Industry Overview

In recent years, the subscription eCommerce market has experienced rapid growth, expanding by over 100% annually. In 2016, the largest retailers in this category generated sales exceeding $2.6 billion, a sharp increase from just $57 million in 2011. Fueled by venture-capital investments, startups have launched subscription services for a wide range of products, from beer and wine to razors, vitamins, and video games.

As this trend continues, rental companies are recognizing the need for robust technology systems to manage their inventory and ensure a seamless customer experience. One of the biggest challenges in the rental industry is keeping track of products, knowing who rented them, when they are due to be returned, and their condition to maintain their value. Rental companies must navigate these challenges as they strive to deliver top-notch customer experiences amid the industry’s expansion.

For consumers, subscription services offer a convenient and often cost-effective way to purchase the products they need. To succeed in this competitive market, subscription-based companies must prioritize creating exceptional experiences, rather than just selling subscriptions, in order to boost growth, profitability, and retention rates.

Challenge:

Adapting the Supply Chain to Meet the Demands of Today’s Dynamic eCommerce Industry

In an ever-changing world of rapidly evolving technology and shifting customer expectations, operating in the eCommerce technology industry can be complex and challenging. Venture backed, a rental technology company set out to revolutionize luxury by offering unprecedented access to designer accessories. For a monthly fee starting at $45, members could borrow from a growing collection of designer handbags and jewelry and exchange them as often as they wished. However, with their own OMS and orders coming from the website, their dispersed and fragmented legacy systems failed to provide total visibility into the inventory necessary to keep up with the demand, deliver customer expectations, and prevent high churn rates.

To stay ahead of the competition and foster brand loyalty, this rental business recognized the need to rethink its technology. They partnered with Advatix to enhance their agility and responsiveness through efficient inventory management and technology-led innovation.

Approach:

Value Delivered by Advatix Cloudsuite™ Rental: An Intelligent Inventory Management Solution

By implementing Advatix Cloudsuite™ Rental, our customer was able to switch on intelligent inventory management and revolutionize their operations. Through a long-standing partnership with Advatix, the company centralized and standardized its processes, resulting in improved inventory turnover and utilization rates. The intelligent operations enabled by the platform also allowed for accurate quality control, faster maintenance,upselling, cross-selling, and reduced fulfillment and delivery times. These productivity boosts and improvements in the supply chain ultimately led to increased profitability and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Development of Custom Jewelry Label Tags for Improved Inventory Visibility

Significant value to the customer was delivered through the development of custom jewelry label tags, which enhanced the tracking and management of serialized inventory. The tags, equipped with two-sided mirrored QR codes, made it easy to scan and track each individual unit of inventory throughout all processes. This allowed for accurate calculations of the exact number of pieces owned for each product type, as well as the ability to assign a serial number to a particular customer. Overall, the custom jewelry label tags provided improved inventory visibility and better tracking capabilities, leading to enhanced inventory control and ultimately, increased efficiency and profitability for the business.

Carrier Shipping Label Process for Easy Returns

The Advatix Cloudsuite™ platform helped improve the carrier shipping label process by generating and printing a return label along with the outbound shipping label for each outgoing shipment/order, allowing for a more efficient return process for customers.

Integration with FedEx Express Delivery Service to Optimize Spend

FedEx express delivery service is their preferred carrier of choice for both outbound and inbound shipments. Advatix Cloudsuite™ created and developed shipping method selection logic based on product category, destination zone, and unique business rules to optimize transportation spend.

Automated and Enhanced Inventory Control and Quality Assurance Processes

To ensure customer satisfaction, our client required a rigorous inspection and quality check process for their rental products. Advatix Cloudsuite™ provided a multi-layer inventory management structure with options of restocking, repairing, and managing damaged items. This allowed for better visibility and understanding of inventory at various stages, resulting in improved decision-making during the return process. By automating and streamlining the process, associates were able to easily identify the stage of an item and determine the necessary steps for it to be made available for rental again, leading to more efficient operations and increased customer satisfaction.

Custom Email Templates for Personalized Communication

Advatix Cloudsuite™ developed custom email templates providing tracking updates and information to end consumers, reducing the workload of support associates and improving customer satisfaction.

Value Delivered

The company has made significant progress since adopting a centralized and streamlined inventory management system. With Advatix’s expertise, the company has been able to enhance its operations, customer experience, and innovation capabilities, positioning it for continued success in today’s dynamic eCommerce rental business.

The company has achieved remarkable results, including 100% track and trace capabilities for every shipment, improved visibility throughout the customer and product journeys, and a 99% improvement in return product quality inspection. In addition, the return process and order tracking have been improved by 100%.