Category: Retail Logistics
Rollout Management and New Store Openings: Mall Deliveries
A successful new store launch requires a meticulous rollout management plan. Everything from advertising and deadlines to budget and risk management has to be planned in great detail for a seamless process from start to finish. However, the first step towards success is recognizing logistics and supply-chain management as a crucial part of the strategy for the entire process.
Why Opt for 3PL (Third Party Logistics) Providers for Retail Logistic Best Practices and Good Rollout Management?
1) Speed and Responsiveness
Supply chain speed and responsiveness are usually considered more often than the price of a logistics service, but too often, many supply chain tiers are skipped by working with companies that are not experienced in all aspects of logistics. This is why logistics services should not be bundled blindly; for example, ordering transportation directly from a POP display manufacturer is far from optimal in terms of responsiveness, speed, and cost (they specialize in POP displays, not transportation, after all).
By opting to work with a 3PL provider, store owners don’t have to order various products through multiple supply chains. 3PL providers can handle all moving parts of the supply chain, so they serve almost as a one-stop shop for retailers. On top of time-efficiency, reliable and trusted 3PLs eliminate supply chain risks that come with bundled services and facilitate communications during the rollout management process.
2) Dynamic and Resilient Logistics Strategy
During rollout distribution management, it is crucial to adopt logistic practices that focus on execution-based processes and technologies that will not be interrupted by internal and external changes. For example, if a store owner is forced to swap electronic equipment due to legislation change, postponing the opening of the store should absolutely not be the result.
Trusted 3PL providers can identify and adapt to these changes as they happen because of the logistics management software programs they use. These software programs can identify bottlenecks and problems before they can impact a store owner. This helps the store owner in responding to changes in competitive and regulatory retail environments.
3) Fast Mall Deliveries
It’s obvious that supply chain speed is crucial for a timely launch of a new store opening, but there is no need to force a rush delivery for store merchandise when display shelves are arriving at least a week after. It is especially important that POP displays and other display shelves are delivered to the appropriate location before merchandise arrives and well in advance of the new store opening to ensure store layout and placement details are correct. Store managers should be able to count on reliable 3PL providers to meet the tightest deadlines and simplify the process for new store owners so they can focus all energy on opening up the store.
With leading transportation and logistics technology, STC Logistics not only provides a full, well-rounded solution for new store openings and mall deliveries, but also takes pride in providing clients with effective rollout management and distribution plans, regardless of the industry sector. To learn more about our specialized logistics specialties, including retail, marketing and advertising, click below!
Choosing a Logistics Provider for Your Pop-Up Store
Pop-up stores are a fairly new concept used by retailers.These trendy stores pop-up for a short period of time and close once their stock is sold out. For example, they can open their doors over a seasonal period of time, like Halloween costume stores or other holiday shops. They stock their stores with a large selection of goods and use effective brand marketing to sell out their stock over the course of the season. Then, the store can close and open elsewhere with new and different stock.
Pop-up shops serve a niche market, so they are typically open for about 3-6 months; sometimes for a shorter or longer period of time. Hiring managers must plan carefully to successfully set up the store, hire adequate staff, sell out the stock and close down the store in a timely fashion while still making a profit.
So what makes these specialty shops profitable? The key to pop-up store success is making sure store fixtures, displays and stock are all set up properly in time for opening. For this to happen, retailers must work with a reliable logistics company. A store owner that is let down with late or missing stock delivery can end up seeing his or her pop-up store open without sufficient stock to sell.
Late stock arrival means that stock is left over at the end of the season, defeating the objective of such a store. While considering many other details, the owner and supporting staff cannot spend countless hours tracking stock and worrying about lost shipments. When launching a pop-up store and choosing a reliable logistics company, retailers need to consider the following:
• Does the logistics company specialize in retail procurement?
• Does the company possess the infrastructure to deliver shipments of all sizes?
• If needed, can the company offer same-day or white glove service?
• Can the company offer free nationwide warehousing and storage facilities?
• Has the company received positive feedback from present or former customers?
• Do they offer high technology cargo tracking capabilities for complete visibility of freight?
• Do they care about the customer enough to ensure their success?
• Are their trucks equipped with lift gates?
• Does the company offer cross-docking services?
Imagine that you have invested money in opening a pop-up store, only to discover your POP advertising materials have been damaged or delayed. Retail procurement professionals must work with a trusted logistics company to ensure that all materials are delivered to one store or hundreds, on time—every time.
STC Logistics specializes in logistics solutions for new retail store openings. We have incorporated numerous checkpoints into our freight monitoring services to ensure flawless and timely delivery of goods. With our 3PL technology, we are able to efficiently track, trace and control each shipment and can serve as a one-stop solution for retailers.
Choosing a reliable retail procurement logistics professional will ensure a smooth new-store opening. To learn more about our services, click here or contact us today.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Reliable Logistics Solutions for Retail Fixtures and Displays
Having the right fixtures in the right place at the right time can make or break a retail operation. Timing is especially important when considering the fact that most retail stores make their annual profits in small, high-traffic windows throughout the year. The logistics of retail procurement, fixtures and displays plays a pivotal role in determining the success of your business or retail campaign. This blog explains what to consider when approaching retail procurement logistics and choosing a third party logistics provider to ship your procurement cargo.
Timing
Nothing matters more in retail than timing. Timing must be positioned properly to take advantage of holidays, tax-free weekends, new product releases and other narrow timeframes. Effective logistics make sure you receive the products, fixtures and other materials you need, right when you need them… not early, when they might waste valuable warehouse or floor space, or late, when the window of opportunity has already shut. Such strict timing requirements may not matter as much when you’re upgrading your standard displays, but seasonal or event-specific displays need to be ready on time, all the time.
Care
The only thing worse than receiving materials too late or too soon in retail procurement logistics is receiving materials that are damaged or not receiving them at all. Even minor damages can ruin a fixture. Scuffed or scratched displays do not impress customers and less obvious structural damage might result in a display piece breaking while in use. This could cause a safety hazard for shopping customers in busy shopping malls. There is little to be done once you’ve received damaged goods, as even a claim against the shipping firm for the value of the fixture won’t recoup lost potential retail sales in the window of opportunity or time wasted trying to cover for the problem.
Third Party Logistics
With so many factors to consider, in-house logistics personnel can be ineffective or impossible to maintain without compromising profit margins. Specialized retail procurement agencies have specialized knowledge and connections which are invaluable when moving materials around the world or across the nation. Leaving the management of logistic details to individuals whose job it is to know when local shipping laws have changed or what ports will be unusually slow or have a tendency to lose shipments will, in most cases, be superior to training an individual or team in-house to handle the same duties.
Providing the Best Solutions for Retail Procurement Logistics
If you have questions about retail procurement logistics or would like to know how a full-service logistics firm can help your business operate more efficiently and effectively, contact us at STC Logistics by clicking here. We are a trusted provider of retail procurement logistics solutions including new store openings and remodels and marketing campaigns. Thanks to our expert team and our state-of-the-art technology systems and nationwide network of ground, air, rail and ocean transportation, we maintain a 99% on-time delivery rate for businesses across the United States. Learn more about our specialty logistics solutions by clicking here.
Retail Procurement: Preparing for the Holiday Season
As the holiday season approaches, gifts and displays have been pouring into retail distribution centers. To be well organized for each upcoming holiday season, retailers must implement smart planning throughout the entire year, usually beginning in August. This will allow retail procurement to find the correct balance for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping sprees, as well as the remainder of the holiday season.
Smart Planning
The simple steps to the procurement lifecycle that most individuals generally agree upon are as follows.
1. Information gathering
2. Supplier contact
3. Background review
4. Negotiation
5. Fulfillment
6. Consumption
7. Renewal
The most important aspect of smart planning in retail procurement is to order the correct quantities of products thus ensuring renewal demands are met. This includes contingency planning for natural disasters and consumer spending habits that can cause logistical disruptions. The goal of smart planning is to capture the greatest number of sales without being overburdened with excess stock.
In recent years, retail procurement has learned to balance merchandise by improving the overall supply chain. This accounts for improvements in the amount of products to purchase/manufacture, where to place them and how to get them to the stores. Two major contributors to these improvements are technology and flexible agreements with shipping lines.
Order Quantities
For brick-and-mortar stores, the key to a perfect holiday season is for retail procurement to predict the number of each product the company requires at each retailer. Although there is an arbitrary calculation, the correct answer varies greatly per location. The greatest challenges for retail procurement to calculate the correct quantities include:
- Short timeframe
- No selling activity to indicate buyer behavior
- Over-stocking
- Under-stocking
Point-of-Purchase (POP) Displays
In addition to smart planning by retail procurement for products, companies must also create a strategy for POP displays which help drive costs from the supply chain. As a mechanism for advertising, POP displays create value in the retail stores with low labor cost. Therefore, these displays must arrive at the stores concurrent with the products to ensure a timely advertising campaign during the holidays. Therefore, it is critical that upstream logistics is involved in POP display design timelines as assembly and shipping is a major aspect of the process; not just design.
Consumer package goods companies want the POP display to differentiate from the competition through vivid colors and sharp graphics. In many instances, design creates the POP displays to be so complicated to assemble that it adds considerable labor costs, as well as time. In an effort to ship on-time, in some cases, logistics must use expensive transportation methods like air shipping.
Nevertheless, by including logistics and retail procurement in the design and production timeline, POP displays could be scheduled more efficiently to accommodate more cost efficient delivery avenues. By allowing 3PL’s to assist in mapping out the most advantageous transit schedules, improvements will allow for the most intricate displays to still have adequate assembly times.
Shipping POP Displays
Like any other product, there are certain precautions that must be taken when shipping POP displays which should be built into a contingency plan. During transit, shock and vibration can jostle and even damage the display, dirt and dust can collect, corrosion can occur (depending on the material) and exposure to a variety of temperatures can affect the overall appearance or functionality. Therefore, correct testing, proper protection and evaluation of the shipping routes will assist in ensuring safe transportation of the POP displays to their required destinations.
STC Logistics specializes in shipping retail procurement items like POP displays. We pride ourselves on the principal that when we ship your product, it is delivered on-time, 99% of the time. We are a trusted logistics provider for the retail industry and have a successful track record for reliable and flexible logistics solutions. Contact us for all of your holiday shipping needs here or click on the button below!
