Operations & fulfilment · 24 articles
Operations and Fulfilment
A wholesale order is not a big DTC order. It ships in cases, on a purchase order, with an invoice on terms, sometimes through EDI, and the retailer expects it to arrive exactly as specified. The operations behind that are the part most DTC brands have not built yet.
These guides cover the practical layer, from packaging and barcodes to fulfilment and 3PLs, purchase orders and invoicing, inventory planning and the cash-flow gap that net terms open up.
Guides
Case Pack Packaging: Designing the Box a Shop Opens
The case pack is the unit wholesale actually trades in. Here is how to choose the count, design the inner pack, and size the carton around it.
6 min readHow to Ship Wholesale Orders Without Losing a Day
A repeatable routine for turning a wholesale purchase order into a packed, labelled, invoiced shipment, and the checks that stop short deliveries.
6 min readShipping to Retailers: Freight, Carriers and Who Pays
Stores receive stock differently than customers do. Here is how parcel, freight and delivery terms work for a small brand shipping its first wholesale orders.
7 min readA 3PL for Wholesale Orders: Picking One That Does B2B
Most third-party warehouses are built for single parcels. Here is how a DTC brand finds one that can pick cases, build pallets and meet a routing guide.
6 min readWholesale Bookkeeping: A Monthly Routine That Works
Invoices, credit notes, remittances and an aging list. Here is the bookkeeping routine a DTC brand needs once shops start buying on terms.
6 min readWholesale Fulfillment on Shopify: The Practical Setup
How to run stockist orders through the Shopify admin you already use: locations, draft orders, holds, partial shipments and separate packing slips.
6 min readWholesale Accounting: The Numbers a DTC Brand Needs
Wholesale revenue lands differently to store revenue. Here is how to split the channels, read contribution per case, and see the cash gap before it bites.
7 min readWholesale Fulfillment for a DTC Brand: The Workflow
Picking one order of forty units is not forty DTC orders. Here is the wholesale fulfillment workflow, from order confirmation to proof of delivery.
6 min readWholesale Order Management: From Purchase Order to Paid
A wholesale order lives for weeks, not minutes. Here are the states it moves through, how to quote lead times, and what to do about backorders.
6 min readWholesale Returns: Damages, Shortages and Credits
Wholesale has no thirty-day returns. Here is how to handle damage, shortages and the request to send back unsold stock without losing the account.
6 min readEDI and Shopify: What a Small Brand Actually Needs
A retailer has asked you to trade by EDI and Shopify does not speak it natively. Here is what the documents are, what connecting costs, and when to say yes.
6 min readWholesale Sales Tax and Resale Certificates Explained
Wholesale orders are usually not taxed, but only if you collect the paperwork. Here is what a resale certificate is and how to handle it on every order.
6 min readWholesale Shipping: Parcel, Pallet and Who Pays
Shipping cases to shops is a different job to shipping parcels to customers. Here is how a DTC brand moves its first wholesale orders without losing money.
6 min readWholesale Inventory Management for a DTC Brand
Two channels drawing on one shelf is the real problem. Here is how to allocate stock, forecast wholesale demand and plan production without guessing.
6 min readWholesale Labels: Barcodes, Cartons and Compliance
Shops scan, stockrooms sort and carriers route by label. Here are the four labels a DTC brand needs before its first wholesale order ships.
6 min readWholesale Order Form Template for a DTC Brand
A wholesale order form collects the order your line sheet sold. Here are the fields it needs, where to host it, and how it becomes an invoice.
6 min readWholesale Packaging: What Changes When Shops Buy
DTC packaging is built for an unboxing. Wholesale packaging is built for a shelf and a pallet. Here is what to change before your first stockist order.
6 min readRetail Compliance: What a Store Needs Before It Can Buy
Before a retailer can place an order they need documents, codes and labels from you. Here is the whole list, from an independent shop to a national chain.
7 min readThe Wholesale Order Form: What Goes On It and Why
A wholesale order form turns a buyer saying yes into something you can produce and invoice. Here are the fields it needs and the mistakes that cost money.
7 min readWholesale Invoice Software: What It Has to Handle
Wholesale invoices sit unpaid for thirty days, carry a purchase order number and get credited for damages. Here is what the software behind them has to do.
9 min readPurchase Order Financing for a Small Wholesale Brand
A retailer orders more than you can afford to make. Purchase order financing pays your supplier against that order. Here is how it works and what it costs.
8 min readRetail Packaging: What Changes When a Store Sells It
Packaging built for a courier fails on a shelf. Here is the full stack a wholesale brand needs, what has to be printed on it, and what it costs to change.
8 min readRetail Ready Packaging: Displays That Earn Shelf Space
A case that goes straight onto the shelf saves a shop labour and wins you space. Here is how shelf ready packs and counter displays work, and what they cost.
7 min readWholesale Financing: Covering the Cash Gap as You Grow
Wholesale makes you pay for goods months before you get paid. Here are the ways a small brand funds that gap, what each costs, and which to try first.
8 min read