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Case Studies: Apparel UPC Code/Inventory Update Project
“Lawrence Merchandising Support Counts”
Incorrect undergarment UPC code undermines sales performance.
An international apparel manufacturer identified an error with the assortment code for licensed undergarments that caused inaccurate store counts and incorrect sales data. This issue required immediate in-store service at a mass retailer to locate all stock, count on-hand quantities, update the store’s inventory count and display the product on the sales floor. Lawrence Merchandising was referred for the project through a retailer contact due to a long-standing relationship with the retailer and the frequency of current projects within the retailer. Lawrence was able to quickly and efficiently deploy the service and resolve the issue to ensure data integrity and replenishment.
Our Role:
To quickly implement service to locate merchandise with incorrect UPC codes, count on-hand
stock and update the retailer system for inventory accuracy and more precise sales data tracking,
ultimately ensuring product replenishment.
The Challenge:
Select styles of the assortment for a particular brand of undergarments were sent to the retailer
with incorrect UPC information. This prevented the items from showing in the retailer inventory
and in some locations product had been removed from the sales floor as a result of the error.
The client was unable to accurately track inventory and sales which had a negative impact
expediting replenishment. This was an urgent matter that required immediate correction in all
stores chainwide so as not to jeopardize the licensing contract with the apparel manufacturer and
the licensor.
The Solution:
Lawrence Merchandising was selected to deploy in-store service for issue resolution and
was able to leverage national coverage to expedite service with rapid turnaround. Service
representatives have familiarity with the stores, enabling them to quickly locate merchandise both
on and off the sales floor. Due to multiple and frequent services, Lawrence reps know the retailer
procedures and were able to enter data themselves or work with the appropriate store personnel
to ensure the inventory counts were quickly updated.
The Result:
Lawrence Merchandising completed service in 93% of all stores in the chain the first week,
which exceeded the initial commitment of 80% the first week as established due to short notice
project deployment. 100% service completion was reached by the agreed upon end date 2
weeks after the project start date. The manufacturer began seeing orders as a result of the count
updates and the prompt issue resolution. The quick action and ability to cover multiple locations
simultaneously prevented escalation of further problems between licensor and manufacturer.
Based on the success of the service and resulting client satisfaction, Lawrence Merchandising
was awarded subsequent services with the manufacturer.
