Why You Need a Multichannel Fulfillment Partner for Your Apparel
Struggling to keep up with the demands of apparel fulfillment in today’s fast-paced e-commerce landscape?
In the last 20 years, the growth of online shopping has completely transformed the retail industry, bringing new:
- Sales channels
- Technologies
- Customer expectations
These can present significant challenges for apparel businesses, especially when it comes to fulfillment.
Have you ever thought of partnering with a multichannel fulfillment company like Scrappy Apparel?
With the help of a multichannel fulfillment partner, you can optimize your supply chain and stay ahead of the competition.
Let’s explore how this approach can benefit your apparel business.
Choose Scrappy Apparel as Your Multichannel Fulfillment Partner
Are Traditional Fulfillment Solutions Enough for the Apparel Industry?
The apparel industry has undergone a significant transformation, prompting companies to:
- Boost agility
- Shorten lead times
- Pivot toward demand-driven supply chains
Traditional fulfillment solutions may not be equipped to handle the complexities of this new retail landscape.
Consider the following challenges that apparel businesses face:
- Multiple sales channels
- Seasonal demand fluctuations
- Changing consumer preferences and trends
- Fast-paced fashion cycles
- High return rates
- Tight profit margins
- Inventory management and storage limitations
These challenges require a dynamic and flexible fulfillment approach that traditional solutions often lack.
Let’s break down the concepts of flexibility, scalability, and returns management further:
Flexibility
A multichannel fulfillment partner has the resources and expertise to handle all aspects of your apparel fulfillment, from order processing to shipping and returns.
Here’s how partnering with a multichannel fulfillment company can benefit your apparel business:
- Flexible storage options: With multiple warehouses in strategic locations, a multichannel fulfillment partner can help you optimize your inventory storage based on demand and reduce shipping costs.
- Real-time inventory visibility: With advanced fulfillment technology, you can track your inventory in real-time across all sales channels, preventing stockouts and excess inventory.
- Faster order processing: By automating order processing, a multichannel fulfillment company can significantly reduce the time it takes to fulfill orders, ensuring quick and efficient delivery to your customers.
Scalability
Your fulfillment solution must be scalable to accommodate growth and fluctuations in demand. Here’s why traditional solutions may fall short:
- Inventory management challenges: Apparel fulfillment involves maintaining a high number of SKUs across channels, making inventory management more complex.
- Demand fluctuations: Consumer tastes and fashion preferences change frequently, leading to significant demand fluctuations.
- Omnichannel approach: Many apparel brands today sell through multiple channels, including retail stores, their own websites, and online marketplaces. This requires seamless integration of inventory, orders, and fulfillment processes across channels.
Returns Management
Returns management is a critical aspect of apparel fulfillment that traditional solutions often struggle to handle effectively.
According to a 2023 survey, the average return rate of online apparel in the U.S. was 24.4%, equating to $38 billion in merchandise value and $25.1 billion in processing costs.
A multichannel fulfillment company can handle all your returns from different channels in one place, making it easier to track and process.
The Multichannel Advantage: Why Your Brand Should Sell Across Multiple Channels
By adopting a multichannel retail strategy, you can significantly expand your brand’s reach.
This approach allows you to reach customers across different platforms, including your own e-commerce website, brick-and-mortar stores, and other locations.
Multichannel retail is expected to grow 22.3% between 2023 and 2030. This growth is driven by changing consumer preferences, with 72% of consumers preferring to connect with brands through multiple channels.
Increased Sales Opportunities
Multichannel retail opens up numerous avenues to boost your sales:
- Diversified Revenue Streams: By selling across multiple channels, you reduce dependency on a single platform, making your business more resilient to market fluctuations.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: Offering multiple purchasing options allows customers to choose the most convenient method, whether it’s shopping online or visiting a physical store.
- Improved Customer Loyalty: Multichannel consumers tend to spend more, resulting in:
- 15%–35% higher average transaction
- 5%–10% higher loyal customer profitability
- 30% higher lifetime value compared to single-channel shoppers
- Reduced Operational Costs: Ordering larger inventory volumes across multiple channels can help lower your costs, positively impacting your bottom line.
By leveraging a multichannel approach, you can create many touchpoints with customers, enriching their journey and driving sales growth across various consumer segments online and in-person.
How to Choose the Right Multichannel Fulfillment Partner
To make an informed decision, you need to consider several key factors that can significantly impact your operations and customer satisfaction.
Assessing Technology Capabilities
To optimize your fulfillment process, look for a partner that leverages cutting-edge technology. Advanced systems ensure real-time inventory tracking, reducing errors and overstock situations. When evaluating potential partners, consider the following:
- Automated order processing systems that streamline operations from order receipt to dispatch
- Robust tracking technologies that keep you and your customers informed about order and fulfillment status
- Warehouse management systems that provide access to key performance indicators
Evaluating Industry Expertise
When choosing a fulfillment partner, it’s essential to examine their experience in the apparel sector. Long-standing operations often indicate a depth of knowledge and expertise.
To assess their industry expertise:
- Seek out client testimonials and reviews to gauge their service quality and reliability
- Analyze case studies or success stories to understand their approach to problem-solving and client satisfaction
- Consider their ability to handle peak season orders and scale up as your business grows
Comparing Cost Structures
To ensure you’re getting the best value for your investment, we recommend analyzing the cost structures of different fulfillment providers.
Here’s what to look for:
- Clear and transparent pricing structures without hidden fees
- Detailed breakdown of services, including storage, handling, shipping, and any additional services
- Competitive rates that don’t compromise on service quality
By conducting a thorough cost structure analysis, you can make an informed decision that aligns with both your operational needs and budgetary constraints.
- Remember, fulfillment has significantly higher costs in multichannel operations. Choosing the right partner is crucial for maintaining profitability while ensuring customer satisfaction.
Why Choose Scrappy Apparel?
Because we can streamline your entire supply chain (not just fulfillment). We also offer manufacturing solutions that include everything from sourcing materials to producing and shipping the final product.
Here’s how we can help:
Retail-Ready Manufacturing Processes
Screen printing and sublimation are two of the printing processes we offer. We also source materials and manage the entire production process, including quality control before shipping.
We prioritize quality assurance throughout the manufacturing process, focusing on building quality into each step rather than just assessing the final product.
This approach ensures that your apparel meets the highest standards, reducing the likelihood of returns and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Lightning-Fast Fulfillment
In today’s fast-paced e-commerce landscape, speed is crucial.
Our lightning-fast fulfillment services are designed to meet and exceed customer expectations.
Our efficient fulfillment process can enhance customer loyalty. Your customers will be more likely to shop again when they can rely on timely and efficient deliveries.
We leverage cutting-edge technology to streamline our operations. Our order tracking technologies keep you and your customers informed about order and fulfillment status at every step.
This transparency builds trust and reduces anxiety related to online shopping.
By choosing us as your fulfillment partner, you’ll elevate your entire brand experience. We serve clients in various industries, but we specialize in supporting:
You could be our next Scrappy Success Story. Speak with our experts to learn more about our solutions and how we can help your business thrive.
