Apparel Fulfilment Services

The clothing, fashion and apparel industry has substantially transformed in recent years, especially as eCommerce has become an indispensable part of retail. The ease, accessibility and convenience associated with ‘buying online’ are why 2.64 billion people shop digitally in 2023. At least, that’s what Oberlo says. 

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Statista claims that online marketplaces account for the largest percentage of global online purchases. While this includes many industries, it puts much pressure on the apparel niche. Globally, the apparel market accounts for $1.74 trillion in revenue in 2023, most ($343.7 billion) of which is generated by the US. The UK market accounts for $85.08 billion of the global revenue, and 55% of these sales are generated online. With future projections expected to increase by 5% in 2025, especially as apparel is one of the most purchased online products, there’s a lot of pressure on fulfilment.

Apparel fulfilment services are critical to the success of any eCommerce apparel business. How a consumer’s order is delivered influences the chances of a repurchase by the said consumer. It also sets the tone for consumer loyalty. These, and the notion that a competent fulfilment provider can help an apparel business scale, are why your chosen apparel fulfilment company must be meticulous and innovative. Luckily, at Bezos, we’re the definition of these qualities. 

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What is apparel fulfilment?

Fulfilment is one of the logistics processes of the eCommerce supply chain, and it involves a series of activities that ensure the effective transportation of merchandise from the seller to the final consumer. The merchandise determines the fulfilment type and applicable fulfilment services. Hence, the fulfilment type in the fashion and apparel industry is termed ‘Apparel Fulfilment’. 

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Apparel fulfilment services involve picking, packing, storing and delivering apparel-related orders to the final consumer. The term ‘apparel’ covers a lot of merchandise for men, women and children of different ages and sizes. Such merchandise includes:

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• Clothes (outer and inner wear)
• Accessories
• Footwear
• Activewear
• Loungewear, etc.

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Why apparel fulfilment?

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Apparel fulfilment services are why online fashion businesses can evolve in a dynamic niche. The fashion industry is fickle by nature. It features short product lifecycles and constant changes that are trend, season and location sensitive. Hence, businesses in this industry may be tasked with selling off a season’s stock before the collection for the next season launches. And with the variation in products, their sizes and the intended consumer, whether men, women or children of different age brackets, this might be hard to do. 

To scale as a designer or reseller in this industry, your online retail brand must be flexible, adaptive and responsive. These qualities must also apply to your chosen apparel fulfilment partner. This is because of the fierce competition in the apparel market. Although there are 7.1 million eCommerce apparel brands worldwide, a vast chunk of the market is monopolised by larger brands. Hence, one must consistently build and maintain a client base to measure up and compete with these brands. 

This might not be easy for all apparel brands as a higher consumer satisfaction metric applies to the retail market than, say, household appliances or home and laundry care. Nevertheless, with the right apparel fulfilment service to support your brand’s increased sales with no degradation in service quality, your apparel business can exceed its growth potential. 

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Choosing an apparel fulfilment partner

To reiterate, online merchants must select an apparel fulfilment partner that exceeds their present and future growth expectations. In such an industry, the merchant needs to prioritise fulfilment companies that meet the following criteria:

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Short turnaround time

Ecommerce businesses in the apparel industry ideally have customers in various regions of the world to whom they need to get their merchandise. Regardless of the consumer’s geographic location, they would prefer shopping with an online brand that offers fast deliveries than one that doesn’t. Thus, because the fulfilment company’s delivery speed reflects on the apparel brand, the latter should prioritise fulfilment partners that can guarantee a quick turnaround time. 

At Bezos, your clients will receive their orders in pristine condition no later than 48 hours after order placement. With multiple delivery options like:

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• Same day delivery
• Next day delivery
• Green delivery, etc.

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Your clients are guaranteed fast deliveries on all orders. The best part is that apparel brands can save time and costs when they choose Bezos, as we can cut the fulfilment time by 29 hours per month and £2 per order. 

‍API integration

As an online apparel business currently hosted on Amazon, Etsy, eBay, WooCommerce or any other eCommerce sales channel, wouldn’t it be great to manage everything from one portal? This would simplify the fulfilment process and save you time and effort as you can receive real-time updates on your apparel shipment and orders from anywhere. Hence, API integration should be a prioritised criterion when choosing an apparel fulfilment service provider. 

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Bezos allows apparel designers and resellers to integrate their sales channels (APIs) with the Bezos Seller Portal, which is compatible with 57 eCommerce platforms. This Seller Portal grants full visibility into the status of all orders, inventory and fulfilment operations. 

By syncing their sales channels with Bezos’ Seller Portal:

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• Businesses can remotely manage and track their order’s fulfilment as it moves down the supply chain. 
• Bezos can see all client orders once they’re made and initiate their priority-based fulfilment. 

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Pricing

Pricing is another criterion that shouldn’t be overlooked in the search for an apparel fulfilment company. You should be able to receive the best prices for amazing services, regardless of the quantity of your shipment. You need a fulfilment company with a range of customisable plans and services your brand can use to its advantage. 

Bezos offers full fulfilment services that will help you maintain consumer loyalty but at a fraction of what other fulfilment companies charge. Our fully loaded cost per order includes storage, fulfilment, delivery, packaging and labour, and you can save £2 per order with Bezos. 

Considering our AI-enabled logistics solutions, this may sound too good to be true, but at Bezos, what you see is what you get. There are no hidden fees or extra charges, and the best part is we offer bulk discounts even when you’re not shipping in bulk. What are you waiting for? Request a free quote and start saving now!

Other criteria to abide by when choosing an apparel fulfilment company include the following:

‍24/7 client support

Once you partner with Bezos, we will assign a dedicated account manager to handle all your complaints, concerns and questions. 

‍Custom packaging

Bezos offers branded, custom packaging for all apparel orders. We will create a pleasing unboxing experience for your clients, compelling them to document and share it online. 

‍Green delivery

Bezos supports the green movement and offers zero-emissions fulfilment and delivery options. You can partner with us to save the planet while fulfilling your orders.

‍Returns management

Bezos manages all apparel returns effectively. Depending on the agreed resolution, we’ll help you maintain the loyalty of the affected customer. 

‍Quick onboarding for eCommerce brands

Apparel brands can get onboarded with Bezos in as little as 72 hours. This way, we can get to fulfilling your clients’ orders pronto. 

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How to get started

Getting started on Bezos is so smooth and easy that it’s narrowed down to four easy steps:

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Step 1: Create your account

To access our best apparel fulfilment services, all fashion and uniform clients must first create an account with us. Here, they’ll give some information, including the shipment’s information, images, etc., on a simple template.

Step 2: Ship your inventory

Once your account is up, you can ship your apparel inventory to any of our 63 fulfilment centres in 17 countries, preferably one closest to the recipient’s address. You can also ship your inventory directly from your supplier to us. 

Step 3: Integrate your sales channel

To make the job easier for you and to reduce the overhead costs of shipping, you can integrate your Shopify, Amazon, eBay or WooCommerce sales accounts with your Bezos Seller Portal. Bezos supports integrations from 57 sales channels and marketplaces. 

Step 4: Go live!

Once we receive your apparel stock, we can initiate its fulfilment. You can then cross off order fulfilment from your checklist as our automated systems, AI-driven software and skilled employees will handle the rest. 

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FAQs

What does fulfilment mean in retail?

Fulfilment in retail is the same as fulfilment in consumer electronics or healthcare. It’s the process of receiving, processing and delivering consumer orders. 

What is fulfilment in merchandising?

Fulfilment in merchandising or merchandise order fulfilment is how one processes, picks, packs, ships and delivers merchandise orders to their consumers. 

What is the difference between fulfilment and shipping?

Shipping is a fulfilment process. It is the transportation of goods from one place to another. On the other hand, fulfilment involves multiple processes directed towards delivering goods from seller to buyer.