In the midst of Fashion Weeks and the threat of a sharp slowdown in growth worldwide, most brands are most likely looking to optimize the internal processes of their sample management system. Between the stress of meeting deadlines with the collection launches or the loss of samples before fashion shows and photoshoots due to miscommunication between departments— managing samples can be a true headache to professionals. Nevertheless, samples are an essential part of the industry and serve a significant purpose until the confirmation of their production.
“Samples are key to a business launching their collection, key to brand affinity, key to driving sales and getting your actual products to the consumer. So whether it’s being used in a photo studio or going for design iterations, samples are super important to the health of a business.”
Trent Cummins, Global Key Account Director at Launchmetrics
Are you looking for a more sustainable or a more cost-effective approach? Finding a better way to manage your samples is key to achieving operational excellence. Time loss is one of the main issues and delays and sample losses are the primary cause. Other challenges like the steep operating costs are also debilitating. The easiest option to improve the overarching operation is to give up on manual spreadsheets and digitalize the process.
Since samples are produced for numerous reasons, they are complicated to manage without a centralized system to streamline the process. They can be created for revision by a designer or sent for press loans or even eCommerce listings. This is why it’s essential to have an effective company sample management system to link everything across departments. This allows fashion companies to have better sample tracking systems, enabling more productivity and profitability.
In this article you’ll learn…
Internal Tracking
When looking for the most suitable sample management system, brands should consider accessibility. After all, many departments need to access the solution. To name a few, there’s the designers and teams working in the warehouses; there’s also the sales team who will present samples to retailers. The PR team will also send the samples to journalists to generate buzz and get as much press coverage as possible. Ideally, the whole process would be transparent across departments and also from an external point of view.
To make the process smoother and reduce sample loss, streamlining the tracking of samples from points A to B is a good start. Picture an automated system that not only tracks but also records tracking information. This includes the locations, who sent a sample from which department, and the date and duration of the layover. Using barcodes or RFID tags on each model would enable that transparency. The dedicated system would link these barcodes to an interface with the sample’s tracking status and product details.
At the end of the day, the most complex process is setting up your inventory and syncing all your contacts. But once the system is set up, you’ll have a more profitable organization with fewer pain points. Your inventory will be more productive and efficient. Additionally, you’ll have more visibility within departments on the performance of each samples and their location. Industry-specific Launchmetrics’ Samples is the internal sample management system your brand needs to possess to optimize your process.
Sample Trafficking Fashion: A CTOs Guide to Internal Process Optimization [+ Infographic]
About Launchmetrics’ Samples
Investing in an industry-specific sample management solution such as Launchmetrics’ Samples allows brands to increase their overall efficiency directly. This will be advantageous to brands internally and externally as Samples can smoothly track individual samples through check-ins and check-outs across departments within a company and externally to PR contacts. Using the same dashboard, all departments will be aware of the location of each sample and where their destination is. This facilitates organization, planning, and the general structure of communication between departments without demanding any extra time or effort.
External teams can also request samples directly through the software as they’ll have visibility on the product status. This means these teams could request samples without going through a third party. This positively impacts operations, with these processes boosting PR coverage significantly. The brand’s PR team members can filter through requests to choose their most compelling collaboration, whether from a Media or Influencer. The software manages the whole workflow quickly and efficiently.
Thinking back on the stress of having to manually look over the sample management process. The missing opportunities and deadlines due to the time lost planning and organizing the process. As well as succumbing to the loss of samples sent to photoshoots and fashion shows. Doesn’t following one simple digitized sample solution to completely streamline the process, but also create, share and track your samples efficiently and risk-free sound like a dream come true? By standardizing the whole workflow, the process would be more precise and accurate with higher stakes in accountability as a result of increased transparency.
Key Takeaway
Ultimately, it is up to brands to select the best-suited software for their teams. However, when it comes to the management of samples, using a sample management tool is critical to better organizing, tracking, and measuring your assets’ effectiveness and performance.
Hear from our Samples expert about how Launchmetrics’ internal tracking tool can benefit your business.
Easily Manage & Track your Sample Collections
Track your samples and products as you send them around the world or within your company. You’ll never wonder where your samples are again.
By Charlotte Gillet. Business Marketing Coordinator
Based in London, Charlotte is a Marketing Assistant at Launchmetrics. Passionate about creating inspiring content, she recently graduated from UCL with a MA in Publishing. Invested in learning more about the businesses of Fashion, Luxury, and Beauty worldwide; she is excited to explore the ever-changing landscape of these industries.