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Staying ahead in the beauty and cosmetics industry comes with unique challenges. Not only must you deal with fierce competition, but you must also take special care and consideration when choosing whom to partner with for cosmetics warehousing and fulfillment services. 

At Relentless Fulfillment, we understand that for cosmetic brands in particular, accuracy in inventory management is crucial. Any mistakes resulting from inefficient cosmetics warehousing can lead to order errors, customer dissatisfaction, and lost revenue. Fortunately, we have cracked the code on warehousing efficiency to reduce stock discrepancies and enhance your supply chain reliability. 

3 Common Warehousing Challenges for Cosmetic Brands

Though the challenges associated with warehousing cosmetics are multifaceted, the three most common relate to handling diverse SKUs, accounting for the fragile nature of cosmetic products in general, and minimizing the potential mistakes associated with manual inventory tracking. 

Challenge 1: Diverse SKUs with Different Packaging Sizes and Expiration Dates

When warehouses are responsible for multiple cosmetic products from the same brand, the potential for picking and packing errors increases. For example, products with similar SKUs but different product sizes or expiration dates will increase the likelihood that pickers may choose the wrong item to fulfill an order, leading to an eventual return from a dissatisfied customer. 

Ensuring warehouse efficiency requires more than just an awareness of these dangers. It also calls for the foresight to build systems and processes to avoid any potential errors. Our team at Relentless Fulfillment understands this dynamic and has created systems to reduce errors around diverse SKUs, packaging sizes, and expiration dates. 

Challenge 2: Fragile and Perishable Cosmetic Products

Anyone who has ever been responsible for a carton of eggs knows there’s an art to getting them home safely that simply isn’t required when the grocery haul contains more durable items like boxes of cereal or canned goods. 

The same concept applies to cosmetics warehousing and fulfillment services—just on a much grander scale. Cosmetic products are stored, packed, and shipped differently from other items. So cosmetics warehousing logistics must shift accordingly. 

Handling fragile and perishable cosmetics calls for special care and consideration. Products like glass bottles containing foundation, small plastic clamshells of compressed powders, and soft tubes filled with liquid foundation all require climate-controlled storage—not to mention careful picking and protective packing methods that account for their delicate nature.  

An efficient warehouse handling 3PL services for a cosmetic or beauty brand will always bear in mind the fragile and perishable nature of these products and build out their systems accordingly. That is exactly what we have done here at Relentless Fulfillment. 

Challenge 3: Manual Inventory Tracking

Many fulfillment providers that serve the cosmetic industry rely on manual inventory tracking. Though this approach does have its benefits, the human touch also lends itself to human errors. 

Issues related to manual inventory tracking can include:

• Inventory discrepancies. Miscounting, data entry errors, and similar mistakes can lead to discrepancies between what’s thought to be in the inventory and what’s actually there. Over time, these errors may lead to shipping delays and lost sales. 
• Delays. Counting and tabulating by hand can take time. Different employees from different shifts may work at varying speeds. Even the same crew might work at different rates on different days. When not accounted for, this aspect of manual inventory tracking can also contribute to unpredictable timelines and potential delays. 
• Inefficient inventory management. The more an operation scales, the less efficient manual inventory tracking can become. The greater the number of people involved, the greater the opportunities for error that could lead to misplaced items, overstocks, and stockouts. 

Fortunately, here at Relentless Fulfillment, we have optimized our inventory tracking to improve inventory accuracy by minimizing human errors. We do this by implementing tried-and-true principles of efficient warehousing. 

Efficient Warehousing Improves Inventory Accuracy

At Relentless Fulfillment, we have developed efficient cosmetics warehousing methods to improve inventory accuracy.

Structured Storage and Strategic SKU Organization

Our clearly defined storage zones and use of prominent labels are designed to reduce the potential for errors by helping our pickers quickly and efficiently locate the correct items for each order. 

Barcoding and Real-time Inventory Updates 

Our system of scannable barcodes allows our workers to quickly and efficiently match the right products to the right orders—every time. This system both accelerates fulfillment times and reduces the risk of human errors. 

Optimized Picking and Packing Processes 

The role of a streamlined picking and packing process to optimize warehousing, improve efficiency, and minimize stock discrepancies cannot be understated. 

Most warehouse managers point to order picking as one of their most expensive and difficult processes because it requires the most labor. Picking and packing processes are often more complex than other operations. They are crucial to an organization’s bottom line because they are tied directly to customer satisfaction. 

To that end, Relentless Fulfillment constantly evaluates and adjusts its picking and packing processes to meet the demand in the most efficient ways. 

Relentless Fulfillment’s Approach to Warehousing for Cosmetics

Because we understand that cosmetics warehousing works differently from warehousing for other products, we have set apart a dedicated space for cosmetic inventory. In this space, we have also implemented different organizational methods and workflows that allow for more precise climate control, tailored picking systems, and appropriate packing methods best suited to cosmetics. 

Next, we have considered how expiration dates for beauty products factor into the equation. As a result, we have instituted rigorous quality control measures with proper lot control. By applying principles like FIFO (First-In-First-Out) and FEFO (First-Expired-First-Out), we can ensure that your products will be shipped in optimal order and aren’t dispatched past their shelf life.

Finally, our seamless integrations with e-commerce platforms for real-time stock updates allow us to maintain inventory accuracy and increase our fulfillment speed, with your customers reaping the rewards. 

How Better Inventory Accuracy Leads to Business Growth

The systems detailed above have given Relentless Fulfillment a competitive advantage that we can, in turn, pass along to you and your customers. 

Our ability to manage inventory more efficiently leads to an increased ability to forecast demand. Imagine never missing a sale because your product is temporarily “unavailable” or “sold out.”  Perhaps better still, our commitment to inventory accuracy leads to fewer stockouts and backorders. As a result, your customers rarely—if ever—experience delays.

Finally, our accuracy in order fulfillment leads to reduced returns and fewer refunds due to accurate order fulfillment.

Choosing the Right Warehousing and Fulfillment Partner

Cosmetics brands looking to choose the right warehousing and fulfillment partner must always weigh important matters like current needs and the bottom line. However, other important factors must also be taken into consideration. 

First, you must evaluate whether a 3PL provider has a proven track record for working with brands like yours. Can their team demonstrate any proof of concept for cosmetics warehousing? Do they already have satisfied cosmetics customers? If not, you should look elsewhere. 

Second, they should be able to clearly articulate the unique systems and structures they’ve implemented to work with cosmetic products. Can they articulate how cosmetics warehousing requires a different approach from other types of third-party logistics? Can they explain what systems they have developed to account for these differences? As we mentioned above, here at Relentless Fulfillment, we know that we cannot treat cosmetics exactly like the other products we ship. That’s why we have separate areas and strategies for these brands and products. 

Third, consider whether the warehousing solutions being offered not only meet your current needs but also best position you for future scalability and flexibility. As you grow, will your 3PL provider be able to keep up? Because if you do not have room to grow, you’re just creating more work for yourself down the line. 

Partner with Relentless Fulfillment 

Any 3PL provider that can increase order accuracy, reduce stock discrepancies, and enhance supply chain reliability will help you retain current customers, reach new ones, and make your job easier over the long haul. That’s why choosing the right cosmetics warehousing and order fulfillment services for your brand is so vital. 

At Relentless Fulfillment, we provide practical warehousing solutions that support both sales and brand growth. Our commitment to organized storage, streamlined picking and packing processes, and optimized inventory management practices make us the perfect partners to help you level up. To hear more about our reliable cosmetic fulfillment services, request a custom quote today!

A recent survey revealed that 93% of all business executives believe that their ability to build and maintain trust improves their bottom lines. Unfortunately, only about 30% of consumers say that they “highly trust” companies, leaving a significant trust gap to overcome.

For companies in the supplement industry, gaining customer trust can prove particularly tricky. Unfortunately, a handful of common supplement fulfillment issues can erode consumer trust and impede customer retention. Issues around shipping delays, incorrect orders, or expired products can impact repeat sales. 

That’s why when you are looking for reliable supplement fulfillment services, you’ll want to choose 3PL experts like Relentless Fulfillment who specialize in fast, accurate, and compliant supplement fulfillment services.

Why Fast and Accurate Supplement Fulfillment Matters

People take supplements to boost their health and fill gaps in their daily nutritional intake. The key word there is daily. Because people rely on these products for their ongoing health, they do not appreciate any gaps that late deliveries could create. 

Furthermore, because customers are entrusting their health to your brand, any errors in their orders—whether related to shipping, picking and packing, or accidentally sending out products near or past their expiration dates—will erode their trust and affect your brand’s credibility. 

Perhaps the most important reason why fast and accurate shipping matters, however, is the fallout that delays and errors can have on your online reputation. 

There are two major factors in play here. First, 99.75% of online shoppers read reviews. That means if your brand receives negative reviews, any potential future customers are almost guaranteed to see them. Second, people are more likely to leave negative reviews when they have bad experiences than they are to leave positive reviews when they have good ones. Sadly, that means negative reviews can quickly outpace positive ones. 

Taken together, these factors mean that unreliable fulfillment can lead to more lost customers than simply the ones directly affected by the error. One or two bad reviews related to fulfillment can be enough to slow orders and endanger your company’s future. 

The Role of Compliance in Supplement Fulfillment

The FDA regulates both dietary products and nutritional supplements. According to these regulations, both manufacturers and distributors must participate in meeting requirements for compliance. 

That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as amended by DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Because of the strictness of FDA oversights, any failure in compliance could carry serious consequences. Anything from mislabeling of products to incorrect packaging could result in recalls or legal risks—neither of which would help your brand.

For this reason, your supplement fulfillment partner should be able to articulate the systems and policies they have put in place to protect both of you by maintaining the strictest compliance standards. 

How Fulfillment Affects Subscription-Based Supplement Brands

Customers are definitely in their subscription era, signing up for monthly subscription-based memberships for everything from online streaming services to personalized life coaching to nutritional supplements. And while subscriptions can prove a powerful tool for creating a steady revenue stream, subscription success hinges on one thing: customer retention. 

One of the cornerstones of success for subscription-based supplement brands is timely recurring shipments. A study of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) demonstrates that on-time deliveries have been directly linked to increased customer satisfaction. 

For the most part, a satisfied customer is a loyal customer with no reason to cancel their subscription. Because it costs five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to retain the ones you currently have, you must incorporate strategies to prevent customer churn. 

Addressing fulfillment-related issues is a simple way to do this.

To prevent fulfillment-related customer churn, always pay attention to the issues behind complaints, negative reviews, or the reasons your ex-customers have given for cancelation. If the problems your customers articulate stem from fulfillment issues, it’s time to change your 3PL partner.

Best Practices for Improving Supplement Fulfillment

To improve your approach to supplement fulfillment, first ensure that you’re already following best practices. 

Step 1: Implement better inventory tracking and forecasting.

These days, you can let inventory management software do most of the heavy lifting. Then, use real-time inventory management methods to sync your sales across platforms. This will grant insight into whether you currently have enough product in stock and help to improve your demand forecasting over time. 

Step 2: Streamline fulfillment to reduce errors and delays.

If you’re still handling all your own fulfillment, learning how to streamline your methods to reduce errors and delays could be quite the undertaking. 

You could start by reading up on the latest information on the following:

• Order Management Systems (OMS)
• Optimized inventory management methods
• Automated picking, packing, and shipping options

If all that sounds overwhelming, you do have another option. You can integrate with an experienced 3PL provider like Relentless Fulfillment for all your supplement fulfillment needs, leaning on our optimized warehouse and fully streamlined shipping methods to increase customer trust and land more repeat sales. 

Practice 3: Choose a 3PL that specializes in supplement fulfillment. 

While there are plenty of good 3PL providers to choose from, supplement brands looking for fulfillment services must take extra caution as they decide whom to partner with. As we have already indicated above, supplements require special care that some other standard products may not. Therefore, any 3PL offering services to a supplement brand must prove that their staff and facilities are up to the task.

What to look for when choosing a 3PL for your supplement fulfillment needs:

1. Proof of industry experience. What other supplement brands has the 3PL provider worked with in the past? Can their team provide any testimonials from satisfied partners in your industry? 
2. Proof of compliance. Does their pitch reflect that they understand the unique compliance needs of supplement brands like yours? Do their current warehousing set-ups and shipping methods reflect an understanding of those needs?
3. Proof of inventory tracking and lot control systems. Ensuring that orders are pulled from the right lots is especially important for products with expiration dates—like supplements. Have they taken this dynamic into consideration? 

3 Reasons Why Switching to the Right 3PL Can Improve Retention Rates

Now, it’s time to combine everything we have discussed to uncover three ways that switching to the right 3PL can improve retention rates for your supplement brand. 

Reason 1: A Reliable 3PL Reduces Order Errors and Improves Delivery Times

While automated order processing will accelerate the fulfillment process, key warehouse management principles can reduce errors. 

Here at Relentless Fulfillment, that looks like this: 

• Supporting lot control methods like FIFO (First-In-First-Out) and FEFO (First-Expired-First-Out)
• Implementing structure storage methods with strategic SKU organization
• Instituting barcoding and relying on real-time inventory updates
• Optimizing our picking and packing processes for both speed and accuracy 

Reason 2: A Fulfillment Partner That Understands the Supplement Industry Brings Added Benefits

Because we already understand the supplement industry, you will not have to educate us on how best to meet your needs. Instead, you can rest easy, relying on our industry knowledge and expertise to help grow your business. 

We have already thought through:

• Regulatory compliance
• Specialized storage needs
• Lot tracking control methods 
• Picking and packing optimization 

We have the infrastructure and the key systems in place to handle your fulfillment needs. 

Reason 3: Switching to an Optimized Fulfillment Provider Leads to Cost Savings

By outsourcing your supplement fulfillment needs to a fully optimized 3PL provider like Relentless Fulfillment, you’ll be able to handle more orders with increased speed and accuracy. In this way, you can simultaneously diminish the “churn” of dissatisfied customers, boost your brand’s reputation, and add new subscription-based customers—increasing your supplement brand’s revenue as a result.

Let Relentless Fulfillment Work for You

If you’ve experienced sales losses due to inaccurate or late shipments, it’s time to make a change. Partner with a 3PL provider who understands how fulfillment affects consumer trust and leads to repeat purchases. 

Here at Relentless Fulfillment, we’re excited to demonstrate how our streamlined systems could work for you. We specialize in fast, accurate, and compliant fulfillment, making us the ideal partner for supplement brands. 

To learn more about how our custom warehousing and 3PL support can improve your e-commerce revenue, come learn more about all we have to offer. Request a custom quote today!

Why Reno, Nevada, Is the Perfect Location for Businesses Moving Warehousing from Canada or Mexico

Early in 2025, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) proposed new rules that directly affect businesses with cross-border warehousing and 3PL services.

In short, some imports which used to be exempt to tariffs under Section 321 would now be required to pay duties.

If you are contemplating a shift in warehousing due to proposed changes to CBP and Section 321—or for any other reason—you’ll find that Reno, Nevada, is the ideal location for US-based warehousing operations. As experts in retail fulfillment services, we here at Relentless Fulfillment can’t wait to show all that our area has to offer—especially in terms of logistical advantages and direct cost-savings.

Reno’s Strategic Location

Reno’s major advantage is its proximity to major West Coast ports—particularly those in California.

California has twelve ports of varying sizes, all of which are known for handling different types of goods. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the largest ports in the United States, with roughly 79 million and 59 million total tons of cargo transported each year respectively.

Not to be overlooked is the nearby Port of Oakland, with 19 million total tons of cargo transported annually. Though the Port of Oakland may be smaller in volume, it plays an important role in the supply chain.

Key assets shipping from the Port of Oakland include:

• Wine and spirits
• Fruits and nuts
• Electronics
• Machinery
• Furniture
• Plastics

Reno’s direct access to these key West Cost ports is made simple via Reno’s strategic location and the seamless transportation channels connecting them.

For the Port of Oakland, it’s as simple as heading West on I-80. Depending on traffic, you’ll be there in under four hours. For the Port of Los Angeles, the I-80 and I-5 corridors will get you there in just under nine hours.

While these key transportation routes provide fast and reliable connections to the Western ports, Reno’s central position in the West also has the added advantage of efficient distribution to other major US markets.

Reno is within a one-day drive to eight of the eleven Western states:

1. Nevada (obviously)
2. Washington
3. California
4. Wyoming
5. Arizona
6. Oregon
7. Idaho
8. Utah

This key location means Reno is within a 500-mile radius of nearly 60-million people.

If that is not a strategic locational advantage, we don’t know what is.

3 Cost Advantages of Reno 3PLs

Reno-based 3PLs reduce transportation costs by minimizing shipping distances and leveraging regional hubs.

First, Reno is close to several major parcel hubs:

• UPS
• FedEx
• USPS

This proximity ensures quicker transit times and cost-effective shipping for both regional and national deliveries.

Furthermore, because Reno is in Zone 3 for many major West Coast markets—as opposed to other popular warehousing locations, inducing Las Vegas, which is in Zone 4—3PLs based here enjoy not only lower shipping costs but also faster delivery times. That’s simply a win, both for you and your customers alike.

Second, as we already briefly mentioned above, Reno’s robust transportation network, including the I-80 and US-395 corridors, offers seamless connections for ground shipping.

Our proximity to rail lines also increases transportation flexibility and allows for integrated transportation methods.

Taken together, these factors lead to greatly reduced shipping costs and quicker transit times.\

Advantage 2: Customs Clearance

In moving your warehousing and 3PL fulfillment center from Canada or Mexico to Reno, Nevada, you’ll be able to bypass customs costs.

This is especially important now that regulatory compliance around tariffs have changed in 2025. Some companies that may have found their shipments exempt to tariffs may now be losing that exemption.

Though we will address this issue in more detail below, for now it’s sufficient to recognize that if you’ve been affected by these regulatory changes, moving to a US-based 3PL fulfillment center will certainly carry distinct cost advantages.

Advantage 3: Cost of Labor

Compared to other popular logistics hubs based in Las Vegas and California, Reno-based warehouses and 3PL providers like Relentless Fulfillment enjoy a more competitive cost of labor.

Combined with Reno’s lower cost of living, our ability to offer competitive wages for our warehouse and fulfillment workers means we can attract top talent and still pass labor savings along to our customers.

Working with Relentless Fulfillment will allow you to do the same!

Section 321 and Regulatory Compliance

For businesses with warehousing and 3PL centers in Mexico and Canada, the proposed changes to Section 321 will make a substantial impact:

Under current law, Section 321 exempts certain imports into the US from duties if the aggregate fair value of the imported articles does not exceed $800 per person, per day. Further, Section 321 deems the value of these shipments to be so minimal that they are not subject to the same formal customs entry procedures and extensive data provision requirements as, other, higher-value imports entering the US.

With CBS now amending Section 321 to eliminate these exemptions, however, these changes have an immediate impact on cross-border logistics for Canadian and Mexican warehouses.

Inevitably, these changes will lead to

• Longer waits
• Higher costs

Fortunately, Reno-based 3PLs can help businesses by providing a practical alternative to avoid cross-border delays and tariffs.

In addition, we can help you comply with new CBP regulations, including enhanced data collection and duty-free shipment requirements.

Not only can we prepare and submit import and export paperwork ensuring all documents comply with relevant regulations, but we can also help ensure compliance on your behalf.

Because we are well-versed in international trade regulations, working with us comes with greatly decreased risks of delays or fines; and our knowledge of tariffs, duties, and trade agreements helps to ensure accurate classification and valuation of your goods.

Conclusion

In short, Reno’s strategic location, cost advantages, and compliance benefits make it the perfect choice for businesses.

By partnering with Relentless Fulfillment for all your warehousing and 3PL needs, you will enjoy faster shipping times, lower costs, and comprehensive support every step of the way.

As changes to CBP and Section 321 continue to have a ripple effect through the markets, come side-step the worst of the fallout by working with us.

We look forward to getting started!

Come learn more about our Reno-based 3PL services and request a consultation.

We can’t wait to hear more about who you are, what you do, and how Relentless Fulfillment can help you do it even better.

While the cities of Reno and Las Vegas are close enough that you could reasonably drive from one to the other in a day, when it comes to optimal places to base fulfillment services, the two are actually light-years apart. 

While Vegas may (arguably) have an edge when it comes to culture and nightlife—at least in the public zeitgeist—when it comes to cost-effective third-party logistics (3PL) and fulfillment solutions, Reno definitely stands apart as the better choice.

Here at Relentless Fulfillment, we have experienced these benefits firsthand. 

Today, we’re here to outline the distinct advantages in cost and efficiency offered by Reno, Nevada 3PL in terms of warehousing costs, operational savings, and potential scaling and how Relentless Fulfillment has learned to leverage these benefits to best effect. 

Warehousing Costs

A simple internet search would indicate that Las Vegas has both lower real estate prices and lower overall labor costs. So we would not blame you for assuming that it would be cheaper to maintain a warehouse and run a fulfillment center from Las Vegas. 

But that assumption would be incorrect.

Simple stats don’t always tell the whole story.

Real Estate Costs

While it’s true that real estate prices are listed as 22% higher in Reno than in Las Vegas, those stats are largely influenced by home prices. 

Given Reno’s proximity to the wealth of natural beauty afforded by the Sierra Nevadas, the city offers a relaxed and laid-back lifestyle that makes it an appealing place to live and work (or—in many cases these days—work from home).

All this has led to an increase in housing costs.  

Warehousing costs, however, are much lower in Reno than in Las Vegas. This isn’t necessarily because of the overall real estate prices but in how much it costs to operate a warehouse in Las Vegas regardless.

This has largely to do with the local temperature. 

Las Vegas’s sweltering summers, seeing daily highs well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, present complications for maintaining climate-controlled environments—including warehouses. 

For companies shipping cosmetics, supplements, electronics, and other more sensitive items, this is a serious consideration. 

The bottom line is this: the entire enterprise of maintaining a climate-controlled warehouse in Las Vegas is not only more complicated but also much more expensive. 

In Reno, however, where the temperature swings are more mild, the venture is less risky and more cost-efficient. 

This is exactly what we’ve found here at Relentless Fulfillment. Because it costs us less to maintain and operate a warehouse here in Reno, we get to pass those savings along to our customers. 

Labor Costs

Minimum wage in Nevada is currently $12/hour; and while the average hourly pay in Las Vegas as of December 2024 was $17.28, the average hourly pay in Reno is $29.80.

While these numbers might make it sound as if labor costs are higher in Reno than in Vegas, we’d like to take a moment to dig deeper. 

Much as we saw with the real estate numbers, the data on labor costs doesn’t tell the full story. 

In Las Vegas, many jobs are entertainment and hospitality-based. Even with strong unions significantly affecting labor costs, the types of jobs available (mostly in the hotel, gaming, and recreation industries) pay less than other types of employment. 

So it’s not so much that labor is, on the whole, cheaper in Las Vegas but that lower-paying jobs dominate the region’s job market. 

When it comes to skilled jobs related to 3PL, however, labor costs are lower in Reno than in Vegas. 

Here at Relentless Fulfillment, because we pay less for both warehousing and labor, we are able to offer more competitive pricing for our Reno, Nevada 3PL services. 

These savings impact:

• eCommerce Fulfillment
• Subscription Box Fulfillment
• Kitting, Packaging, and Assembly
• Amazon FBA Prep 
• Receiving and Reverse Logistics
• Integrations

Operational Savings

You have likely heard the old real estate adage that the three most important factors in real estate are as follows: location, location, location. 

The same is true for cost-effective 3PL solutions.

Because location doesn’t just affect costs related to purchasing and operating a warehouse. 

It also affects shipping.

Shipping is expensive, and transportation costs are increasing every day. 

Is it any wonder that, according to the Commercial Carrier Journal, “reducing costs” is slated to be the top strategic priority for 61% of all shippers and carriers in 2025?

Fortunately, given Reno’s proximity to suppliers and customers, we are able to leverage reduced transportation costs which we can, in turn, pass along to our customers.

These savings, of course, are not our only advantage.

There are reasons why Nevada is ranked 7th in the nation for its exceptional business climate. 

A lot of it has to do with Nevada’s overall pro-business tax environment:

• No corporate income tax, personal income tax, franchise tax, inventory tax, inheritance/gift tax, or estate tax
• Competitive Property Tax Rates
• Competitive Sales Tax Rates
• Low-cost startup, regulatory, licensing, and annual fees
• Supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs, startups and corporations
• Pledge of “No New Taxes” from Governor Lombardo

With these clear tax advantages, it’s clear why Nevada has become home to so many thriving businesses. And there’s a reason why companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Switch, Intuit, and Patagonia chose to open facilities in Reno. 

Reno is a state hub for:

• Technology
• Manufacturing
• E-commerce

Given these benefits, is it any wonder why we recommend working with a Reno, Nevada 3PL like Relentless Fulfillment over a fulfillment service based in Las Vegas?

Efficiency in Scaling Operations

With success comes growing pains. If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you will likely have already experienced this reality. 

And that’s a good thing!

But when you witness a sudden influx in your product lines or sales channels, you will need to scale your operations—fast. 

For companies in such positions, partnering with 3PL providers like Relentless Fulfillment is an essential step in efficiently scaling operations.

Outsourcing your distribution and supply-chain oversight to a 3PL will include:

• Inventory management. A 3PL provider will take care of ordering, storing, organizing, and preparing products for shipping. No need to own your own warehouse and manage a separate crew! 
• Order fulfillment. 3PL providers can process and pack orders on your behalf. No more frantic worries about keeping up with a sudden influx of orders!
• Delivery logistics. Because 3PL providers work large-scale, they have access to better resources for handling delivery logistics—not to mention the likelihood of better (bulk) shipping rates.  

By allowing these matters to be handled offsite, businesses no longer face the added expense of owning their own warehouses and employing entire departments of employees to handle fulfillment. 

Instead, they can turn the fulfillment side of the operation over to 3PL providers and shift the bulk of their focus to big-picture tasks such as sales, marketing, product development, and customer service.

While this is true of all 3PL providers, there are added benefits to working with a Reno-based 3PL like Relentless Fulfillment.

Reno’s stable and affordable infrastructure supports businesses in expanding their product lines and sales channels.

This did not happen by accident. 

Over the years, the City of Reno has invested heavily in infrastructure development:

• Regional collaborations. Collaborations with regional partners ensure that ongoing key infrastructure projects continue to improve both the City of Reno and the surrounding region.
• Long-range infrastructure planning. Long-range planning ensures that infrastructure development will keep pace with growth. 
• Grant awards. Perhaps most importantly, ongoing grant applications and approvals ensure that the lion’s share of the expense for these ongoing infrastructural developments are not borne by the taxpayer.

Thanks to these robust efforts, citizens and business owners in the City of Reno enjoy top-notch transportation, utilities, and other public works.

In short, long-term investments in infrastructure are now paying off—and we all get to reap the rewards. 

Not to mention Reno’s proximity to major parcel hubs (UPS, FedEx, and USPS) ensures quicker transit times and cost-effective shipping for regional and national deliveries.

Reno-based 3PL providers like Relentless Fulfillment can offer customers increasingly lower costs and higher efficiency for our fulfillment services. 

The Bottom Line

Savings on warehousing, labor, and other operational costs, when combined with an overall efficiency in scaling afforded by strong infrastructure, make it clear that when it comes to choosing the best region in which to base your fulfillment services, Reno carries strong advantages over Las Vegas. 

Here at Relentless Fulfillment, we know this better than anyone. 

We not only love what we do. We love where we do it. 

To learn more about how our fulfillment services can help you surpass customer expectations and achieve sustainable growth in your industry, contact us today.

Among other things Nevada is known for— including casinos, night life, hot air balloon festivals, and our gorgeous natural desert landscapes—it’s also home to key third-party logistics (3PL) hubs in cities like Reno and Las Vegas.

If you’re seeking efficient logistic solutions for your ecommerce, retail, or manufacturing company, we are here today to state with great assurance that Reno carries major benefits in terms of West Coast distribution. 

As retail fulfillment experts offering scalable solutions in Reno, Nevada, we here at Relentless Fulfillment have witnessed this dynamic firsthand. 

Not only does Reno have the lead over Las Vegas in geographic proximity to key markets, but the region enjoys the added advantage of unmatched transportation infrastructure.

These are the major two reasons why Reno beats Las Vegas for West Coast fulfillment. 

Reason 1: Geographic Proximity to Key Markets

Though Reno and Las Vegas are both technically in the same state, that doesn’t mean they carry the same geographic advantages. 

Nevada holds rank as the seventh largest state by area in the US, clocking in at 110,557 square miles. 

So a city’s relative positioning within the state makes a big difference.

Closer Relative Distances

While Las Vegas lies in the southeastern corner of the state, Reno is more northwest, placing it much closer to key West Coast markets.

From Reno, it is only 

• 218 miles to San Francisco 
• 132 miles to Sacramento 
• and 705 miles to Seattle 

Meanwhile, Las Vegas lies 568 miles from San Francisco, 562 miles from Sacramento, and a whopping 1,125 miles from Seattle. 

When it comes to shipping, the difference between a few hundred miles and over a thousand miles makes a big difference in terms of both time and cost. 

It’s no wonder that a typical ground shipment from Reno to San Francisco takes 1-2 days, compared to 2-3 days from Las Vegas.

Apart from the key cities listed above, Reno is within a one-day drive to eight of the eleven Western states, putting it within a 500-mile radius of nearly 60 million people. That’s a significant portion of the current US population. 

Which is why, when it comes to 3PL, Reno’s relative positioning in the state leads to both reduced transit times and lower shipping costs. 

Lower Relative Costs

Factors that generally influence shipping costs include:

• Overall distance traveled
• Type/weight of cargo
• Current fuel costs
• Mode of shipping
• Supply and demand

Fuel costs, distance traveled, and mode of shipping combine as major components addressed by Reno’s relative location to the Western markets.

As we will discuss in more detail below, Reno boasts a dynamic and evolving transportation network, with I-80 and US-395 offering seamless connections for ground shipping.

Our city also enjoys proximity to major parcel hubs—including UPS, FedEx, and USPS. 

Given these factors, it’s no surprise that Reno, Nevada 3PL’s like Relentless Fulfillment are able to enjoy lower relative costs—which we are, in turn, able to pass along to our partners. 

Shorter Relative Delivery Times

A recent Third-Party Logistics Study conducted by NTT Data found that consumers have increasingly come to expect delivery terms of two days or fewer. 

This has 3PL providers who don’t enjoy the geographic reach we do in a bit of a panic. 

To meet the exponential rise in consumer expectations, shippers and 3PLs are investing in automation and analytics capabilities and optimizing their distribution networks, as well as focusing on sustainability initiatives to reduce the environmental impact.

While their efforts will likely not go to waste, all the automations and analytics in the world can’t beat the natural benefit we enjoy of simply existing closer to the markets than our competitors. 

Given all these advantages, it is easy to see why our 3PL partners here at Relentless Fulfillment benefit from quicker transit times and more cost-effective shipping for both regional and national deliveries.

Reason 2: Transportation Infrastructure

The City of Reno’s active investment in ongoing infrastructure development has given it a major competitive advantage over Las Vegas, particularly in terms of ground shipping. 

As mentioned briefly in the section above, major highways like I-80 and US-395 offer seamless connections for ground shipping from Reno.

I-80, in particular, provides great reach to surrounding markets:

Interstate 80 extends 410 miles from the edge of the great Bonneville Salt Flat at Wendover to the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada a few miles west of Verdi. It passes through small towns, small cities and big cities, a route once cursed for its miserable hardships and now so easy that it can be dismissed as boring.

These days, calling a route “boring” might as well be code for “dependable” and “reliable.” 

Early pioneers in the region likely never imagined that one day, residents would be able to quickly travel—or send goods—from one region to another along the same routes they were struggling to traverse over the course of weeks, months, or years. 

Now, the stable routes afforded by Reno’s access to reliable transportation infrastructure can provide quick and efficient service for Reno, Nevada 3PL’s like Relentless Fulfillment.

Reno also enjoys direct access via I-80 West to the Port of Oakland; and with the Port of Nevada recently unveiling an additional intermodal route between Fernley and Oakland, the interstate will soon be just one option for smooth supply chain transfers. 

A final point to consider here is the fact that because Las Vegas is a popular tourist destination, the city often faces major traffic congestion. For 3PL’s based there, these complications can lead to delayed shipments. 

Reno, Nevada-based 3PL’s like Relentless Fulfillment, on the other hand, are able to escape traffic scrums thanks to Reno’s more business-focused environment. Rarely facing traffic congestion issues outside isolated incidents in downtown areas, the City of Reno, on the whole, allows for smoother logistics operations.

The Bottom Line

When conducting side-by-side comparisons of 3PL options in the cities of Las Vegas and Reno, it’s easy to see that Reno-based 3PL’s like Relentless Fulfillment have the edge in terms of faster delivery times, cost efficiency, and scalability.

Come leverage Reno’s powerful advantages for West Coast fulfillment to surpass your customer’s expectations and achieve sustainable growth in your industry.

To get started, contact us today!

Choosing the best inventory management and fulfillment strategy is crucial for any company looking to cut costs, improve customer satisfaction, and increase growth. Supplement brands, with their shelf-life-sensitive products, need to be particularly cautious about choosing the right inventory process. 

In this industry, FIFO and FEFO inventory management methods are often particularly popular, as they can help to ensure products stay fresh and compliant with regulations, improve customer satisfaction levels, and protect your brand’s reputation. 

Both FIFO (First-In-First-Out) and FEFO (First-Expired-First-Out) inventory rotation methods for supplements can help you make the most of products with limited shelf lives. In this guide, we’ll introduce you to methods of reducing supplement waste with FIFO and FEFO. We’ll also help you choose the right option for your business, and show you how to align your inventory management and fulfillment strategies successfully, for ongoing sustainable growth.

Defining FIFO and FEFO

Unsure about the differences between first-in-first-out vs. first-expired-first-out inventory management strategies? Both of these options are popular among supplement companies, as well as countless brands dealing with limited-shelf-life goods. 

Both systems aim to minimize waste, improve product freshness, and help companies stay compliant with industry regulations. However, each method has its own unique approach to managing inventory.

FIFO (First-In-First-Out)

The FIFO, or First-In-First-Out strategy for inventory management works by ensuring that the oldest inventory in your warehouse is the first to be shipped to customers. 

Implementing FIFO in supplement warehousing processes means tracking the dates when products are first purchased or stored by your company. This means you can ensure the products that have spent the longest time in your warehouse, are the first to leave when you make a sale. 

This system reduces the risk of stock sitting too long on shelves, ensuring that customers receive fresher products. For example, if a batch of vitamins arrives in the warehouse in January, FIFO ensures those are shipped first, even if newer stock arrives in February. This helps prevent expired or stale products from reaching customers, reducing waste and keeping customer satisfaction high.

FEFO (First-Expired-First-Out)

FEFO, or the “First-Expired-First-Out” strategy, on the other hand, prioritizes shipping products based on their expiration date. The FEFO strategy for perishable supplements is often a good way to minimize the risk of companies ending up with products sitting in their warehouses that they can no longer safely sell to their customers. 

Unlike FIFO, FEFO doesn’t take the time a product arrives in your warehouse into account – just the date when that product is going to expire. This can be valuable for some supplement companies, as the products you source from manufacturers may have varying expiration dates. 

With FEFO, even if you received a bottle of vitamins in January from one manufacturer, but a product received in February from a different manufacturer has a closer expiry date, you’d ship the one you received in February first.

Benefits of FIFO and FEFO for Supplement Brands

Both FIFO and FEFO inventory management are excellent options for supplement brands, who need to maintain careful control over products with limited shelf lives. Adopting these inventory control techniques can help supplement brands access benefits like:

Waste Reduction

The FIFO and FEFO inventory control techniques for supplement brands help minimize waste by ensuring that products are shipped out before they expire, allowing them to be used at their peak quality. With FIFO, older stock is prioritized, preventing products from sitting too long on shelves and potentially becoming unsellable. FEFO goes a step further by focusing on expiration dates, making sure that products closest to expiring are shipped first, even if they are newer.

By reducing the amount of expired or unsellable inventory you have sitting in your warehouse, these inventory management methods can save your company a lot of money. Not only will you have fewer inventory “losses”, but you could end up spending less on disposal costs too.

Fresher Products

Freshness is important in the supplement industry. Over time, supplements lose their potency, meaning the results they’ll deliver to your customers will be diminished. Using either FIFO or FEFO ensures that products reach customers at their freshest – long before they reach an expiry date.

This prioritization of freshness not only supports brand integrity but also guarantees that customers receive supplements with the highest quality and potency. Freshness enhances customer satisfaction, which is crucial if you want your buyers to keep coming back to your business.

Improved Compliance

FIFO and FEFO aren’t just practical tools for improving inventory management and customer satisfaction levels. They’re also critical for compliance. The supplement industry is exposed to a huge range of regulations and rules, intended to protect the health and wellbeing of consumers. To avoid serious fines and legal repercussions, companies need to ensure they’re not shipping products to customers that could be deemed unsafe or unfit for consumption.

FIFO and FEFO strategies help to enhance compliance through effective inventory management, by helping you to keep track of product expiration dates and shelf lives. They can reduce your risk of sending dangerous products to consumers, and dealing with unwanted legal issues.

Greater Customer Trust

Trust is the foundation of success for any supplement brand. After all, your customers need to trust you with their wellbeing and quality of life. They want to see evidence that you’re not only committed to giving them high-quality products, but that you’re following best practices for supplement inventory turnover, to ensure the products they receive are fresh and potent.

Implementing FIFO and FEFO inventory management strategies help to ensure product quality and reliability, meaning your offerings will constantly live up to customer expectations. These strategies can help you earn the long-term loyalty of your customers, turn buyers into advocates for your brand, and increase your overall profits and sales.

How to Choose Between FIFO and FEFO

Choosing the right inventory method for supplements can be tricky, particularly when both FIFO and FEFO have advantages to offer. Ultimately, the right choice for your company will depend on a few key factors, starting with the types of products you’re going to be selling.

If you’re offering customers less “perishable” products, like protein powders or capsules with a longer shelf life, FIFO often makes more sense. This method ensures older stock sells first without overcomplicating processes. But if you’re dealing with probiotics, liquid vitamins, or other expiration-sensitive products, FEFO is the smarter move. It prioritizes freshness and ensures products stay compliant with regulatory standards, protecting both your brand and customers.

Your brand priorities can come into play when making the right decision too. If cost efficiency and streamlined operations are your focus, FIFO can help reduce handling time and simplify logistics. But if minimizing waste and delivering the freshest products are your top priorities, FEFO takes the lead.

Notably, you don’t always have to use one method or the other exclusively either. For some supplement companies, the best approach may be to combine the best of both worlds. For instance, if you sell a wide range of products, you might use FIFO to manage more durable goods, and FEFO for items with stricter expiration dates. 

Working with a reputable fulfillment company, like Relentless Fulfillment, will allow you to use a combination of FIFO and FEFO inventory management methods easily, depending on your specific goals and product portfolio, without the need for additional complexity.

How to Implement FIFO and FEFO in Fulfillment

FIFO and FEFO are both excellent strategies for shelf life management in supplement industry businesses. However, to really make the most of these methodologies, you need to make sure they’re fully integrated into your entire fulfillment strategy. 

Here are the steps you’ll need to take for a successful approach.

Start with Inventory Organization

First, start with the basics. Arrange your inventory in a way that makes implementing FIFO and FEFO processes simple. For FIFO, products need to be stored in the order they arrive. Position older stock at the front and new inventory behind it. This way, warehouse teams naturally pick the oldest items first during order fulfillment.

For FEFO, monitoring expiration dates is crucial. Use your warehouse management system (WMS) technology to keep track of and organize items based on when they’re going to expire. Group products with similar expiry ranges together to avoid confusion, and make sure all of your products have clear labels attached to them. 

At Relentless Fulfillment, our WMS technology supports lot control, making it easy to track inventory by arrival date for FIFO, or expiration date for FEFO. That way, you can create a streamlined strategy for managing and making the most out of your inventory.

Implement the Right Technology

Technology is a valuable resource in FIFO and FEFO inventory management. Warehouse Management Systems and tools are critical for keeping a close eye on all of your products, their arrival dates, and expiry dates from one unified environment. They also help you to track stock levels and inventory movement in real time. 

Based on the strategy you’re using; take advantage of the various features your inventory management and WMS tools can offer. Set up automated alerts for approaching expiration dates on products to support FEFO. Make sure you can instantly track the dates when you receive products from manufacturers to guide your FIFO decisions. 

Use reporting and analytical tools built into your software to track adherence to your inventory management strategies and make sure nothing is slipping through the cracks. Based on your insights, you might even decide to switch from a FIFO method to a FEFO method, or combine the two strategies to further reduce waste.

Work with the Right Fulfillment Partner

Reducing supplement waste with FIFO and FEFO, and making the most out of your new inventory management strategy, is much easier with the right fulfillment partner. A reputable fulfillment partner, like Relentless, will use their experience and expertise in FIFO and FEFO practices to help you optimize your return on investment. 

Relentless can give you access to the innovative tools you need to use the best inventory control techniques for supplement brands, and help you keep a close eye on stock movement. Plus, they’ll ensure you can accelerate the delivery of products to your customers, increasing satisfaction rates and ensure long-term customer loyalty. A partner like Relentless Fulfillment can even give you expert guidance on how to organize warehouse layouts, label products effectively, and ensure inventory rotation happens smoothly. Plus, we can assist you with bundling and kitting techniques that could help you to move inventory sitting on shelves faster, reducing the risk of waste.

Discover the Benefits of FIFO and FEFO Strategies

In a fast-paced industry like the supplement sector, where products can quickly lose their value and potency, few things are more important than the right approach to inventory rotation. FIFO and FEFO inventory management strategies can give you an excellent way to maintain product quality, earn customer trust, preserve your reputation, and avoid compliance issues.

With these strategies, you can reduce waste, deliver fresher products to your customers consistently, and keep losses to a minimum. All you really need to make the most out of these techniques is a personalized strategy, the right technology, and a reputable fulfillment partner to work with.

Relentless Fulfillment can give you all of the resources, technology, and expertise you need to make the most of your FIFO and FEFO strategies. With our advanced WMS technologies, bundling and kitting services, and ultra-fast delivery times, we’ll help you stay one step ahead of the competition.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you unlock the benefits of FIFO and FEFO inventory management, and earn long-term customer loyalty.

The supplement industry is booming, with industry reports suggesting the market is currently growing at a CAGR of 9.1%. But thriving in this market is far from easy. If you want to earn sales, separate yourself from the competition and earn loyal customers, you need more than just great products. You need an optimized supplement fulfilment strategy.

Mastering everything from inventory management for supplements, to ensuring products reach your customers in time (and in great condition), can be complicated. You’ll need to navigate strict regulatory requirements, use the right strategies to get the most out of products with limited shelf lives, and overcome common delivery hurdles.

Getting fulfillment right isn’t just a logistic hurdle, it’s the key to maintaining product integrity, staying compliant with local and federal regulations, and earning customer trust. 

The good news? There are ways to boost your chances of success. Here, we’ll introduce you to the most common supplement fulfillment challenges you might encounter as you grow your business, and the strategies you can use to overcome them.

Challenge 1: Inventory Management

Handling inventory management for supplements is complicated for a few reasons. Get your inventory strategy right, and your business can run like a well-oiled machine, with minimal waste, and better efficiency all around. Get it wrong, and you risk wasting money on overstocking processes, and missing opportunities with stock outs.

Overstocking ties up crucial cash flow, takes up precious warehouse space, and increases your chances of ending up with expired products sitting on warehouse shelves. Understocking means you risk losing sales and frustrating your customers. 

To make matters worse, lack of proper planning could mean you miss out on crucial opportunities. When demand for your products spikes at specific times of the year (think around New Year’s when people are setting resolutions, or in the summer when people want to get beach ready), you need to be prepared to accommodate higher sales numbers.

The Solution: 

The first step in overcoming inventory issues, and managing seasonal demand for supplements, is gaining more visibility into your products. You need to go beyond simply knowing what’s on your shelves with a strategy that gives you real-time visibility into your stock. 

Taking advantage of inventory tracking technology can be extremely helpful here. A fulfillment partner like Relentless Fulfillment can give you a comprehensive insight into your products, and stock levels in real-time. You can track products that are set to expire soonest, monitor which items are earning the most sales (so you know what to stock up on), and more.

Our technology doesn’t just help supplement brands keep track of their inventory, it ensures they can optimize their stock strategy. Through advanced forecasting tools, like aging reports and order volume reports specific to each SKU, we give you the data you need to predict demand and make smarter stocking decisions. 

With our systems, you can stay on top of trends, adjust for seasonal fluctuations, and even plan for peak times like New Year’s fitness resolutions or Black Friday sales. This data-driven approach will help you make the most out of your inventory, increase sales, and reduce waste.

Challenge 2: Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance in the supplement industry can be something of a minefield to navigate. The industry is tightly regulated, and failing to comply with even the smallest detail can have devastating consequences. As a supplement brand, you need to go beyond simply using safe products in your formula. You’ll need to ensure you’re implementing quality control in supplement logistics, labelling products correctly, and managing expiration dates. 

The FDA, FTC, and other regulatory bodies have strict guidelines that must be adhered to, and non-compliance can lead to fines, recalls, and ongoing damage to your brand’s reputation. Something as simple as making a mistake on a label, or allowing expired goods to slip through the cracks can quickly derail your business. 

That’s why you need to ensure you’re following end-to-end supplement fulfillment best practices that help to keep you compliant with industry standards.

The Solutions

Adhering to compliance standards in the supplement industry requires a multi-faceted and holistic approach. Fortunately, working with the right fulfillment partner can make all the difference. At Relentless Fulfillment, we prioritize quality control in supplement logistics, implementing strict processes to help you stay one step ahead of the curve. 

From lot tracking tools to insights that help you to monitor which products might be approaching their expiration dates, we help you ensure your products meet regulatory guidelines every step of the way. We can even help you implement bundling and kitting strategies that help to get products out of warehouses faster, reducing the risk of waste due to expiration.

Beyond working with the right fulfillment provider, there are other steps you can take to minimize your risk of compliance issues. For instance, making sure all of your products are properly labelled (according to regulatory requirements), with ingredient lists, and nutrition facts are crucial. 

Ensuring you have the right processes in place to minimize the handling of products, and track expiration dates as they emerge is essential too. With an end-to-end strategy for keeping track of your products effectively, and a partner that can help you avoid compliance mistakes, you can avoid costly fines, and protect your brand’s reputation.

Challenge 3: Maintaining Product Integrity and Safety

Maintaining product integrity in supplement fulfillment processes is crucial, but complicated. Many supplements, including probiotics and vitamins, are temperature-sensitive, and fragile. They can lose their potency or efficacy if they’re exposed to the wrong conditions, like excessive heat or humidity.

Some products, like soft gels or glass containers, can also break or degrade during transit and storage when they’re not handled with care and precision. As a supplement brand, you can’t rely on the same strategies other companies use to manage storing and shipping. 

You need a comprehensive strategy that leverages specialized temperature-sensitive supplement shipping solutions, and tailor-made storage conditions. Without the right strategy, the quality of your products, and your brand’s reputation could be irreparably damaged.

The Solutions:

Ensuring product integrity in supplement fulfillment relies heavily on finding the right partners to work with. Companies that specialize in third-party logistics for supplements brands can give you the critical storage solutions, packaging systems, and resources you need to protect your products. 

At Relentless Fulfillment, for instance, we treat every product as though it’s our own, using state-of-the-art climate controlled storage facilities to ensure that temperature-sensitive items are defended from temperature fluctuations. Whether you’re selling heat-sensitive vitamins, or probiotics that depend on cold storage, we can help. 

When it comes to packaging your products, we don’t just pack items into a box at random. We offer custom packaging solutions designed to safeguard product quality. This means giving you access to insulated packaging for temperature-sensitive items and cushioning for fragile products.

Plus, we provide expedited shipping options, to help ensure your products arrive at their destination quickly, before they have a chance to deteriorate in transit. Working with a professional fulfillment partner with years of experience dealing with sensitive products like supplements ensures you can guarantee all of your products will be handled with care.

From storage to shipping, the right partner will guarantee that your products stay protected, and in peak condition, defending your assets, reputation, and relationship with customers.

Challenge 4: Fast and Reliable Shipping

Today’s customers have a serious need for speed. When they buy products from your company, they expect to receive them quickly, when they want it most. This makes fast shipping for supplement brands essential. If you’re not delivering items to customers quickly, they’ll find an alternative provider who can serve their needs sooner. 

Unfortunately, there are a number of issues that can get in the way of quick delivery times. Not only do you have to deal with overcoming supplement supply chain issues, but you need to navigate various logistical issues and regulatory requirements. 

Prioritizing speed, while still ensuring that products are protected, packaged correctly, and handled with care at every stage of the logistical process requires a strategic approach.

The Solutions:

Again, the answer to this supplement fulfillment issue is: find the right partner. The easiest way to make sure your products consistently reach your customers as quickly as possible, without compromising on package protection, is to work with the right fulfillment providers. 

Focus on finding companies that offer fulfillment centers located close to key market points. For instance, Relentless Fulfillment delivers rapid shipping throughout the entire West Coast. More than 99.9% of the products we deliver reach their destination on time, and we can offer 2-day shipping for priority orders, helping you to keep your customers happy. 

By optimizing warehouse locations, we not only ensure that your products get closer to the end customer faster, but we can also help you minimize shipping expenses. Relentless Fulfillment offers a wide range of flexible shipping options, from standard to expedited options, so you can cater to different customer preferences and needs. 

Working with a fulfillment partner that understands the critical importance of timely, reliable shipping means you can meet customer expectations every time. It’s the key to driving customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repeat business at scale.

Overcoming Supplement Fulfillment Challenges

Managing supplement fulfillment can be complex. There are a lot of unique challenges that supplement brands need to overcome to ensure that they can delight their customers, adhere to regulatory standards, and keep costs low. 

Ultimately, the best way to make sure you can achieve sustainable growth, and minimize risks, is to find a partner that can streamline your fulfillment journey. Partnering with a specialist like Relentless Fulfillment gives you more than just logistics support.

It ensures you can access everything from climate-controlled storage to unique packaging options, real-time inventory insights, and rapid shipping solutions. We offer the tools, experience, and solutions supplement brands need to stay one step ahead in a competitive market. Discover how partnering with Relentless Fulfillment can help you overcome the challenges of shipping, compliance, and inventory management for supplements, and accomplish more in this growing industry.
Contact Relentless Fulfillment today, and set your business up for success.

SKU management isn’t easy to navigate for fast-paced fashion brands. Inventory management, and apparel logistics can be notoriously complicated, thanks to the wide range of product variations (different sizes, colors, and styles) they need to manage.

It’s easy to make mistakes that can lead to stockouts, mis-picks, and other costly errors that frustrate your customers and harm your brand’s reputation.

In fact, one report found that the apparel industry has among the highest out-of-stock rates of any sector, thanks largely to the complexity of SKU management. Another found that fashion retailers can miss out on about $1 trillion in sales due to stockout issues.

Fortunately, SKU management doesn’t have to be a nightmare for fashion brands. Here’s how you can overcome the unique challenges facing your ecommerce SKU strategy, and pave the way for long-term success.

Challenges of High SKU Counts in Apparel Logistics

Inventory management can be complex in any industry, but the fashion landscape deals with more challenges than most. Fashion companies can end up with hundreds, even thousands of SKUs at once. For instance, the fast-fashion brand SHEIN added around 260,000 new SKUs to its inventory in 2021.
Every product you sell as an ecommerce brand in the fashion sector undoubtedly comes with multiple variations. For instance, a single t-shirt available in six sizes and five colors results in thirty SKUs. This exponential growth can overwhelm even seasoned inventory managers.

The more products you add to your collection to appeal to a wider range of customers (and outshine the competition) the more complex fashion inventory management becomes.

High SKU counts in the fashion industry come with other unique challenges too. Organizing your warehouse becomes tricky when you’re dealing with numerous SKUs, making it harder to locate products quickly, leading to issues with order picking efficiency and accuracy. That results in longer fulfillment times, and a greater risk of dissatisfied customers.

On top of that, demand forecasting adds another layer of complexity. With each SKU representing a unique product variation, predicting customer demand accurately becomes increasingly difficult. Misjudging demand can lead to overstock, tying up capital in unsold inventory, or stockouts, resulting in lost sales and frustrated customers. You could even end up spending a fortune on warehouse space you don’t need – that’s problematic at a time when warehousing costs grew by 10.1% in the last year.

Plus, there’s the challenge of dealing with returns to think about too. Customers frequently return items due to fit issues, style mismatches and other factors in the fashion space. These returns can disrupt SKU management systems, complicating restocking processes and increasing labor costs. Efficiently managing returned items while ensuring accurate SKU counts can feel like an uphill battle.

Best Practices for Managing High SKU Counts

Avoiding the challenges of fashion inventory management and apparel logistics doesn’t have to mean minimizing the number of products you sell, and stifling your growth. Even with high SKU counts, there are steps you can take to stay one step ahead of the game.
Here are the best practices you should be following:

1. Use SKU Categorization and Standardization
   Studies have shown that SKU standardization can save businesses between $15,000 and $800,000 on an annual basis. Implementing strategic categorization and standardization initiatives is the key to maintaining more control over your ecommerce SKU strategy.
   Start by implementing logical SKU naming conventions – for instance, you could use the format of “brand-size-color-style”. This makes it easy to identify variations at speed within your system. Grouping similar products under a parent SKU can significantly enhance organization.
   For example, a “blue medium t-shirt” can fall under the same parent SKU as its various size and color counterparts. This method reduces the number of unique SKUs your team needs to keep track of, making inventory management a lot easier. It can also help your team see all variations at a glance, making it easier to monitor stock levels and sales performance.
2. Implement a Robust Inventory Management System
   There’s a reason why the global inventory management software market is expected to reach a value of $7.69 billion by 2032 – it saves companies time and money. In the world of fashion, inventory management software ensures you can accurately keep track of stock levels and movement in real-time. It gives you a broad and complete overview of your current situation.
   For the best results, make sure your IMS solution integrates with the other tools you’re using to manage products and order fulfillment, such as your ecommerce platform (like Shopify and Magento), and your warehouse management system.
   Connecting these technologies ensures you’ll maintain a centralized and up-to-date view of your inventory across all sales channels, reducing discrepancies and improving accuracy.
   As your fashion business grows, or you expand into multiple regions, explore the benefits of multi-warehouse management solutions. These will allow you to allocate stock effectively based on demand, optimize shipping times, and minimize costs.
3. Automate SKU Management with Technology
   Automation technologies are an efficiency-boosting dream come true for fashion brands. By 2030, McKinsey predicts that fashion companies will be spending up to 3.5% of their revenue on technology each year – prioritizing automation, AI, and productivity boosting tech.
   Automation tools can significantly enhance your SKU management efforts. For instance, you can use automated replenishment triggers in a system to alert your team when specific size or color variations reach a predefined minimum stock level. This reduces your risk of stockouts and frustrated customers.
   You can tap into artificial intelligence to help you plan for future inventory decisions, with demand-driven forecasting and predictive analytics. You can even integrate technology like RFID scanning, barcoding, and pick-and-pack systems into your process to reduce human errors and mistakes.
   Embracing the era of automation doesn’t just make your fashion company faster and more efficient, it can save you money, and improve your relationships with your customers.
4. Invest in SKU Rationalization
   Finally, while you shouldn’t be removing products from your inventory just to reduce the complexity of SKU management, you can get rid of items that aren’t helping you grow. SKU rationalization processes give you a chance to evaluate the performance of every SKU, to identify slow-moving or redundant items that just aren’t worth future investment.
   This can help you to identify which items you shouldn’t be spending your money on going forward, based on buyer trends and behaviors. Plus, it means you can reduce the complexity within your fashion inventory management system, freeing up valuable space and resources.
   Make time in your calendar throughout the year to identify which SKUs are genuinely driving sales and increasing customer satisfaction, and make sure they’re the ones you prioritize. Low-performing SKUs aren’t diversifying your product collection – they’re just holding you back.

The Role of Kitting and Bundling in SKU Management

One extra strategy you can consider if you’re looking for a way to optimize your ecommerce SKU strategy, and apparel logistics efforts, is the use of bundling and kitting. Kitting and bundling strategies can have significant benefits for all kinds of ecommerce brands.

They can help you increase customer lifetime value, and generate loyalty towards your brand. In fact, companies that leverage product bundles usually end up with customers with 2.7 times higher lifetime values than their competitors.

Beyond this, bundling and kitting gives you a chance to streamline SKU management. By offering product bundles or kits—such as a t-shirt and jeans combo—businesses can reduce their overall SKU counts while simultaneously boosting sales. Instead of managing each product variation as an individual SKU, retailers can create a combined offering that appeals to a wide audience.

The key to success is making sure you continue to manage these kits with separate SKUs for inventory tracking purposes, but working with a fulfillment partner that can easily “bundle” the products together for you. This ensures that you can rapidly fulfill orders, while monitoring the performance of individual bundles and products.

Fulfilling bundle orders together also streamlines the fulfillment process, increasing efficiency, reducing the risk of mispicks, and speeding up delivery times. That all leads to more satisfied customers, and the potential for higher revenue.

Streamlining SKU Management in the Fashion Sector

Ecommerce inventory management is complex, particularly in the fashion sector, where SKU counts are high, and countless variables can cause disruptions. Learning how to effectively manage your SKUs with the right standardization processes, strategies, and technologies is the key to making sure you can achieve sustainable growth in a competitive market.

The more you adopt cutting-edge technology, automated practices, and work with the right partners to help enhance apparel logistics, the more your profitability will grow. Your approach to SKU management can help to differentiate your company from the competition, and pave the way for stronger relationships with your customers.

Don’t let high SKU counts overwhelm your business, and stifle your growth. Work with a partner like Relentless Fulfillment and access the technology and support you need to give your fashion brand an edge. Contact our team today to learn more about how we can help you to master the complexity of order fulfillment in the apparel industry.

The Link Between Fast Shipping and Customer Retention

Fast delivery meets customers’ high expectations. Over 80% of shoppers say they’re more likely to purchase from brands offering same-day shipping, and 66% of U.S. consumers expect free two-day delivery. Fulfilling these demands is essential to remain competitive, as slow delivery times can drive customers to shop elsewhere.
Quick and reliable shipping reassures new customers, creating a positive first impression. As trust builds, customers are more likely to return, increasing their lifetime value. A consistent track record for fast delivery keeps customers loyal and helps fashion brands differentiate themselves. For instance, ASOS has over 25 million active users, partly due to its fast and dependable shipping options.
For apparel brands, rapid fulfillment is essential to retain first-time buyers and encourage repeat purchases.

Efficient Returns: A Key Component of Customer Loyalty

Returns are common in fashion eCommerce, especially in high-return categories like women’s apparel, where return rates average 23%. A seamless returns process can make a significant difference in customer satisfaction and retention. Nearly 51% of customers avoid brands with a difficult return policy, while 92% say a positive return experience makes them more likely to buy again.
Relentless Fulfillment offers reverse logistics solutions that simplify the returns process. With an efficient system for handling returns, fashion brands can reassure customers and build trust. An easy returns process can turn potential frustrations into positive experiences, strengthening the customer relationship and increasing repeat purchases.

Best Practices for Fast Fulfillment in Fashion

Achieving fast, reliable fulfillment requires a clear strategy. Here are three core steps to streamline your fulfillment process:

1. Optimize Warehouse and Inventory Management
   ○ Effective inventory and warehouse management are foundational for fast fulfillment. Real-time tracking with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and RFID technology allows for accurate inventory counts and efficient order processing.
   ○ Organized stock placement in the warehouse ensures that high-demand items are easy to locate, expediting both outbound shipping and returns processing.
2. Leverage Automation in Fulfillment
   ○ Automation reduces errors, saves time, and streamlines the order fulfillment process. Automated systems handle tasks like order processing and real-time stock updates, minimizing delays and improving transparency.
   ○ Integration between inventory systems and eCommerce platforms ensures customers get accurate information on stock availability, preventing out-of-stock frustrations.
3. Partner with a Reliable 3PL Provider
   ○ Third-party logistics providers handle logistics complexities, allowing brands to focus on their core activities. Relentless Fulfillment offers services tailored to the unique needs of fashion brands, from kitting and packaging to efficient shipping and returns management.
   ○ With experience in apparel logistics, Relentless Fulfillment can help brands offer fast, reliable delivery that meets modern customer expectations.
   Advantages of Relentless Fulfillment’s Reno Location
   Relentless Fulfillment’s location in Reno, Nevada, offers significant benefits for fashion brands:
   ● Proximity to Major West Coast Markets: Reno’s location enables efficient, overnight, and two-day ground shipping options across the West Coast, giving brands a competitive edge in speed.
   ● Lower Logistics Costs: Nevada’s favorable tax climate can reduce logistics expenses, particularly compared to neighboring states.
   ● Enhanced Transportation Access: Reno is well-connected by major highways, railroads, and airports, streamlining shipping routes and reducing delivery times.
   These geographical advantages make Relentless Fulfillment’s Reno location ideal for fast fulfillment, which directly benefits customer satisfaction and retention.
   
   The ROI of Fast Fulfillment: Retention and Referral
   
   
   Investing in a fast and reliable fulfillment strategy delivers measurable returns:
   ● Higher Customer Lifetime Value: Customers who receive prompt, accurate deliveries are more likely to make repeat purchases, increasing their value over time.
   ● Word-of-Mouth Referrals: Satisfied customers recommend brands they trust, enhancing reputation and reducing acquisition costs.
   ● Improved Operational Efficiency: A well-organized fulfillment strategy minimizes errors, reduces delays, and lowers costs, supporting smooth business operations.
   Fast fulfillment helps brands stand out, building loyalty and driving revenue growth.
   
   Conclusion
   For fashion eCommerce brands, fulfillment speed and efficiency are essential to meet customer expectations, boost retention, and drive growth. Relentless Fulfillment, with its strategic Reno location and specialized services, provides brands with the infrastructure needed to deliver reliable, fast, and cost-effective fulfillment.
   If you’re ready to enhance your fulfillment strategy, Relentless Fulfillment can help. Contact our team to learn how our 3PL services can support your brand’s growth and keep customers coming back.

Managing fulfillment effectively can be challenging for any company, but cosmetics and beauty brands face more hurdles than most. Investing in specialized fulfillment for cosmetics brands isn’t just a way to improve customer experiences and enhance your brand reputation.

It can be crucial to complying with complex industry standards, protecting delicate and fragile products, and managing ever-fluctuating SKU counts and product collections.

In a market as competitive as the cosmetics sector, which is set to reach a value of $758.05 billion by 2032, partnering with the right fulfillment partner is everything.

Here’s how the right team can help you overcome countless cosmetic fulfillment challenges, boost revenue, and increase customer loyalty.

The Top Cosmetic Fulfillment Challenges

The cosmetics industry is thriving, but worldwide, managing beauty product logistics can be extremely challenging.

From making sure fragile bottles and products stay safe during transit, to navigating the impact climate control can have on sensitive products, there are a lot of issues to address. Here are some of the biggest factors that can complicate efficient distribution for beauty brands.

Project Fragility

Many beauty products are fragile, from carefully compressed powders to glass perfume bottles, and liquid-based items. Without effective cosmetic packaging solutions, it’s easy for a product to be damaged during transit. This doesn’t just harm the customer experience; it also means companies frequently waste money replacing broken goods.
Beauty companies need to work with fulfillment companies to choose the right protective packaging, or they risk losses to their cash flow, reputation, and customer base.

Temperature Sensitivity

It’s not just the risk of broken bottles companies in the cosmetics industry need to worry about. The ingredients in certain products can be highly sensitive too. Various creams, serums, lipsticks, and items made with natural ingredients can be damaged by sudden temperature changes.
Cold conditions can alter the consistency of products, while excessive heat can cause delicate substances to melt. This makes temperature-controlled storage for cosmetics crucial to ensuring every product arrives at its destination in excellent condition

Compliance in Cosmetics Fulfillment

Like many companies selling “consumable products” cosmetics brands are subject to strict regulatory guidelines, which require them to take extra precautions to ensure customer safety. Products need to be labeled with clear information on ingredients and usage lists, as well as expiration dates.
Plus, depending on where you are in the world, there may be additional regional regulations to consider about how packages are assembled and delivered. Failure to adhere to these stands puts you at risk of hefty fines, product recalls, and damage to your brand’s reputation.

Evolving Customer Expectations

Customers in every industry now demand more from the companies they buy products from. They expect cosmetics companies to deliver products fast, and in excellent condition. Plus, they’re looking for premium unboxing experiences, particularly in the age of popular unboxing videos on social media. Delays, poor packaging, or a lackluster unboxing experience can damage brand loyalty.
This means cosmetics companies need to go above and beyond to optimize the shopping experience for their customers, by investing in the right packaging and delivery strategies.

The Benefits of Specialized Fulfillment for Cosmetics Brands

Specialized fulfillment for cosmetics brands empowers companies in a complicated industry to access the expertise of specialists who understand the challenges they face. Innovative partners like Relentless Fulfillment can offer storage, packaging, and delivery solutions that reduce operational costs, improve customer experiences, and boost brand reputation.
The right partner will help you overcome cosmetic fulfillment challenges with:

Unique Packaging Solutions

A specialist fulfillment partner with experience in the cosmetics industry will offer a range of unique packaging options designed to protect fragile products. They can use a range of techniques and protective materials to ensure products reach customers in pristine condition.
Plus, a company offering fulfillment services for fragile cosmetics will know how to protect your products, without compromising on your brand’s image or the “unboxing experience”. They’ll know how to make your brand shine with stickers, labels, and innovative materials

Climate Controlled Storage

Since beauty products are often sensitive to temperature changes, working with a vendor that can offer temperature-controlled storage for cosmetics is crucial. An experienced fulfillment company will carefully maintain optimal temperatures in product storage facilities for all of your cosmetics items, and even use packaging strategies to reduce the risk of temperature fluctuation during transit.
With the support of a specialist fulfillment partner, you’ll be able to maintain product integrity, and give customers a more consistently excellent experience with your brand

Compliance Management

Thanks to their years of experience working in highly regulated environments, like the beauty industry, specialist fulfillment providers will be able to help you adapt to strict standards surrounding labeling, packaging, bundling, and more.
They’ll work with you to ensure that all products pass compliance checks before they’re shipped to customers, reducing the risk of fines, and reputational damage. These companies can even help you avoid the headaches associated with product recalls

Efficient Distribution Networks

Now that customers expect to receive products faster than ever before, working with a specialist fulfillment company that can promise quick delivery is crucial. A premium partner will work with distribution networks and partners in your region to offer everything from one-day and two-day delivery, to express shipping for your target audience.
This ensures you can meet customer demands for fast deliveries, without compromising on product safety, or the unboxing experience. With strategically located fulfillment centers, optimized routes, and advanced tracking systems, brands can even deliver products faster while minimizing shipping errors, and reducing unnecessary returns.

Why Work with Relentless Fulfillment?

Plenty of companies can offer specialized fulfillment services to cosmetic brands, but only a handful of organizations have the experience, technology, and expertise to help you truly optimize your logistics processes. Relentless Fulfillment is a beauty products logistics partner with genuine experience working with world-leading cosmetic companies.

For years, we’ve offered access to crucial services, from temperature-controlled storage for cosmetics, to rapid two-day delivery solutions. Most importantly, we know that every company is unique, which is why we ensure our fulfillment process aligns with your unique needs.
Relentless Fulfillment offers beauty companies a service that’s

● Customized: We offer bespoke services to companies of all sizes, whether you’re looking for tailored packaging solutions and climate-controlled storage, or unique bundling and kitting expertise. Our team adapts to help you achieve your specific goals, and overcome common challenges in the logistics and fulfillment journey.

● Scalable: Beauty businesses can grow quickly, particularly when their latest products “go viral” on social media, or earn the attention of influencers. We grow with the brands we serve, offering tailored solutions that evolve as your business expands.

● Flexible: We can adapt to various fulfillment strategies, such as “FIFO” (First In, First Out), and FEFO (First Expired, First Out) methods to help you make the most of your inventory. Relentless Fulfillment even offers comprehensive lot control and expiration date tracking, to help you adhere to the standards of customers, and regulators.

● Advanced: Our team uses state-of-the-art technology for real-time order tracking, inventory management, and precise order fulfillment. Our approach ensures you’ll always have complete visibility into your logistics process, so you can adapt quickly to new challenges and opportunities. That way, we help you grow, while reducing risks.

● Proven: We have a phenomenal track record, and have earned fantastic feedback from countless companies in the cosmetic industries. Just check out our customer testimonials and reviews for insights into how much our customers appreciate our client-first, collaborative, and transparent approach to order fulfillment.

Working with Relentless Fulfillment

Working with Relentless Fulfillment means partnering with an industry leader that prioritizes your brand’s success and growth.
Optimizing Beauty Product Logistics and Fulfillment Handling fulfillment in the beauty and cosmetics industry can be challenging. Dealing with everything from fragile products in need of unique packaging solutions, to safe and compliant order storage and transportation is extremely complex.
Working with a specialized fulfillment company, with years of experience supporting cosmetics brands, can help you to bypass common fulfillment challenges, reduce costs, improve your brand reputation, and strengthen relationships with customers.

At Relentless Fulfillment, we help companies in the cosmetics landscape thrive with fast, efficient, and customizable solutions for packaging, bundling, kitting, delivery, and more.

Contact us today to learn how our services can help you surpass customer expectations and achieve sustainable growth in your industry.