Our President and Owner, Jeff Glassman, did slip and fall this summer and broke his wrist. After successful surgery, and two months of physical therapy, he should have full use of his arm and wrist. It’s just going to be a painful recovery.
These types of situations are always unfortunate and unexpected. Unexpected issues pop up every day in the retail and wholesale world. Especially during peak inbound season which is upon us. There are ways to minimize the pain and shorten the recovery period. Look below at ways to protect yourself as fall is approaching.
Your business is like a Swiss clock. You want to keep operations, transportation, and distribution ticking along precisely. Ideally, every step of the supply chain runs like clockwork, without interruption. A significant interruption can deliver a serious blow to the timeline – and the bottom line.
But life happens…
- An overseas shipment of suits gets soaked with salt water, plunging the distribution center into a state of confusion.
- While a truck is being unloaded, quality control conducts an audit. They discover that a box of “matching” pant sets has mismatched sizes, and the entire shipment is flagged as inferior.
- An expensive promotional item – multi-strand gemstone necklaces assembled by an offshore manufacturer – arrives at the warehouse with broken clasps. The buyer may refuse the shipment.
Interruptions do happen from time to time; it’s a fact of life. Combine this with the fact that many online distributors and brick-and-mortar retailers have implemented just-in-time inventory strategies. As a result, when products are manufactured offshore but don’t meet quality standards, it’s too time-consuming and costly to ship them back.
As an inbound logistics professional, you and your team did not cause the problem. However, when an issue is discovered, you’re caught in the complication.
To the rescue: Darn It! offers reliable, third-party refurbishment services.
Every shipment of apparel or general merchandise your team handles could contain an unpleasant surprise and throw the team into crisis. When that happens, you’ll need a third-party refurbisher that provides a variety of services and solutions to return products to first-quality condition. As a US-based refurbisher of apparel and general merchandise, Darn It! often receives calls from logistics, quality assurance, sourcing and supply chain professionals who have problematic shipments and need help getting first-quality goods on retailers’ shelves.
You never know when a crisis will strike. That’s why it’s a good idea to establish a relationship with a third-party refurbisher BEFORE that unfortunate interruption occurs. When researching refurbishers based in the U.S., refer to this checklist:
- Apparel part/trim replacement and sewing repairs – The refurbisher’s staff must be skilled in sewing tasks including repairing or replacing zippers, snaps, and buttons. Plus, a surprising variety of apparel issues can be remedied by reinforcing stress points, adjusting hem lines, shortening pant legs, and the list goes on!
- Cleaning – From rust to salt water, many types of stains and soiling on apparel and general merchandise can be treated via spot cleaning, laundering or dry cleaning.
- Measurement inspection – An entire shipment of garments can be flagged as inferior when measurement issues are discovered. Perhaps the sleeves are too long, legs are too short, or the head opening is too small. Team with a refurbisher that offers an apparel inspection team trained to inspect the entire shipment, sort garments, and remedy the issue.
- Mold and mildew removal – A damp, musty-smelling shipment is disappointing, but not disastrous. A refurbisher with an on-site ozone shock treatment chamber can transform musty clothes, belts, shoes, purses and other goods into first-quality product.
- Relabeling/heat transfer label – Small yet mighty, labels must have accurate content and be placed correctly. One option is using heat transfer labels to cover up wrong size information or add decoration to garments, briefcases and other goods.
- Repackaging/ticketing of goods – Packaging or ticketing issues must be resolved quickly and accurately. You’ll want to team with a detail-oriented refurbisher that will ensure goods have the right packaging and accurate tickets, delivered with a speedy turn-time.
Bring this solution to your team. (And be a hero.)
Darn It! can help you minimize fall-out rate, avoid consumer returns, and return merchandise to first-quality condition. Relying on a seasoned third-party refurbisher can bring life-saving solutions to a wide variety of inbound logistics challenges.
