Optimizing Supply Chain Management for Retail and Ecommerce

The consumer goods marketplace is flooded with products, from huge amounts of popular goods to long-tail and niche items with a longer shelf life in the warehouse. Many retailers cannot accommodate large inventory capacity; it’s actually far more cost-effective to outsource their inventory management and warehousing needs. Hollingsworth has implemented space optimization practices in tandem with highly detailed data tracking technology to maximize accuracy and timeliness while minimizing costs.

Constant improvements to the digital economy have transformed retail and the ways retailers operate their businesses. Brick-and-mortar stores are no longer necessary to run a successful retail business, and even when a physical store is the point-of-sale, methods for restocking and managing inventory have dramatically changed. Hollingsworth provides retailers and e-tailers with rapid and accurate fulfillment and distribution services, maintaining balanced inventory levels. Our network of shipping partners can facilitate smoother operations for retail stores and ecommerce businesses.

Not all products arrive at the warehouse ready to ship to the retail store or ecommerce distribution center. Presentation is a critical part of branding and customer loyalty for many retailers, and meeting packaging standards is crucial. For these cases, Hollingsworth’s packaging services help to fully prepare the product for shipment to the customer or retail store. We can accommodate more complicated packaging standards in addition to simple box-and-ship requirements.

From razors to dog treats, and from style boxes to weekly meals, the need for kitting in the consumer goods industry has rapidly grown in recent years thanks to subscription-based retail. Beyond basic product packaging, Hollingsworth offers kitting services to support the pick-and-pack needs of retailers who require selection and curation of multiple pieces or items to develop a single shippable product.

The supply chain is a complex organism of technology, systems, and human involvement, and sometimes requires more expertise and high-level engagement for success. Program management combines the expertise of a skilled supply chain professional (or team of professionals) with equipment and processes to refine and optimize logistics operations for ideal results. Depending on a retail business’ priorities, our program management services can lead to reduced costs, improved speed, supply chain innovations, and overall increased profits.

Returns are a standard part of any retail business – brick-and-mortar or online. When a product or group of products must re-enter the supply chain due to a recall, return, or other reason, logistics facilitate either repackaging for resale or reintegration of the inventory into the warehouse. Even damaged or defective products can sometimes be remanufactured or at least salvaged for parts. Hollingsworth offers specialized reverse logistics services to support retailers in their returns management needs.

Hollingsworth has partnered with the leading shipping and transportation companies to provide our retail customers with the best selection and service for distributing their consumer goods. Our fulfillment and distribution services and reverse logistics processes are specifically integrated with our transportation partners to assure optimal speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness in retail supply chain management. We have dozens of locations across the U.S. to reduce shipping times and minimize fuel consumption.