AMS is a highly experienced and skilled provider of fulfillment for the apparel industry. Not every fulfillment company is built for the inherent complexities of apparel fulfillment, but AMS is absolutely game to take on the challenges in both e-commerce and wholesale/B2B! From pre-book to at-once orders, our B2B clients rely upon us to accurately pick, pack, and ship large volumes (generally size runs by style/color), oftentimes with unique value-add requirements like hang tags or price stickering… all while hitting specific delivery windows and adhering to rigid retail routing guidelines.
We also manage a tremendous amount of e-commerce fulfillment of apparel items, with thousands of SKUs, seasonal spikes, extensive return/refurbish operations, brand-specific pack-outs, and much more!
Fashion trends and tastes change quickly, which is what inherently challenges warehousing operations, inventory management, and fulfillment services within the apparel industry.
Apparel brands launch seasonal collections every year, introducing new SKUs while at the same time pushing to close out SKUs from past seasons. Clothing fulfillment companies like AMS must be able to handle very large numbers of active SKUs, with constant velocity fluctuations by SKU and SKU change-outs or close-outs. The AMS Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and skilled operations team is adept at the management of high SKU industries like apparel and has processes in place to effectively manage through a dynamic and changing inventory.
Think of AMS as your apparel fulfillment center. We have experience fulfilling orders to department store retailers, boutiques, and everything in between, and we handle large volumes of B2C orders as well.
Plus, we understand the unique value-added requirements in apparel. Let’s get down to business.
Our apparel fulfillment services include specialized warehouse setups that facilitate size-run picking in B2B and efficient size-specific inventory setups for dedicated B2C fulfillment environments. AMS has mastered the different setups and services required for these markets.
We manage inventory to meet the intricacies and seasonality of the fashion industry.
We know how to handle constant SKU changes, high SKU counts, spikes in SKU counts, and the short SKU lifecycles in this industry.
With AMS acting as your operations partner, the quality of your customer service never goes out of style, regardless of the fickleness of fashion.
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ashion trends and tastes change quickly. With high SKU counts, SKU change-outs, short product lifecycles, and high return rates, apparel order fulfillment is complex and labor-intensive. It also involves abrupt spikes in orders all while managing multiple selling channels.
When you consider the last process step – returns management – the apparel fulfillment process is more complicated than other industries.
When outsourcing apparel fulfillment, there are several factors to consider when choosing an apparel 3PL.
With short product lifecycles, poor inventory management can be an apparel brand killer. Fashion and styles change quickly, and merchants can be left with out-of-season apparel that loses value and costs money to store.
Proper SKU management is necessary so brands and merchants can keep inventory levels lean. SKU-level activity reporting from a state-of-the-art warehouse management system like WAMS (AMS Warehouse Management System) can proactively help clothing brands identify slow-moving inventory. This allows the brands to manage their inventory, and identify when “clearance sales” are needed, or if the product needs to be donated. This active inventory management will help apparel fulfillment companies keep their optimal picking plan up to date and enable efficient picking.
Apparel brands have several seasonal surges in order volume a year. Fashion changes throughout the year based on seasonal weather changes as well as “seasons” such as prom, weddings, and back to school. Being able to scale fulfillment capacity at these times is crucially important.
It’s important to work closely with an experienced fulfillment company like AMS Fulfillment to be prepared for seasonal or promotional marketing events through constant communication, forecasting, and planning. With AMS as your operational fulfillment partner, apparel brand and merchants will see improvements in order cycle time, order accuracy, and return management.
For apparel companies, keeping track of tens of thousands of SKUs requires robust and user-friendly technology. AMS fulfillment management software allows merchants to seamlessly add SKUs, create bundles, manage inventory levels, and much more.
Choosing a clothing fulfillment partner when you have a high SKU count requires a significant amount of research. Apparel companies have unique requirements and going with an inexperienced 3PL can be costly. There are numerous factors to consider when you have high SKU counts:
The old marketing adage “be where your consumers are” is vital to the apparel industry. Consumers today are shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, online and mobile, and even on social platforms. An apparel company needs to have a presence in all locations to maximize sales.
Omni-channel fulfillment in the fashion industry is the management of all channels to create a seamless, consistent, and brand-focused consumer experience. Partnering with an apparel fulfillment 3PL like AMS is integral to a successful omnichannel strategy. AMS handles B2B, B2C (DTC), and social orders. When vetting a fulfillment partner, ensure that B2B orders can be handled efficiently and easily as many 3PLs put limits on B2B orders.
An apparel 3PLs Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) compliance is necessary for the fashion industry to remain competitive while lowering overhead costs. Nearly all big fashion retailers require suppliers to be EDI compliant – so if you are shipping B2B orders, EDI routing compliance is mandatory.
EDI requirements for the fashion industry include routing compliance, Advanced Shipping Notices (ASNs), GS1/UCC label creation (and proper placement), and often specific packing requirements that are unique to various apparel retailers.
AMS Fulfillment has EDI capabilities, routing expertise, and effectively manages B2B orders. Outsourcing your B2B apparel fulfillment to AMS will decrease turnaround time, lower transaction costs, eliminate retailer chargebacks, and lower overhead costs.
The term “Black Friday” originally meant the time when a merchant went from being “in the red” to being “in the black”, referring to the company’s positive profit. It is crucial for clothing merchants to be partnered with the right apparel 3PL or those expected profits will not materialize.
A clothing 3PL will need to scale to your sales cycles and needs. AMS Fulfillment knows the ins and outs of peak season fulfillment and has systems in place to ensure that your order fulfillment needs during this season are processed quickly and accurately.
Our technology and automation allow us to quickly ramp up services, without sacrificing accuracy. So, go ahead and do some influencer marketing – AMS has your back!
Apparel brands have one of the highest return rates – 16.6% according to the National Retail Federation. That is a staggering $761 billion of merchandise that will be back on the shelves.
Whether returns are from poor fit to damaged product to simply not liking the item, consumers have been enjoying the ease and convenience of free return shipping. It is more important than ever to manage the reverse logistics side of your clothing fulfillment to preserve and recover margin dollars. Having the ability to efficiently inspect, re-condition, and restock saleable items into your inventory, while also providing a frictionless customer experience, is essential.
AMS Fulfillment is equipped to handle returns. AMS will minimize the costs associated with your returns and quickly get inventory back onto the shelves
Expert apparel fulfillment companies have mastered the inbound receiving process. They understand that a flawless inbound process will ensure a flawless outbound process. AMS has strict processes and controls for inbound receiving, which leads to industry-leading inventory accuracy, order accuracy, and order processing.
One of the most important steps in the fulfillment process is pack-out – the packing and shipping stage for packages and pallets. The pack-out process is crucial, as it’s the final opportunity to perform quality assurance and control checks to ensure your orders have the right product and the right labels and inserts. For B2B apparel orders, this includes ensuring everything is correct with routing compliance, GS1/UCC label placement, packing specifications, accuracy by carton, and VAS/labeling requirements.
At AMS Fulfillment, we diligently perform quality control measures to verify all orders.
It’s no longer a question of whether there is climate change, it’s a question of how we stop it.
As an industry, the supply chain/logistics is one of the most polluting industries. Everything from the manufacturing process to the end of product life with the consumer impacts the environment negatively.
AMS is a Certified B Corp – we believe in sustainability – we live it every day. Our facilities implement sustainable practices as much as possible. Our standard packaging options are 100% eco-friendly. Every aspect of our warehouse operations is optimized for sustainability.
If you are looking for an apparel 3PL partner that values sustainability, AMS is it!
Let AMS be your apparel fulfillment center. We have experience fulfilling orders to department store retailers, boutiques, online/direct eCommerce orders, and everything in between. Our B2B and B2C capabilities let us handle large volumes. After 20 years, we know apparel fulfillment inside and out, including quick turnaround times, seasonality, and retail’s unique value-added requirements.
