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Growing your apparel business can be a struggle. You’ll need to keep up with an increasing amount of orders and more storage space to keep your goods safe. Here at Fulfillment and Distribution, we’ve helped our fair share of apparel businesses grow their operations. We’ll show you how a 3PL can help you fulfill more orders and satisfy your business.
Key takeaways:
Let’s take a closer look at the inner workings of 3PL apparel fulfillment and how it can help your business.
Table of Contents
The primary reason a company uses a 3PL is to outsource their fulfillment and storage operations. There are a variety of reasons when this is necessary, especially for businesses selling clothing and apparel.
Hiring a 3PL might be helpful in the following circumstances:
Many small apparel companies start off with a limited amount of storage space. In some cases, they might be working out of their home. As their business grows, more space will be required. Hiring a 3PL to address these needs is a cheaper alternative than buying your own warehouse and paying workers to operate it.
High order volume is another reason apparel businesses outsource their fulfillment. Sending out more than 10 shipments a day can be overwhelming, especially if you’re shipping in bulk. 3PLs have the infrastructure and workers in place to address to keep with high order volume.
Most 3PLs can provide extremely fast shipping. This can help when you have tight deadlines to meet, or if you have customers that want their apparel immediately.
There are a variety of mistakes you or your small staff of workers can make when shipping out orders. One mistake here or there is one thing, but if they are so frequent that your customers are filing complaints, it might be time to outsource to a 3PL.
While 3PL apparel fulfillment is similar to other products, the overall practices are slightly different. We’ll break down each one to give you a better understanding of how they work.
After you’ve found a 3PL to handle your products, you’ll need to send a stocking order to one or more of the provider's warehouses. Once your apparel arrives at the facility, workers will begin unloading it accordingly.
Here’s what the putaway process looks like:
To make the receiving process easier for your 3PL, pack your clothes efficiently in each box and palletize them carefully before shipping. Apparel should also be packed in clear plastic bags. This will keep it clean while in storage at a warehouse.
Once your apparel has been checked into the building, workers will begin storing it in strategically located positions. There are numerous warehouse storage systems that are used to optimize speed and efficiency.
For clothing and apparel, most 3PLs use the following methods:
3PLs utilize warehouse management systems (WMS) that allow workers to easily find where items are located in the facility. WMS also include inventory tracking technology that provides real-time stock levels.
Prolonged exposure to moisture can be a real threat to apparel, as it can cause mold, stains, and even odor. That’s why 3PL that handle products with delicate fabrics maintain a dry and temperate climate inside their warehouses.
When an order comes through one of your sales channels, the information is sent to your 3PL. Once they’ve received the list of items they need to ship, the warehouse staff springs into action.
They’ll start by picking each piece of apparel from where it’s stored. When all the items have been retrieved, the packing process will begin.
Typically, apparel in bins or shelves have already been folded. If your apparel was hanging from a clothing rack, then workers will fold your goods to prevent creasing.
After being folded, your apparel will be placed in boxes or parcel packages. If you provide promotional materials or gift wrapping, your 3PL will place these in the packaging with your items.
Each box or parcel is then sealed and secured to a pallet for transport. 3PLs typically use standard and expedited truckload shipping to accommodate the needs of their customers.
No matter how efficient your fulfillment operations become with the help of a 3PL, you’ll still have customers that want to return their goods for one reason or another. Fortunately, a 3PL can help you with this as well.
They can process returned apparel using a method called reverse logistics. This is the management of goods that flow back through the supply chain after the first delivery.
When your apparel is returned, you can do the following:
By having multiple options to choose from, you can reduce the waste of your businesses and even recapture the value of your goods.
You’ll need a thorough understanding of seasonality and how it affects your business when using a 3PL. You want to make sure you don’t send too much or too little of your apparel. If you send too little, you’ll end up with a stock out. On the other hand, sending too much results in overstock.
Most companies implement demand planning to determine how much product they should send to their 3PL. This is done by evaluating factors like economic shifts, labor force, and consumer trends. From this data, companies are better able to determine how much of certain apparel they should send to a 3PL.
Starting an apparel business is difficult enough, but ensuring it survives long-term is even more so. Consider some data we’ve provided on the amount of businesses that don’t survive to the five year or 10 year mark.
There are a variety of reasons that apparel businesses don’t last for the long haul. Among the most prominent reasons include poor inventory management and overexpansion with few resources.
A 3PL can help you address each of these concerns. In addition to warehousing and fulfillment, they have logistics professionals that can provide insights that will help you better manage your goods.
Expanding your operations can be a real challenge without the necessary resources. Most 3PLs have warehouses all across the country. Instead of buying or building your own warehouses, you can utilize the facilities offered by 3PLs to expand your reach.
If you’re looking to expand the reach of your logistics operations, Fulfillment and Distribution can help. Our warehouses are located throughout the country, which lets you ship and store apparel at strategic locations. We offer a variety of services, including pick & pack fulfillment and kitting.
We’ll take care of all your warehousing and shipping needs so you can focus more on running your business operations. Fill out your quote today to get started with our services. You can also call our team at (866) 989-3082 or reach us through our contact page.
