We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » A seamless expansion
special report

A seamless expansion

November 11, 2011
Peter Bradley
No Comments

Wacoal America has a well-established reputation for its high-quality women's intimate apparel—bras, panties, and shapewear. Its products have been a staple at many of the nation's leading retailers, including Dillard's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as specialty boutiques.

But as e-commerce began to capture a bigger share of retail sales, Wacoal, like many other companies, grew increasingly interested in the direct-to-consumer channel. Last year, the company took the plunge into the online business arena by establishing Wacoal Direct.

"We considered getting into the e-commerce business for a while," says Cathryn Hondros, vice president of information systems for the company, an affiliate of Japan-based Wacoal Holdings Corp. "It offered us a number of benefits. We can represent the brand and tell the entire story about Wacoal's fit and comfort.

"The second benefit is the opportunity to increase our margins," she says. Hondros adds that opening an e-commerce channel also benefits customers by giving them access to the company's full line of styles, colors, and sizes—something they're unlikely to find in a single retail store.

Smooth transition
Starting an online store meant that Wacoal would have to make some adjustments to operations at its U.S. distribution center in Lyndhurst, N.J. It would also require some changes to the warehouse management systems used at that facility. Several years back, Wacoal had implemented a warehouse management system (WMS) from Manhattan Associates to enable electronic data interchange, advance shipment notifications, standardized bills of lading, and UCC-128 bar-code symbology compliance.

The transition turned out to be surprisingly straightforward. In fact, rather than complicating matters, the warehouse management tools—which allow the company to do things like provide customers with precise shipping information and produce customized shipping labels—actually made it simpler for Wacoal to start its online business.

As Karen Merz, Wacoal America's director of e-commerce, puts it, "Our warehouse and distribution operations were already so sophisticated that adding Internet sales was relatively easy."

Minor adjustments
The changeover has been essentially transparent to the 65 DC employees directly involved in the shipping and receiving processes, and the 14 other DC supervisors and clerks employed at the site. Today, orders are processed in waves, with each wave dedicated to a single retail customer or to e-commerce sales. For consumer-direct orders, selectors can pick as many as five orders at a time, scanning each product as it's picked and placing goods directly into shipping cartons. As a further check, each carton is weighed at the packing station to ensure it meets the expected weight for the order. All together, the single-shift operation in the 100,000 square-foot-facility ships about 40,000 pieces a day.

The same staff that picks retail store orders also picks Internet orders. "Once they come to us, we treat all orders the same," says Ismael Vicens, Wacoal's director of distribution. However, if an order is shipping directly to a consumer, DC workers take garments off their hangers and wrap them in tissue before they are packed. Packing requirements are also different for e-commerce orders than for shipments to retailers. For instance, cartons destined for consumers include a specialized packing slip with return instructions and a return shipping label.

Implementing Wacoal Direct only required minor changes to the WMS, Vicens says. In particular, Wacoal had to set up special accounts for the U.S. Postal Service and UPS within the software. Hondros credits the Manhattan WMS with providing all the processing power Wacoal needed for the transition. "We leveraged a lot of what we had here," she says.

Technology Warehousing (WMS & WCS & WES)
KEYWORDS Manhattan Associates U.S. Postal Service UPS
  • Related Articles

    FourKites Closes Out a Record Year of Innovation, Growth and Market Expansion

    Remote WMS Implementation Facilitates Timely Expansion for Watch Gang

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • A look into the future of robotics

  • Exotec Skypod System Adopted by Gap Inc. to Optimize Returns Process

  • A primer on warehouse robots

  • Roadrunner Freight bolsters LTL capabilities with $50 million in new backing

  • Truck driver availability tightens to three-year low, ACT says

Now Playing on DCV-TV

B56eecf1 4687 42a4 865e c3f3223925f7

How serious are you about controlling your freight costs?

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
If you’ve been feeling like your freight budget is under attack, you’re in good company! Whether you’re looking at the ocean, parcel, LTL, truckload, or air markets, capacity is tight and prices are soaring.RELATED RESOURCES:Rapid AssessmentVisit our websiteSubscribe to our YouTube Channel

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Special Report: Supply Chain Trends in Retail & Consumer Goods

  • Fortify Your Operational Resilience

  • Cold Storage Automation: Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Meet Increasing Demand

  • The modern warehouse: Maximizing productivity and capacity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing