Challenge
Our client is a multinational retail corporation with over 11,000 stores in 27 countries. For nearly 20 years, Liquidity Services has partnered with the company’s American division to optimize its reverse supply chain.
In early 2014, the company’s growing Canadian division needed a partner to implement a scalable reverse supply chain program across its 300+ locations. The client desired a sustainable solution that diverted its returned and overstock inventory away from landfills and toward reuse or environmentally-friendly disposal. With a long history of sustainably managing surplus inventory on the largest possible scale for the client’s American division, Liquidity Services was the clear choice for this partnership.
Solution
Liquidity Services worked closely with the client to understand its needs and challenges in the reverse supply chain. Applying best practices learned from 15+ years of serving the world’s most successful retailers, Liquidity Services built a program that maximized recovery, velocity, and sustainability. Liquidity Services partnered with the client to develop parameters that direct which surplus goods should be returned to vendor, disposed of, or sold in the secondary market. These parameters had to account for products and brands that the client or its vendors didn’t want resold.
To deliver the maximum level of partnership, Liquidity Services opened a new fulfillment center just 20 miles from the client’s Canadian headquarters, with additional centers in Calgary and Cornwall planned for 2015. This proximity allows Liquidity Services to efficiently and continuously reconcile and appropriately route client surplus, optimizing throughput. A state-of-the-art data warehouse system ensures seamless fulfillment and lets us provide the client with comprehensive reports on all goods received and sold.
Liquidity Services ensured maximum return for the client’s surplus by establishing a substantial local buyer base. Although Liquidity Services was initially unfamiliar with the Canadian surplus market, its sales team swiftly forged strong relationships with buyers there, creating a robust market for the client’s goods. We also maximize recovery and velocity by continually tweaking the size and composition of lots to optimize their appeal to buyers.
Liquidity Services eliminates waste and responsibly maximizes the use of surplus goods across the client’s program. All surplus not resold or returned to vendor is disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
Results
Liquidity Services developed and implemented a sustainable, streamlined reverse supply chain program for the client, delivering maximum recovery and velocity across a wide range of asset categories. Less than a year into this partnership, Liquidity Services has sold nearly 1.7 million pounds of goods, generating almost $500,000 in recovery. It has sustainably disposed, donated, or returned over 400,000 pounds more.
Since our program is designed to easily scale across all locations as the client continues expanding its Canadian presence, Liquidity Services will be supporting the client’s complex surplus inventory needs for years to com