4 benefits of digital wholesale for fashion brands

The DTC fashion market is expected to grow by an additional 20% by 2029. But relying solely on a single-channel approach to ecommerce isn’t a guaranteed path to success. Because of this, more and more brands are strategically diversifying their business models to include digital wholesale.

Business of Fashion states “In today’s market, brands need DTC and wholesale to thrive.” That being said, limitations in B2B fashion wholesale technology have posed a unique set of obstacles for fashion brands.

In this blog, we explore the most common challenges in B2B fashion wholesale technology, as well as 4 key benefits brands can gain by taking a 360° approach to digital fashion wholesale—from digital showrooms to centralized order management.

Let’s get straight to it.

Common challenges in traditional B2B wholesale

In the traditional fashion wholesale model, processes have largely been manual. Brands and buyers rely on printed linesheets, email communication, in-person meetings, and showroom visits to get business done.

These time-consuming methods can discourage brands from expanding into wholesale or prevent them from fully capitalizing on the opportunity.

Granted, most legacy B2B wholesale software allows buyers to place orders online using tablets in physical showrooms. However, this approach merely digitizes linesheets without truly modernizing the wholesale experience. To fully unlock the potential of digital wholesale, brands need to leverage technology that supports the intricacies of fashion, enabling them to operate digital fashion wholesale end-to-end.

4 Key Benefits of Digital Wholesale for Fashion Brands

1. Buyers can self-serve with Digital Showroom

Digital fashion wholesale enables buyers to have a seamless online journey, from browsing a digital showroom, to placing orders, as well as access to order status updates, shipment information, and invoices. Sales reps allocate much of their time to organizing and travelling to meetings with buyers. With the right technology in place, digital wholesale can boost efficiency for brands so that buyers can self-serve, and sales reps can focus more on strategy and less on admin. This level of accessibility and convenience is a driver for buyers to order more from brands that make the process easy for them.

2. Reduced production risk through effective wholesale ecommerce

Pre orders help brands ensure that units will sell even before production takes place with manufacturers. DTC alone can’t give brands this predictability for sales forecasting. With digital fashion wholesale, brands can also practice optimized inventory planning to determine what their never-out-of-stock and carry-over pieces should be, and tap into order data to forecast wholesale volumes from buyers for upcoming collections.

3. Centralized wholesale order management and data analytics

Having wholesale information in one centralized location means that data is accurate and updated in real-time, giving brands a full 360° view of wholesale operations. Sales and order data can be analyzed to see what items are trending, as well as keep track of inventory and improve wholesale order management. Data also helps brands to campaign for the products that are more likely to be produced with buyers, reducing cancellations and the need for re-conversions after pre orders are placed.

The ability to predict demand in digital fashion wholesale also helps fashion brands become more sustainable by enabling lean inventory management. This reduces the risk of accumulating surplus stock that might otherwise go to waste.

4. Optimized stock management and fulfilment strategies

Being digitally connected to wholesalers enables buyers to restock best selling products quickly and efficiently. Stores can be turned into mini-warehouses, supporting their own existing omnichannel strategy. Other fulfilment models such as dropshipping and consignment can also be explored when brands have a direct relationship with wholesalers.

How Paul Smith elevated the buyer experience with digital wholesale

Before replatforming to Centra, Hannah Bennett, Head of Digital at Paul Smith, faced challenges in operating the brand’s wholesale channel, due to technology limitations. As she explains—

“B2B used to be the forgotten sister for our development teams. It never got the attention for new features, it just ticked over. What’s great is that Centra can look after wholesale features with their digital showroom and we can focus on the forward-facing piece from a development side.”

Paul Smith’s global wholesale partners can now access Centra’s inbuilt digital wholesale showroom, which modernizes the buying process through a like-for-like DTC consumer shopping experience, including individual pricing, global tax calculations and shipping management. Manual processes have been eliminated, and buyers can access self-serve imagery, real-time inventory updates, and tailored offers, improving efficiency and user experience while improving communication and reducing missed sales opportunities.

By leveraging fashion-centric wholesale ecommerce technology, brands not only reap the many benefits of wholesale as a bonafide sales channel but can also blend DTC and wholesale strategies to maximize the potential of both channels. At Centra, we call it ‘the halo effect’.

Key Takeaways

Legacy B2B fashion wholesale technology is outdated. For fashion brands to unlock the potential of wholesale ecommerce as a sales channel, they need a solution that supports the entire buyer journey—not just the ordering process.

The benefits of digital wholesale for fashion brands are far-reaching. From improved forecasting of production volumes to a 360° view of sales and order data. Brands that combine wholesale and DTC strategies also often experience ‘the halo effect’, boosting profitability across both channels.

Paul Smith transformed the wholesale buyer experience with Centra,  eliminating manual tasks and offering buyers self-serve browse and buy through Digital Showroom, real-time inventory access, personalized pricing, and seamless wholesale order management.

Want to find out more about taking wholesale digital with Centra? Get a demo.