Lesson Learned: Focus on Your Strengths

Another factor in Sutton’s decision to outsource fulfillment: The school uniform business is seasonal—most orders come in during the summer months. So Sutton was reluctant to invest in too much fulfillment-related infrastructure that probably would be under-utilized nine months of the year.

Once he decided to outsource fulfillment, he did a thorough search of available companies and services. “We wanted a company that had decades’ worth of industry experience in call center operations, warehousing and receiving,” he recalls. “When we met with NewRoads, we could see they really understood fulfillment and had extensive experience in apparel in particular. They know, for example, how to receive apparel, steam it, handle returns, allocate sufficient hanger space in the warehouse and keep the products dust-free.”