinguish
between intended tags and environmental interference, handle tags embedded in thick fabric and detect damaged tags.
TransLution worked closely with Corinthian to optimize reader power settings and develop intelligent filtering logic that focuses on the ‘most common RFID type’ while ignoring outliers. While the implementation took longer than initially hoped, the bottleneck was primarily hardware configuration and
middleware, not the TransLution software itself.
The Results
Complete Order Fulfillment and Customer Confidence
While some benefits are difficult to quantify, Corinthian emphasizes the long-term value of being able to consistently ship complete orders and meet promised delivery timelines.
“What’s the value of shipping a customer exactly what they ordered 100% of the time?
Kevin Blakney, Corinthian Furniture
It’s hard to put a number to it. But long term, it’s ‘I ordered that from Corinthian. They told me I was going to have it in three weeks – and I got it in three weeks, every bit of it, just like they said.’
—
Inventory Accuracy and System Reliability
TransLution solved the fundamental inventory accuracy problems that prompted Corinthian’s search for a new
system. Management now has reliable, trusted inventory data for decision-making.
End-of-Line Validation and Dispute Resolution
TransLution’s end-of-line validation now confirms complete furniture assemblies before shipment. Instead of only detecting the main unit RFID tag, the system validates that all required components, pillows, cushions, and accessories, are present.
This capability helps resolve customer disputes regarding missing components and allows Corinthian to verify exactly what was shipped, eliminating costly replacement shipments for disputed claims.
Operational Visibility and Accountability
One of the most valuable outcomes has been improved operational visibility. By capturing real-time production data at multiple stages, the system revealed workflow challenges and departmental bottlenecks that were previously invisible, helping management make better decisions about resource allocation and process improvements. The system also provides traceability that improves accountability across departments.
Conclusion
Corinthian Furniture initially sought a solution to resolve inventory accuracy problems and replace an unsupportable system. Through the phased implementation of TransLution, the company achieved far more.
Today, Corinthian benefits from reliable inventory data, stronger operational visibility, and innovative RFIDdriven
validation across its manufacturing and warehouse operations. Multi-tag component tracking provides production transparency and quality assurance capabilities that would be impossible with traditional systems.
The result is a more controlled and transparent production environment – one that supports accurate order fulfillment, stronger accountability across departments, and greater confidence that what was promised to customers is exactly what will be delivered.
By improving inventory reliability, strengthening traceability, and providing unprecedented visibility into production operations, TransLution has helped Corinthian build the foundation for sustainable operational excellence.
