Ecommerce Fulfillment for an Iconic Apparel & Lifestyle Brand

Customer

Our customer is a renowned lifestyle, apparel, and media brand with extreme seasonal peaks in demand.

Fulfillment Challenges

At their previous third-party logistics (3PL) provider, our customer faced a number of operational challenges, including capacity constraints, order inaccuracy, on-site shipping inefficiencies, and service quality concerns. Simply put, their success was held back by their previous 3PL’s limitations.

Our customer was searching for a 3PL partner to champion the order fulfillment of their iconic Halloween costumes. Given their high brand standards and significant seasonal demand, they needed a partner capable of managing their October volume. This seasonal spike was expected to reach 100,000 direct-to-consumer orders to a single distribution center. In addition to meeting this high demand, the customer expected excellent logistics services.

Highly Efficient Operations

While onboarding, WSI’s priority was to properly equip our new customer with an excellent Operations team. To prepare for the October spike, our warehouse team in Allentown expanded its workforce, installed additional packing stations, and optimized the layout of our customer’s inventory. With the support of our Customer Onboarding team, we ensured strong inventory accuracy to maximize our output when the orders started pouring in.

By mid-October, our Allentown team was picking, packing, and shipping thousands of orders daily for this single customer, with a remarkable peak of 4,178 orders fulfilled in a single day!

“[WSI is] a top-notch provider who took extra care and attention to detail to ensure an accurate and efficient operation,” says a representative from our client, “Key performance indicators (KPIs) were met and/or exceeded on a regular basis.”

We always keep our customers up to date on their operations by reporting on the following KPIs:

  • Order accuracy
  • On-time shipping
  • Dock-to-stock time
  • Inventory accuracy

Investments in Technology

WSI is dedicated to continuous improvement to keep our solutions as efficient as possible. In recent years, we have made massive investments to secure innovative warehousing technology for our customers.

Apparel fulfillment can be tricky for some due to the sheer volume of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) in a clothing line. For this customer, their Halloween line featured over 5,000 SKUs. Thanks to our top-of-the-line WMS, we were able to maintain an over 99% order accuracy rate while tracking every SKU.

Client Services and Customer Success

Our Client Services Team is involved from the very beginning of a customer’s onboarding so they have a thorough understanding of the client’s needs and expectations. “Onboarding can be a stressful time for companies,” says Lead Customer Success Specialist Kevin Speigl, “It’s important that their direct contact at WSI has knowledge of their needs, products, and processes.”  

After the initial kickoff call, the Customer Success team gets to work setting up automation systems, ensuring the customer is comfortable with our Partner Portal, and confirming billing accuracy. After the customer goes live, Client Services handles the customer’s day-to-day inquiries and monitors the account in collaboration with several other departments.  

“All of this ensures that the Client Services group can deliver the best customer experience possible.” says Customer Service Manager Rachel Buckley.  

Adaptability

Every supply chain professional knows even the best-laid plans can meet unexpected challenges. At WSI, we pride ourselves on being the experts at handling unforeseen situations.

During a flash sale on certain costumes, our customer received a substantial surge in online orders. We were able to achieve a quick turnaround on those orders while maintaining an order accuracy rate exceeding 99%.

During peak season, we undertook additional projects such as new kitting procedures and extra product lines. Our Allentown team was able to successfully implement these projects for our client to delight their end consumers.

“[We have a] strong team in place with proper training,” explained WSI Sales Manager Ryan Brewer, “WSI is able to flex labor across its network to handle any unexpected volume and/or special projects needed by the customer.”

Experts in Scalable Solutions

While certainty is scarce in the Ecommerce and logistics spaces, the one thing we can guarantee is we will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Looking for a logistics partner who will streamline your fulfillment operations? Let’s talk.