Headquartered in Medellin, Tennis S.A. is a Colombian apparel retailer with over 40 years of experience in the national and international fashion marketplace. With more than 100 stores, as well as a thriving e-commerce channel, Tennis has established itself as a market leader, delivering the latest fashions for young, trend-conscious shoppers.
Success Story
Tennis
Warehouse Management System (WMS)
Apparel retailer Tennis’ warehouse management transformation drives sales
The company
The business challenge
Speed is essential in the world of fashion, where trends can shift overnight. To ensure its products reach customers while a trend is still hot, Tennis relies on the speed and flexibility of its end-to-end supply chain. Faced with exponential growth in its e-commerce order volumes, the retailer needed to optimize its warehouse operations to improve warehouse speed, operations efficiency, and order fulfillment accuracy.
The solution
Tennis chose to implement the Blue Yonder warehouse management system (WMS) across its distribution network, supported by implementation partner Argano. With Blue Yonder, Tennis is better able to manage high inventory turnover and seasonal variations. It has seen a huge improvement in warehouse efficiency and improved fulfillment resulting in lower costs, enhanced customer satisfaction, and higher sales.
“The implementation of Blue Yonder WMS and the collaboration with Argano have been transformative for our operations. We have achieved unprecedented efficiency in our warehouse — so we can meet our customers’ expectations with greater precision and speed.”
–José Fernando Arango Jiménez, IT Director at Tennis
Fast fashion demands a fast, efficient warehouse
For young consumers in Colombia — whether they are shopping online or at a retail store — Tennis is the destination of choice for trendy, fashion-forward apparel. As the retailer’s e-commerce sales began to grow exponentially, it needed to optimize warehouse operations to keep up. The company was looking to minimize order fulfillment cycle times and improve accuracy and efficiency, with the ultimate goal of getting its fashionable clothing items into shoppers’ hands — before the latest fast fashion trend has passed them by.
Tennis went with Blue Yonder WMS because it helps the retailer efficiently manage a high volume of orders, ensure precise and rapid deliveries, and improve real-time visibility of inventory to avoid stockouts and overstocks. The Blue Yonder solution also supports efficient order fulfillment and allows the company to orchestrate workflows across multiple channels.
Blue Yonder WMS: A tailor-made solution
With help from implementation partner Argano, Tennis was able to quickly launch the Blue Yonder WMS solution. Since the WMS seamlessly integrates with other warehouse systems and tools, it began adding value immediately, significantly improving the company’s distribution center performance.
Today, the Blue Yonder solution provides the power and flexibility to manage the high inventory turnover and seasonal variations that characterize the fast-fashion industry. For example, Blue Yonder tasking optimization enables the automation of key processes such as picking, packing, and receiving goods — significantly increasing speed and productivity.
The solution also provides real-time visibility into inventory, so the Tennis logistics team can make quick, accurate decisions that eliminate both overstocks and stockouts.
Transformative improvements in efficiency
Tennis reported a 50% increase in warehouse efficiency due to the process optimization and task automation enabled by Blue Yonder WMS. Receiving productivity has increased by 20%, picking productivity has improved by 25%, and the productivity of packing has grown by 20%.. As a result of its more efficient, more accurate warehouse operations, Tennis has been able to reduce its labor costs by 19%.
Costs associated with storing and handling products were also reduced by 10%, improving overall operational profitability. Inventory visibility and accuracy have increased to nearly 100%, eliminating errors and improving customer satisfaction.
Faster fulfillment means fewer lost sales
By optimizing its order management processes, Tennis has substantially improved its response times and delivery accuracy.
The cycle time for store replenishments decreased from 4.6 days to just two days — a reduction of 56%. Getting products into stores faster means fewer stockouts and less lost sales, as well as improved revenues and shopper satisfaction on peak sales days. In addition, the total cycle time for the e-commerce channel was reduced from 4.3 days to 3 days, adding up to a 30% improvement.
The result has been increased shopper satisfaction — and a jump in sales.
Tennis looks to the future
According to Jiménez, the retailer’s new inventory accuracy has allowed it to expand its assortments to better meet online shoppers’ needs. “Thanks to the advanced functionalities of the Blue Yonder WMS and the associated new processes, we have 3% more inventory in the digital channel and 20% more SKUs. That allows us to offer online consumers a wider range of products, sizes, and colors. This is fundamental to fulfilling our e-commerce growth objectives.”
Equipped with cutting-edge warehouse technology and optimized processes, Tennis is prepared to face new market challenges and seize new growth opportunities. The ability to respond quickly to changing demand and maintain high levels of efficiency is establishing Tennis as a leader in the fashion sector, continuously innovating and offering exceptional experiences to its customers.
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