Lacoste

Advanced Supply Chain, a Reconomy specialist brand, partnered with Lacoste to design and run a UK warehousing and fulfilment operation, helping the brand overcome post-Brexit border delays and keep pace with fast-growing sales volumes.

By combining a bespoke warehouse management configuration with a suite of Value Added Services, Advanced Supply Chain improved retailer compliance to 100% and cut average time to market from 7-10 days to just 1-2.

The challenge

Customer demand meant Lacoste was processing around 4.5 million products annually in the UK, sold via multiple retailers and sales channels nationwide.

With sales volumes growing, Lacoste determined that a UK warehouse and fulfilment operation was needed to avoid UK-Europe border delays and keep products arriving at retailers’ distribution centres on time. There was added complexity in the varying dimensions of Lacoste’s stock. The brand sells an extensive range, from its iconic polo shirts through to swimwear, footwear, accessories, and bags. Variations in product size, weight, and shape, combined with high volumes of both outbound throughput and customer returns, can quickly cause errors and inefficiencies.

Lacoste needed a UK solution that could deliver in two key areas: retailer compliance and speed to market. This would support Lacoste’s growth targets of 30% and contribute to global ambitions to reach a turnover of €4bn by 2026.

The solution

Advanced Supply Chain specified a range of Value Added Services (VAS), underpinned by its bespoke software solution, Vector. This web-based supply chain management tool has been developed in-house over many years using .NET technology to provide end-to-end supply chain functionality, with modular tools managing each of the services provided.

A warehouse management system was configured specifically to set up Lacoste’s warehousing and fulfilment operation in the UK. Designed in conjunction with Lacoste, it accommodated SKU depth, stock turnover, hanging pick faces, bulk warehousing, and security measures for high-value stock.

Enhancing retailer compliance

Touchscreen kiosks were installed to produce packaging labels on demand. The kiosks are easily programmed, so that at the press of a button, the correct label is printed at the point of packaging, according to whichever retailer the product is being processed for. All data fields are correctly displayed and inputted to avoid errors and non-compliance.

The kiosks connect to the web-based supply chain management solution to enhance carton tracking and give Lacoste accurate, real-time visibility of stock. The system can be programmed to send retailers automatic status updates on orders, and is used to manage the flow of customer returns.

Improving speed to market

Automating and digitalising the labelling saves a significant amount of the time typically associated with manual data input. It also avoids the errors caused by manually writing and filling out labels, removing further time lost to correcting mistakes and redoing tasks.

Accurate labelling and data input feed into Vector’s transport management system to optimise the movement of the Advanced Supply Chain fleet. This enables orders to be consolidated across other customers, meaning Lacoste benefits from quicker time to market.

Consolidation avoids trucks needlessly waiting at warehouses to be filled, helping to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and minimising administration. It saves time, cost, and carbon emissions.

The outcomes

• Retailer compliance: 100% of Lacoste’s deliveries are compliant with the individual labelling requirements of 10 to 15 different retailers.
• Volume: Over 1.5 million units of Value Added Services delivered per annum.
• Speed to market: Average time to market for Lacoste’s deliveries to retailers cut from 7-10 days to 1-2 days.
• Labour resourcing: The Vector-led solution, combined with the expertise of the warehousing and fulfilment teams, has reduced estimated Value Added Services labour costs for the UK operation by 50% per annum.

These performance benefits are being delivered across the average processing of more than 12,300 products daily.