Fashion and Apparel

Logistics in fashion and apparel

Here the cost of delay is not a freight difference, it is lost margin. A collection that reaches the shelf two weeks late sells at a discount instead of full price. So we build the plan backwards from the date it must be in store, not from the sailing date.

What makes it hard

• The season window is narrow. A production delay lands straight on logistics; the sea-versus-air decision has to be made quickly against the time remaining.
• Hanging garments consume volume. Garment-on-hanger (GOH) takes noticeably more cube than flat-packed goods; if the container plan ignores that, the cost forecast is wrong.
• Origin and quota paperwork. Under preferential trade schemes a missing origin declaration means the duty advantage is lost at customs.
• Store-level breakdown. One container usually splits across dozens of stores; sorting on arrival delays delivery.

How we set it up

We build a countdown calendar against the season start and put every critical date — cut-off, loading, customs, distribution — on a single plan. If production slips, we share the cost of switching to air freight on that same plan before the delay happens. The decision stays yours; the surprise does not.

For GOH we calculate the loading plan on volume and settle how flat and hanging goods will sit together in a mixed container before departure.

Store-level sorting and labelling happen as close to origin as possible, not at the destination warehouse — so the goods are distribution-ready the moment the container opens.

Practical notes

Samples and shoot goods are planned separately and express; they have to land before the collection itself. The returns flow is defined up front too — an unplanned end-of-season return blocks the warehouse.