In this exclusive documentary series, Maxim Sion, fashion entrepreneur and Business Development Manager at Bleckmann, shares his experience of building a brand from the ground up – providing valuable insights on the practicalities of making your vision a reality. In this episode, he reveals how partnering with a professional logistics provider transformed Black and Gold’s operations, securing a platform for continued growth.
As a result of Black and Gold’s success, the small team was struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of B2B and D2C orders coming in. This led Maxim to investigate working with a third-party logistics (3PL) partner. However, he was unsure whether a brand of their size would be able to work with an enterprise-level provider – until an online search led him to Bleckmann. The next stage of Black and Gold’s growth journey had begun.
Press play on episode 6 to learn how working with a 3PL helped unlock Black and Gold’s next expansion phase with enterprise-grade logistics and warehousing services.
The power of partnerships to streamline fashion logistics
Bleckmann turned out to be the ideal fit for Black and Gold, providing the fashion expertise and scalable capacity to reach the brand’s growth ambitions. During a visit to one of Bleckmann’s warehouses, Maxim was impressed by the size and scope of the operations. “You come into a big warehouse and you see a lot of automation,” he says. “You see a lot of big brand names and how they’re working, and you compare that to our own warehouse at that time, where everything was manual.” The visit convinced him that working with Bleckmann was the right move, and Black and Gold started its onboarding.
However, moving to a third-party logistics setup required key operational adjustments. For example, the team had to align its barcoding system and SKU classification with the requirements of a large-scale logistics set-up and transition to a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. They also had to reposition all the hang tags from inside the garments to the outside for ease of scanning, and carry out a full manual stock count to ensure accurate inventory management – which was no easy task given that they had over 10,000 items. Once onboarded, though, the brand could start reaping the benefits.
The outsourcing advantage: Going further together
Many fashion founders who are used to managing logistics in-house are surprised by just how much time they save by outsourcing, and Maxim was no exception. “We had a lot more focus back on our core activities, so more on design, more on sales, so that was very productive,” remembers Maxim. “Our new ERP system was connected to Bleckmann’s warehouse management system, so we were constantly synced with each other – everything was automated.” With Bleckmann managing the entire end-to-end fulfilment process – including returns – the team could refocus on building the brand.
This was particularly important during peak periods such as Black Friday, which fell just two months after onboarding was completed. Instead of spending their evenings in the warehouse picking and packing orders, the entire team could concentrate on the activities that actually drive business growth during this critical sales window: marketing, reporting, and managing customer relationships. The resulting boost in customer experience proved how beneficial such fashion logistics partnerships can be for brands. However, a true partner will support you through times both good and challenging…
Press play on episode 6 to learn how outsourcing fashion logistics enabled new growth opportunities for Black and Gold. And, if you want to find out more about taking your brand to the next level, get in contact for a free consultation with a Bleckmann expert!
