When outsourcing fashion logistics, a key concern for brands is how to deliver an exceptional customer experience after handing over control of their logistics operations to a third-party provider. Many brands fear outsourcing logistics operations to an external partner as they fear losing touch with their product and customer contact. After all, the quality of your logistics operations goes a long way to determining how customers perceive your brand. That’s why it’s important to ensure that outsourcing enables you to maintain – and even improve – the quality of your brand’s customer experience.
To start with, a specialist third-party logistics (3PL) provider can elevate your brand’s operational efficiency, resulting in faster delivery times, less downtime and more satisfied customers. What’s more, if your fashion logistics provider has an extensive transportation network – with a wide range of carrier partners – you’ll always benefit from the fastest, most cost-effective or the most environmentally optimised shipping option for each region. Having an extensive selection of carriers to choose from also mitigates the risk of overstretched transportation capacity, particularly during peak periods such as Black Friday.
Of course, fulfilment efficiency isn’t just about transportation. Driving efficiency in the warehouse is also critical. For example, Bleckmann’s AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) reduces order processing times by up to 60%. Meanwhile, AI-driven warehouse process optimisation is delivering further benefits for a number of clients.
By combining various process improvements with other transport developments, such as route optimisation, you can ensure on-time delivery to all your customers. And with delivery times being a key consideration for fashion customers, this is an area well worth investing in.
In addition to faster and more accurate fulfilment, another key aspect of the customer experience that a specialist fashion logistics provider can improve is presentation. Value-added services such as for example quality control, ironing, kitting or gift wrapping – as well as garment-on-hanger shipping to minimise creasing – all contribute to delivering an impressive unboxing experience. Meanwhile, bespoke features such as custom packaging, embossing and other personalisation options (e.g. handwritten notes) can take your brand experience to the next level. This helps you to maintain a distinctive brand identity as you scale up your operations.
