California Apparel News

Produced by NuOrder, a Los Angeles–headquartered wholesale e-commerce platform, the recently released “Future of Wholesale” survey reported that wholesale will continue to be an important market, said Adam Schneider, NuOrder’s chief operations and financial officer.

The survey found that 90 percent of the brand executives interviewed planned to continue to invest in the wholesale side of their businesses. But there needs to be some technological changes, Schneider contended.

“Our survey results show that there is a shift in the industry leading to a more-digital operational model. Brands that are confident in the future have been at the forefront of onboarding tech solutions to automate and streamline processes. Remarkably, brands almost unanimously report having satisfactory relationships with their retailers, which means that the industry is primed to problem-solve, streamline and standardize the whole distribution model,” Schneider wrote.

While a large majority of those surveyed—71 percent—have used B2B tools to conduct wholesale business, those surveyed also gave reasons for why they haven’t embraced business-to-business technology more. The survey found that 37 percent did not have the budget for more B2B technology, and 32 percent said that they did not have an immediate need for it.

Brand executives also discussed what they wanted from B2B technology. They were looking for tools to help forecasting and planning, plus inventory and order management. About 25 percent of the respondents said such tools could help them with forecasting and planning, and 15 percent said digital tools could help them with shipment tracking, order fulfillment and distribution.

The “Future of Wholesale” survey also charted where brands find new retail accounts. About 36 percent of respondents said that they found a majority of their retail clients and did a majority of their business with clients at trade shows. The survey also found that 18 percent of respondents found a majority of business with retailers and wrote orders at showrooms, and 18 percent said that they found and secured a majority of their retail partnerships through email blasts.