You just hired a new employee—exciting! After finishing all the paperwork, onboarding, and welcoming them to the team, they need to be outfitted with something to wear.
Everyone gets a standard-issue uniform kit, including shirts, a hat, and an apron. So, off you go to the big closet where all these things are stored and start the endless search for the correct sizes, colors, and pieces to outfit your new team member.
While looking for the current T-shirt, a hat that isn’t dusty and deformed, and an apron with the correct logo, you stumble over a veritable archive of bits and pieces from past orders that continue to linger in the closet—undocumented and unorganized.
This inventory management method is all too common: a closet full of odds and ends managed by someone who just doesn’t have the time to keep it organized or fulfill internal gear orders.
It’s impossible to know precisely what is in there – especially if multiple people have access to your inventory with no checkout system in place to keep track of what’s being removed. When dealing with this type of chaos, you’ll eventually face a new hire you don’t have branded apparel for.
It’s time to break free from this stress-inducing system and modernize your uniform and gear management with a company online store that includes warehousing, fulfillment, and non-stock production.
The System
To break free from the broken uniform fulfillment cycle, you need an online company apparel store managed by a vendor partner who will do all the work for you. Sounds great, right?
A good partner will take you through all the steps from start to finish. This includes apparel selection, design, production, warehousing, and distribution across your locations.
This will allow you to start outsourcing shopping and artwork, determine stock numbers and maintain inventory level while eliminating the need for drop shipping (or having people snag stuff from your stock without a record).
An account manager works with you to decide what is included online and what is in stock. You can also choose to have some items produced on demand, lowering your overall inventory levels while still providing choice and customization for your employees.
Team members and managers can order their apparel straight from the platform and have it shipped directly where they need it to go, alleviating the need for you to ever step foot in the haunted closet again.
Setting up an online store
This is the hardest part, and guess what? It’s still easy! Working with an onboarding specialist, you will determine what you would like the site to do and how it will function within your company.
You can choose upgraded features such as specialized reporting, EDI integration, payroll deduction, or coupon codes and stipends to make everyone else’s life easier.
Once the decisions are all made and the site is tested and approved, it’s time to roll it out.
Post Launch: Managing your gear and selections.
Congrats, your website is now running like a well-oiled machine… so now what? You don’t want to set it and forget it (it’s not a slow cooker), but you don’t have the time to keep it fresh.
That is where your vendor partner comes in. A good account manager will monitor your program and send recommendations regularly.
They will let you know when something has become stale, needs an update, or help you add new options when the program needs expanding.
Your website should be a living, breathing thing, allowing for as much growth and change as your company is going through as you reach new heights.
The Solution
This may sound too good to be true, but it isn’t. Righteous Clothing Agency has been doing just this for companies for 35 years.
We have an end-to-end solution for businesses looking to partner with experts to offload their uniform, corporate wear, swag, and retail merchandise needs.
Righteous has team members specializing in account management, onboarding, design, customer service, production, and fulfillment services. We take program management off your hands to get you back to focusing on all those plates you’re spinning.
Reach out today to find out what Righteous can do for you.
