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February 19, 2021

AIMS360 Apparel ERP’s Fashion EDI Dropship Helps Increase Business through Major E-Commerce Department Stores

by Shahrooz Kohan

AIMS360 Apparel ERP’s Fashion EDI Dropship Increases Major E-Commerce Department Store Business

Growing fashion brands sell through department store e-commerce websites using AIMS360 apparel software’s EDI dropship feature. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in department store e-commerce sales. With more online shopping consumers dominating the market, big department stores like Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Macys, Neiman Marcus, Saks, etc. have turned to direct to consumer (DTC) e-commerce. According to Internet Retailing, digital department store sales were 65.9% ahead in 2020. To take advantage of department store e-commerce sales, AIMS360 fashion software utilizes EDI Dropship technology to streamline the order & fulfillment process.

“We have seen a major increase of DTC sales through department store dropship programs . Most successful brands we work with are omni-channel brands selling through multiple B2C channels and multiple B2B channels. For example a brand can be selling wholesale to boutique stores, bulk to Nordstroms, dropship through Nordstroms, and also selling through their own Shopify website.” says Shahrooz Kohan CEO of AIMS360

What is EDI Dropship Apparel Software? 
Most apparel brands sell omni-channel and may have EDI as one of their selling channels. When the fashion e-commerce department store takes an online store order, many of these orders are sent from the fashion brand directly to the consumer. EDI dropship is when a fashion manufacturer ships an item directly to a consumer (DTC) after it was purchased through a retailer’s digital e-commerce store. This is a separate business model than EDI bulk orders where the department store purchases a larger volume, pays the fashion brand, and holds the goods itself for sale.

Which Department Stores Have DropShip EDI Programs?  
Each fashion brand falls into a different category and may be a good fit only in certain e-commerce department stores. According to ecommerceDB, the top fashion focused US online department store by sales dollar volume is Macys.com. Macy’s last reported that digital sales were 38% of all sales. Here are some popular EDI dropship programs. (some of these retailers using Commercehub’s DSCO):

  • Amazon Dropship
  • Bass Pro Shops Dropship
  • Bloomingdales Dropship
  • Chewy Dropship
  • Dicks Sporting Goods Dropship
  • Dillards Dropship
  • Finish Line Dropship
  • Home Shopping Network (HSN) Dropship
  • Kohls.com Dropship
  • Neiman Marcus Dropship
  • Nordstrom Dropship
  • Nordstrom Rack Dropship
  • REI Drop Ship
  • Steinmart Dropship
  • Target.com Dropship
  • Walmart Dropship

How Does AIMS360 Apparel Software Streamline EDI Dropship 
If a consumer orders an item from a fashion brand on a department store’s e-commerce site, that information will go directly to you, the vendor, through AIMS360 apparel software. With AIMS360 artificial intelligence, there is no human interaction needed to check stock, process the order, and get that order to a fashion brand’s shipping department. The shipping department will see the order, package per the retailer’ rules and instructions and send the product to the consumer. Using EDI Dropship, the order appears like it was delivered by the retailer instead of the vendor. Finally, a confirmation is sent to the department store to deliver to the e-commerce customer with their tracking number.

Fashion EDI Challenges 
Some challenges are expected with the new way EDI dropship operates. Before with bulk EDI, a fashion brand would receive larger orders from fashion retailers, and it would be up to these apparel retailers to sell and distribute the inventory. But now it’s up to the vendors (your fashion brand) to fulfill and deliver the orders to the customers on time. This means fashion brands are not producing or allocating goods in batches and are fulfilling orders one unit at a time. Old ERP systems were not created to process one-unit orders quickly. AIMS360 is the only fashion ERP that streamlines the EDI dropship process efficiently and effectively

EDI Dropship Simplified in AIMS360 Fashion Software 
Many brands are currently doing manual work in an accounting system, ERP, and multiple EDI portals to process EDI orders. AIMS360 fashion software manages all aspects of your fashion business operations including omni-channel orders, customers, inventory, accounts receivable, and production data all in one place! AIMS360 apparel software’s EDI solution simplifies EDI dropship as a selling channel.
Brand awareness for all fashion brands is crucial. This added exposure on major department store’s e-commerce sites can help grow your customer base, thus improving sales.

Want to learn more about how AIMS360 fashion software can help you simplify EDI? Feel free to contact us.

Schedule a demo to learn more about how AIMS360 can help with your childrenswear apparel tracking.

Request a training session on how to better implement these solutions into AIMS360 fashion software.

*Consult with a lawyer with apparel industry expertise as the contents of this website are intended to convey general information only and not to provide legal advice or opinions.

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