The Assemblist Letter 45 - Brand Assembly's Managed Services
BRAND ASSEMBLY LAUNCHED WITH “MANAGED SERVICES”BECAUSE BOTH ALEX AND MYSELF SAW A NEED IN THE INDUSTRY TO HELP EMERGING DESIGNERS WITH THE BACKEND OF THEIR BUSINESS.
So many designers don’t have copious amounts of funding and are struggling to manage the design and creative side of their business and also needing to tackle the administrative and operational side.
There are two parts to Managed Services:
Order Management – This component takes over the moment a designer received an order and then sees the process through to getting the goods to the final consumer.
Accounting – We take over the complete financial books from the designer. Keeping track and paying invoices as well as receiving payments from the stores. We also assist in budgeting and cash flows.
Unfortunately this important part of the business falls by the wayside and that is when designers get into trouble. By helping them build a solid business infrastructure we hope they can build a successful business. I guess the biggest piece of advice we could give to designers is to understand your volume and to plan ahead. Thankfully fashion works a couple months in advance. So after going through market, evaluate any new stores and understand their logistics requirements. Do not wait until a week before you have to ship!!
Even though I was in sales most of my career I was always a logistics and planning nerd. It’s rewarding to see that we have helped a designer free up their time to focus on their brand or to build a financial plan that gets the designer an investment. Planning out in advance is the most important key to success!
- HILLARY FRANCE, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF BRAND ASSEMBLY
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