Industry leaders discuss capitalising on beauty's unpredictable opportunity with GXO

Beauty is a high growth market, which clearly presents exciting potential for growth and success. Brands and individual products can be sent into the stratosphere by social media but with this sales success, the pressure on supply chains and logistics functions can prove overwhelming.

In addition as demand can spike unexpectedly, the inverse can also be true, making sales forecasting and resource planning a difficult task. The challenge of flexing resources up and down, often across different markets, was at the centre of a discussion among beauty industry leaders at TheIndustry.beauty's first roundtable debate of 2024 yesterday, held in partnership with logistics experts GXO.

Staged in the grand surroundings of The Wolesley City in London, which appropriately used to be home to a House of Fraser department store, the event was attended by big names from the market, including Space NK, The Inkey List, KAO, Lush and Just My Look.

Key challenges raised by the delegates included:

• Staffing logistics functions for peaks and troughs. Availability of well-trained labour at short term notice is challenging, particularly in the post-Brexit era.
• Improving eco-credentials while retaining brand values. All brands want to reduce the impact of their deliveries and packaging but they don't want to sacrifice high standards of service or their brand integrity.
• Moving to a single stock pool. Having a single view on all stock and the ability to fulfil from whichever location the stock is based is the holy grail meaning demand can be met and stock is not wasted.
• Loss prevention. Regrettably organised crime, which has been targeting retail for a number of years, is also attacking warehouses with brands, retailers and their partners looking for ways to increase security while also respecting the working environments of their trusted staff.
• Levelling up on service. How to improve delivery speeds and introduce new services, such as white glove delivery to home for luxury items, while maintaining an appropriate profit margin.

To help with these challenges, GXO has recently introduced a new service, GXO Direct, which enables shared access to its vast array of warehousing and value-added fulfilment services. Brands no longer have to invest in dedicated facilities but can be housed within the GXO network alongside like-minded businesses, enabling them to flex capacity up and down with minimal investment.

Businesses large and small can take advantage of GXO Direct providing access, not just to warehousing, but cutting edge analytics technology, a trained work force, faster delivery services, returns management and omnichannel capabilities, as well as services to minimise environmental impact.

GXO's Tony Mannix

CXO Strategic Adviser Tony Mannix, who is a renowned expert in retail logistics, explained the service to those brands and advised them on their challenges, while the brands and retailers themselves shared their experiences and ideas to help support each other.

To find out more about GXO Direct, please email hiten.bhundia@gxo.com

To learn more about TheIndustry.beauty's events programme, which includes regular round tables and one-day events, click here.