AI in Retail Excess Inventory Management

A Luxury Fashion Brand Streamlines Off-Price Process3 min read

January 18, 2024   |   2 min read

A Luxury Fashion Brand Streamlines Off-Price Process3 min read

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Company Profile

A globally renowned luxury fashion brand partnered with Vue.ai’s INTURN tool to eliminate costs and strategically react to market demand. This brand employs 400+ employees, generates $80 Million in revenue annually, and operates 100+ points of sale worldwide with a premium wholesale business in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Challenge

Before using the INTURN tool, the brand’s process for selling excess inventory was manual, time-consuming, and prone to overselling. These inventory challenges stemmed from four root issues:

  1. Ineffective Inventory Management
    Due to manual fulfillment processes, the brand was unable to update multiple buyers with accurate stock levels throughout the transaction process.
  2. High Costs
    The brand was unable to quickly move stock out of warehouses due to the manual collection of samples and in-person showroom appointments.
  3. Inefficient Resource Allocation
    The majority of employee time and resources were spent on showroom appointments and preparation, a process that spanned 4-5 days on average.
  1. Limited Control Over the Negotiation Process
    Buyers had greater control over time spent viewing and selecting inventory, resulting in 6+ weeks to negotiate and transact.

Solution

Using the INTURN tool, the brand was able to streamline the selling process, freeing up time for the sales team to more effectively prioritize tasks via these four solutions:

  1. Centralized System of Record
    All inventory was consolidated into one repository, providing the brand with full visibility into available stock and buyers with updates on quantity changes.
  2. Reduced Costs
    The platform’s content-rich product data eliminated the need for in-person showroom visits, saving €1.5K per week in showroom rental costs.
  3. Better Workload Prioritization
    INTURN tool’s online showroom experience eliminated the time and costs previously spent on in-person appointments, freeing up the sales teams to focus on upcoming sales.
  4. Accelerated Sales Process
    Automated offer expiration dates and accessible data gave the brand more control over negotiation time, resulting in a faster transaction turnaround.

Results

These four inventory management solutions led to two staggering results that improved the luxury brand’s off-price business:

  1. Increased Efficiency: Transaction time reduced by four weeks
    The brand eliminated showroom-related costs, freeing up employee time. The brand also reduced overall transaction time by 67% due to the INTURN tool’s automated inventory data upload, offer exports, and negotiation tools.
  2. Recovery Enhancement: Product sales increased by 45%
    With the INTURN tool, the brand simultaneously engaged with multiple retail partners on offers. Concurrent market outreach created a more competitive environment where buyers are notified of inventory depletion as other buyers make commitments against common offers.

There you have it — how a global luxury fashion brand worked with Vue.ai’s INTURN tool to eliminate costs associated with their off-price business and strategically positioned itself to react to market demand. What changes can you make to improve your off-price model? Get in touch here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vue.ai

Vue.ai engineers bespoke AI transformation roadmaps for enterprises across industries. Retailers to resellers, auto-extracting data from files to extrapolating fashion styles, 150+ conglomerates in five continents recruit Vue.ai. How can we help yours?