Introduction
Apparel fulfillment is more complex and demanding than the usual eCommerce order fulfillment. It involves dealing with: abrupt spikes in order surges during peak seasons, logistic problems resulting from selling on multiple channels, and complex inventory management because of the high volume of small packages.
There is also a need to manage the high number of apparel returns and a greater need for custom packaging (the better the unboxing experience, the better value attached to the clothes, and the higher the customer satisfaction). And above all, need/demand for fast delivery.
Meeting all your customer expectations is a sure way of scaling up your online clothing business. And third-party logistics (3PL) is an excellent way (resource) to handle all aspects of your apparel fulfillment.
With all the work needed to have a successful clothing fulfillment, not any third-party logistics company will do. You need to choose one who will tick not just some but all the boxes.
For successful order fulfillment, check off the points below when outsourcing an apparel fulfillment partner.
Table of Content
- Expansive Global Reach
- Sales Channels and Marketplace Integration
- Secure Global Warehousing Solutions
- Automatated Inventory Management System
- Efficient Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) Management
- Order Verification System
- Value-Added Services to Your Products
- Reliable and Efficient Return System
- Superb Support in Peak Seasons
- Speedy and Affordable Shipping
- Automated Weight Measurement System
Expansive Global Reach
Outsourcing apparel fulfillment with a global order fulfillment partner provides you with the means and capacity to grow and serve your market worldwide.
To ensure customer satisfaction and long-run business success, you need to partner with apparel fulfillment services that will ensure that all clients in various geographical locations get the correct orders in the fastest time possible. And this entails your fulfillment partner having a global network of warehouses (order fulfillment centers) with pick and pack services and an efficient carrier (delivery) system.
Sales Channels and Marketplace Integration
Most online clothing stores maximize sales by selling on different sales channels and marketplaces like Shopify and Amazon. This means that your order fulfillment partner should have a central platform that integrates all your marketplaces.
Apparel fulfillment services should use the latest technology (software) that seamlessly integrates all your marketplaces/sales channels on one dashboard. This provides you (the business owner) with real-time updates about all aspects of order fulfillment on all these platforms.
For example, the software automatically updates you about all marketplace orders and the status of these orders. You can know the number of dispatched orders, their carriers, how long it takes to fulfill every order, the number of successful deliveries, and so on.
Having real-time updates and a platform that supports omnichannel distribution helps you stay on top of order fulfillment. It enables you to deliver fashion items to customers in different marketplaces in the shortest time possible.
Secure Global Warehousing Solutions
What does this mean? Your apparel fulfillment should have an excellent warehousing management system. Well-managed warehouses have efficient and defined workflows which ensure that all incoming orders are processed systematically in a seamless manner.
Apparel 3PL companies should also provide you with affordable storage facilities for inventory, equipment, and workforce. These facilities don’t only have efficient systems and employees that manage your inventory and order fulfillment well. They also use the latest technology and security that ensures the safety of your products.
Automated Inventory Management System
An efficient central inventory management system is the backbone of an apparel store. Apparel businesses are complex businesses driven by trends, erratic influencers, and changes. They can quickly get order overloads in certain seasons, and also, the orders can get low abruptly. So you need a system that efficiently keeps up with any changes in the market.
Partnering with an efficient 3PL company ensures that all parts of your supply chain run smoothly. It has the latest technology that ensures that stock-taking is up-to-date. This software can also project or forecast the apparel demand in all your market segments (channels and marketplaces) based on past data and current trends.
And this helps your fulfillment partner to efficiently stock up your merchandise in all its warehouses and organize it efficiently according to the age, size, style, and SKU.
This high level of inventory management ensures that you always have the right stock to meet your clients’ needs.
Efficient Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) Management
SKU is the code number representing the single smallest unit of a product or inventory.
Most online buyers tend to buy more small packages than larger packages. And because of this, most online apparel stores carry a higher number of SKUs to meet the high demand.
Managing and keeping this high number of SKUs is difficult. It takes a lot of space, manpower, and time.
Your apparel fulfillment partner can help you efficiently manage SKU inventory with less hassle. It has a seamless process and technology that specifically manages the high SKU count and keeps up with the changing fashion trends and seasons, helping you keep up with SKU demand and supply changes efficiently.
Order Verification System
Apart from making inventory management difficult, the high SKU counts increase the occurrences of a clothes manufacturer delivering the wrong products to your business.
Because of the high number of small quantities of different types of clothes, fashion or apparel manufacturers easily get confused and end up shipping the wrong inventory (wrong items or wrong quantities). For a business to get what it paid for, it has to check all received goods (incoming inventory/shipment) at its warehouse locations to ensure the correct order receipt.
But order verification is difficult if you don’t have a presence in all your delivery stations. This is where a trusted apparel fulfillment service comes in. With its spread-out warehouses across the globe, it has employees/agents in the receiving country’s entry points. These employees or agents verify that the shipment meets all the order’s specifications (size, number, weight, quantity, and type). If it doesn’t, it files a complaint and sends back the shipment to the manufacturer.
Value-Added Services to Your Products
An item is as good as its packaging or presentation. When your clients make orders for different types of apparel, they pay a fee that ensures that they are getting the best service and customer experience possible.
The only way to meet all your clients’ expectations is to partner with a credible fulfillment partner. This partner’s experience in the apparel industry lets them know what items, though manufactured separately, are sold and packed together, like scarves and socks.
This partner also provides affordable customized packaging that increases your customers’ experience in unboxing your products.
Reliable and Efficient Return System
Returns are a regular occurrence in every online fashion business. And most times, most online fashion stores register more purchase returns than other businesses. This increases the urgency of having a fully operational and efficient return system or process.
For this reason, you should get an order fulfillment service with experience in apparel fulfillment. This 3PL company already has systems in place to receive, verify and register the returns, which increases customer experience and satisfaction.
Superb Support in Peak Seasons
ECommerce clothing shops have specific days in the year where they give juicy offers to their buyers. They offer huge discounts to give back to their buyers, promote their stores, and get rid of overstock.
Like Black Friday sales, these massive discount periods attract many buyers globally, peaking store sales considerably. This increased demand for clothes increases orders, inquiries, and returns. As a business located in one part of the country, it is impossible for you to handle all this order fulfillment pressure by yourself.
An experienced apparel fulfillment partner knows the ins and outs of peak season fulfillment and has systems in place to ensure that you handle all your order fulfillment needs during this season without a hitch.
Speedy and Affordable Shipping
Suppose there is one thing that your apparel fulfillment partner should excel in. In that case, it provides fast (expedited) delivery at affordable rates.
This 3PL company should have various order fulfillment centers spread across the globe, which increases its proximity to all your clients. So, once the order is processed, their system directs the order to the warehouse closest to that particular client. This order fulfillment branch packs and ships the order in the shortest time possible.
Also, your apparel fulfillment partner should have various carriers it works with who, without sacrificing delivery speed, offer free, affordable or discounted rates.
Automated Weight Measurement System
Sometimes, shipping companies (carriers) charge you more than they should because of an error in their shipment weighing system.
To avoid such situations, your apparel 3PL company should efficiently measure your final packages’ Apparel Fulfillment
weight before shipping. Suppose your carrier makes any claim. Your fulfillment partner can provide weight records that validate you, safeguarding you from incurring more costs.
NextSmartShip Fulfillment – Your Preferred Apparel Fulfillment Partner
NextSmartShip has years of experience in serving direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands.
We have a worldwide presence that ensures that you efficiently and effectively meet your apparel order fulfillment needs in all marketplaces. We have a China Fulfilment center, a USA fulfillment center, a Europe fulfillment center, an Australia fulfillment center, a Shopify fulfillment center, global warehousing facilities, and custom packaging.
Our affordable shipping solutions ensure fast (two-day) and timely deliveries to all your clients globally.
Partnering with us provides you with a platform to stay on top of all your clothing store operations, ensuring a high level of client satisfaction and business success.
