how uncommongoods leverages artisan vendors to expand and enhance its assortment
TRANSCRIPT
How UncommonGoodsLeverages Artisan Vendors to Expand and Enhance Its AssortmentSETH WALTERUNCOMMONGOODS
1. A brief history of UncommonGoods and me
2. Why artisan vendors?
3. What are some of the benefits?
4. What are some of the challenges?
5. Some case studies of how SPI Buyer helps UG overcome challenges
6. Further steps to strengthen vendor partnership
PRESENTATION CONTENTS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF UNCOMMONGOODS (& ME)
A Brief History of UncommonGoods
• Founded in 1999 by Dave Bolotsky
• Inspired by craft fairs• Marketplace to connect
makers with admirers of truly special goods
A Brief History of UncommonGoods
• Commitment to Sustainability• Founding B Corporation• Better to Give Program
My Path to UncommonGoods• Williams-Sonoma and
Pottery Barn• dELiA*s• Flying…duo• Joined
UncommonGoods in early 2014
BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH ARTISAN VENDORS
How UG Benefits From Working With Artisan Vendors• Reinforces our brand identity
How UG Benefits From Working With Artisan Vendors• Reinforces our brand identity• Enables us to stay on-mission
How Other Companies Can Benefit From Working With Artisan Vendors• Greater access to unique product
How Other Companies Can Benefit From Working With Artisan Vendors• Greater access to unique product• Potential to be first to market
How Other Companies Can Benefit From Working With Artisan Vendors• Greater access to unique product• Potential to be first to market• Surprisingly short lead times
How Other Companies Can Benefit From Working With Artisan Vendors• Greater access to unique product• Potential to be first to market• Surprisingly short lead times• Storytelling opportunity
CHALLENGES OF WORKING WITH ARTISAN VENDORS
Challenges of Working With Artisan Vendors• Artists can be …
temperamental
Challenges of Working With Artisan Vendors• Artists can be …
temperamental• Unexpected events can easily
affect their productivity
Challenges of Working With Artisan Vendors• Artists can be …
temperamental• Their life events can affect
their productivity• They’re not always willing or
able to comply with basic business practices
CASE STUDIES
Case Studies
• Improved general efficiency from using SPI Buyer leaves more time for Planners to provide “personal touch” to artisan vendors.
Case Studies• We developed a vendor extranet to streamline communication
and get everyone on the same page.
Case Studies
• Planner Louise Geller sent an Excel spreadsheet modeled on Master Scheduling to a vendor so they could plan their production around avoiding stock-outs
Case Studies
• Planners Kat Guerrero and Devin Richardson feel more confident placing large “blanket purchase orders” for high-volume slow-production vendors because Master Scheduling helps them keep the vendor on track
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13Week Beginning 08/22/16 08/29/16 09/05/16 09/12/16 09/19/16 09/26/16 10/03/16 10/10/16 10/17/16 10/24/16 10/31/16 11/07/16 11/14/16+ Beg QOH (+) 394 363 320 277 4,215 4,164 4,116 4,072 4,023 3,882 3,640 3,326 6,821 + Receipts (+) 4,000 4,000
Case Studies
• Planner Rachel Goldstein used a special demand curve to more accurately predict late sales for a giftable item, capturing an extra 200 units of demand in-season
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
10/19/2015 11/19/2015 12/19/2015
Actual
Special Curve
Main Curve
FURTHER STEPS
Further Steps• Rachel sends an annual vendor survey which helps us determine
how we’re doing overall with our vendor relationships and how we can improve
Further Steps – 2017 Projects• Simplify our product safety/compliance process• Further refine our vendor online experience• Better equip small vendors to succeed operationally• Develop soft skills related to vendor relationship management
among vendor-facing team members
QUESTIONS?
