Streamlining Shipping and Reducing Manual Work with Descartes Pacejet

Herschel Parts is a leading manufacturer, distributor, and business-to-consumer (B2C) seller of aftermarket agricultural replacement parts, serving customers worldwide. Founded in 1887, the company manufactures many of its own products while shipping thousands of parts via a mix of parcel, less-than-truckload (LTL), and freight carriers. Following an ownership change, Herschel migrated from JD Edwards to NetSuite and sought a more efficient way to manage shipping operations. 

Before implementing Descartes Pacejet™, the company relied on disconnected systems, manual entry of tracking numbers, and time-consuming shipping processes. Leaders wanted a transportation management solution that integrated seamlessly with NetSuite, reduced administrative work, improved visibility, and helped employees make more strategic carrier decisions. 

“When we first started with Descartes Pacejet and NetSuite in the warehouse, my pickers and packers were just amazed by the ease of use. ‘Is this it? This is all we have to do?’ Yep, straightforward, and it’s done.” 

Lori Archibold, Enterprise Systems Manager, Herschel Parts 

Challenge: Eliminating Manual Shipping Processes and Improving Visibility 

Before implementing Descartes Pacejet, Herschel managed shipping through disconnected systems that required extensive manual effort. Employees often had to manually enter tracking numbers, update shipment records, and reconcile information between shipping software and JD Edwards. This created opportunities for errors, delayed visibility, and invoicing issues. 

The company also lacked an efficient way to compare carrier rates across parcel and LTL shipments. Without integrated rate shopping and automated data synchronization, teams spent additional time identifying cost-effective shipping services and creating reports. 

General 

Herschel Parts 

Agricultural Parts Manufacturing and Distribution 

Descartes Solution 

Descartes Pacejet™ 

Founded in 1887, Herschel Parts is a global manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket agricultural replacement parts. The company serves distributors, dealers, and end-user farmers through B2B and B2C sales channels. 

Herschel needed to eliminate manual shipping tasks, improve shipment visibility, and simplify carrier selection to control costs across parcel and LTL operations. 

Herschel implemented Descartes Pacejet integrated with NetSuite to automate shipping workflows, improve visibility, and support carrier rate shopping. 

Eliminated Manual Tracking Entry 

Improved Shipment Visibility 

Simplified Carrier Selection 

Streamlined NetSuite Workflows 

When Herschel selected NetSuite as the new enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform following its ownership transition, leaders recognized an opportunity to modernize shipping operations at the same time. Descartes Pacejet provided the integrated transportation management capabilities the company needed while fitting naturally into its new ERP environment. 

“The streamlined integration between NetSuite and PaceJet, how they talk to each other and work with each other, has been huge for us. It has taken out a lot of extra work. We used to do a lot of manual backtracking, using tracking numbers, bills of lading, and Banyan data to populate J.D. Edwards. And now with Pacejet and NetSuite, we don’t have any of that,” shares Lori Archibold, Enterprise Systems Manager, Herschel. 

The integrated solution eliminated many of the manual processes previously required to manage carrier shipments and related customer communications. The company also gained the ability to compare carrier options more effectively.  

Rate shopping helped the company determine when shipments were less expensive to send via LTL rather than parcel carriers. With shipment dimensions, weights, and carrier rates available in one place, employees could make more informed shipping decisions. 

“We know what our rates are. We can compare them and pick the provider that fits us best,” Archibold says. “All the shipping documents are created for us by Pacejet, and then everything comes right back into NetSuite.” 
 
Today, shipment information, tracking numbers, carrier documentation, and invoicing workflows flow directly through NetSuite, providing greater visibility and reducing administrative effort while future-proofing the shipping process. And the future of Herschel?  
 
“You know, it’s funny when we say that we’ve been here since 1887,” laughs Archibold, “There’s not many of us like that anymore. We make high-quality products that people need and will continue to need. You know, farmers aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And this company is carrying on that heritage alongside them.”  

Eliminated Manual Tracking Entry 

Tracking numbers and shipment data now flow automatically into NetSuite when shipments are processed, eliminating the need for employees to manually enter shipment information and reducing opportunities for keying errors. 

Customer service representatives can immediately access shipment status and tracking information instead of waiting for overnight updates, allowing them to respond to customer inquiries more quickly. 

Rate shopping capabilities help warehouse teams compare parcel and LTL options using real shipment dimensions and weights, improving carrier selection and identifying lower-cost shipping methods. 

Shipping documents, carrier information, invoicing data, and shipment confirmations are automatically synchronized between systems, reducing manual work and helping prevent missed billing events.