How Skechers Manages Peak Season Order Surges of up to 5000 per day
Case Studies
The internationally renowned lifestyle and athletic footwear and apparel brand Skechers is available across 170+ countries. The company designs, develops and markets more than 3,000 styles for men, women and children. Their global sales account for US$ 8 billion, and their distinct distribution strategy has enabled the brand to maximize sales through direct-to-consumer channels.
In Southeast Asia, the brand majorly operates online across multiple countries. In each of the countries they’re present in they either have company-operated warehouse and/or distribution facilities or subsidiaries that operate on multiple ERP solutions, fulfillment providers and last-mile carriers. In Singapore, their e-commerce warehouse can hold over 1 million SKUs at once.
Although they have the capacity to manage large inventory volumes, the brand sought to enhance its e-commerce channel management to optimize performance.
The Challenges
From managing surges in order volumes during peak sales events to navigating the complexities of different marketplace requirements, Skechers faced a few obstacles that strained their existing systems and processes. The following sections detail the specific hurdles Skechers encountered and the underlying causes that necessitated a strategic retake of their order management approach.
1. Difficulty coping with order volumes
On a daily basis Skechers receives approximately 200 to 500. During festive sales like 7.7, these numbers increase to 3,000 to 5,000 orders a day. To cope with this order volume pouring in from different channels, the Fortune 500 brand invested in manual efforts. This proved to be challenging as their team had to download separate order lists from each of their sales platforms. Managing the paperwork during order processing and updating their statuses online took a long time, resulted in errors, confusion and delays.
Initially, Skechers sold across only 3 online platforms but had hopes to expand across more. To ensure smooth expansion, they had to sort out their order management.
2. Varying marketplace requirements
Besides having to process orders as per the specifications of customers, Skechers also had to meet marketplace requirements. The way Shopee and Lazada do things is very different. For example, Lazada requires orders to be ready to ship in order to move them to the picking and packing stage. For Shopee the process is vice versa. Without a system in place, it was very difficult to handle these kinds of specifications from sales channels.
3. Lack of integrations
Skechers used an internal software to manage their online orders in Singapore. However, as the technology had multiple modules that needed enhancement, it wasn’t very effective. Moreover, it didn’t possess the integrations necessary to centralize their orders from different marketplaces. These integrations were also lacking for their ERPs and carriers in use. This was a problem because there was a distorted and delayed flow of information. Moreover, the accuracy of order numbers and inventory available to fulfill these orders was inaccurate.
4. Increased delays
The brand experienced fulfillment delays due to inefficient order prioritization and manual order processing for hundreds of orders a day. The lack of real-time visibility into stock levels meant that some orders faced further delays when products were out of stock, adding to customer dissatisfaction and increased handling costs for returns and refunds.
Implementation
In order to address these challenges, we presented our flagship product Anchanto OMS as a full-proof solution. After a few discussions and product walkthroughs, the brand decided to implement Anchanto OMS for their multichannel eCommerce management.
The Solution
To overcome their operational challenges, Skechers used Anchanto’s OMS to empower their brand and handle increasing order volumes, comply with diverse marketplace requirements, and reduce costs—all while positioning the company for continued growth and expansion in the region.
1. Easy order processing
With the Anchanto Order Management System, Skechers can centralize all orders on a single dashboard. This allows them to compile order lists from across different marketplaces minus the extra work, complications, delays, and errors. It reduces paperwork and updates order statues at the click of a button.
Now, even when orders spike during festive seasons or sales periods, the brand can manage the load seamlessly. The orders are directly conveyed to the warehouse staff who begin to pick and pack inventory as per each order specification.
2. Meeting marketplace requirements
Anchanto’s OMS helps Skechers meet specific marketplace requirements. The system is capable of generating marketplace-compliant shipping labels and packing slips. It can set different inventory rules for different marketplaces, for example, reserving a portion of stock for high-priority marketplaces. Or maintaining buffer stocks if they’re running campaigns. The OMS lets them know if a lot of orders are coming in for specific promotions and if certain products or marketplaces are selling out fast. The system also adheres to marketplace-specific service level agreements (SLAs) for order processing times, shipping, and customer communication.
3. Ready-to-use marketplace integrations
Skechers uses top marketplace integrations by Anchanto for smooth order management. These include Shopee, Lazada, TikTok, and their own webstore. Anchanto’s OMS has allowed the brand to expand and manage their sales across different channels with relevant ease. The brand no longer has to maintain different channel orders in different locations within the warehouse. Similarly, separate inventory quantities are not required for each marketplace. The system helps Skechers control their inventory centrally.
4. Controlled costs and faster service
With Anchanto’s Order Management System, Skechers has a lower requirement for additional staff especially during peak seasons. The brand can do more with less people as man operations have been automated. The automated processes also help speed up activities and reduce delays caused by errors.
The Conclusion
As Skechers continues to grow their e-commerce in Singapore, they plan to explore more channels supported by the software. The brand claims that Anchanto has helped them in several ways including connecting with all their ERPs to get the most accurate data. Moreover, they are satisfied with the enhancement of the OMS over the last 5 years since they started using it.