The Business With The Oktoberfest

This article previously was published in Cross-Border Magazine

Author: Dirk Haschke, VP Sales DACH and eCommerce Operations Descartes Systems (Germany) GmbH

How MOSER Trachten – a traditional giant with 38 branches – ingeniously master their e-commerce business.

MOSER Trachten offers its customers on www.trachten.de more than 15,000 different, high-quality traditional fashion items for men, women and children. Customers benefit from the diverse range of well-known brands such as Wenger, Krüger®, CountryLine or the edelheiss and Lieblingsgwand private labels. As an expert in the field of brick-and-mortar retailing, MOSER Trachten, Bavaria's largest costume designer, ventured into the online world in 2004. After their initial years in e-commerce, Marco Manigk's attitude, as the online shop manager and head of e-commerce, set the basis for the roll-out of the online business. "I was told to bring the business forward - so that is what I did," explains Marco Manigk.

MOSER Trachten currently ships more than 600 orders per week and currently holds five stars in the Trusted Shops ratings. But that was not always the situation: "At MOSER Trachten, we hit our limit with about thirty orders per day. We were not able to process orders properly and this was a huge problem for us that led to a high cancellation rate. We were faced with a clear choice: either we had to invest in a Warehouse Management System and grow, or we would not invest and stagnate," describes Manigk.

Considering the developments in e-commerce, MOSER Trachten decided to invest in the online business. It paid off: the e-business has grown and the traditional fashion mailer has doubled its shipping volume since the introduction of the Warehouse Management System (WMS) solution Descartes pixi*. Sales continue to rise. "We expect over 40% more orders than last year," says Manigk.

The achievements of MOSER Trachten with the Descartes pixi* WMS at a glance:
• 90% of orders are shipped within the first 24 hours.
• Inventories in the shop are always correct – over sales are a thing of the past.
• 100% of the items that have been ordered are being shipped.
• The number of returns has been significantly reduced.
• Customers are always aware of the shipment status of their order. This benefits the customer and the MOSER customer service team.
• Returned goods can be resold promptly due to the fast processing.
• Customer satisfaction has been significantly increased.
• The productivity of every single employee has tripled: in the past, a colleague processed forty packages, now the same employee manages 120 packages a day.

With a WMS, e-commerce and omnichannel vendors can automate internal processes, easily scale in the season, and reduce costs from day one. For this purpose, the most important areas in the shipping process are intelligently controlled and simplified: order import, payment processing, order picking, shipping and returns processing. The system is based on seamless interfaces to existing shop systems and payment providers.

Marco Manigk explains: "We chose for the solution provides by pixi*, as it works for us. We can ship fast, error-free and with little manpower. We are a small team, and generally, only one person will do the daily shipping until the peak phase. During our peaks, like during Oktoberfest or other folk festivals, we have students who support us in the shipping and returns handling departments. The cool thing is that the temporary helpers are able to pick and store independently within two hours. The entire pixi* package fits easily."

pixi* in action:

In a live demo, pixi* interested parties have the opportunity to see the pixi* processes live in action: in the areas of incoming goods, in the warehouse, during picking and packaging, in customer service, purchasing, and controlling, etc. Other online merchants provide valuable tips and insights into the pixi* world. "We watched the system live at a retailer of baby accessories in 2013, and it convinced us there," confirms Marco Manigk. Do you want to see Descartes pixi* live in action? Visit ecommerce.descartes.com