How DSC Helped Sara Lee Branded Apparel Meet Peak Seasonal Demand

To meet the demands of selling seasonal sportswear (sweats and shorts) to mass merchants, Sara Lee Branded Apparel (SLBA) decided it made sense to outsource. They wanted to focus on their core weekly replenishment, and not on ramping up temporary capacity to meet seasonal demands.

Plus, SLBA knew they could rely on the ability of logistics partner, DSC Logistics, to provide the extensive planning and coordination required to flex labor and space.

The tight three-month shipping season’s demands required advance production. SLBA made and held inventory for fall shipments in late August through November. Spring shipments started in January and extended through April. Both seasons kicked off with an initial store set scheduled to arrive floor-ready, simultaneously at 3500-plus stores with a non-negotiable in-store date.

DSC managed the inventory, assembled the floor-ready store sets and shipped to meet the merchant required arrive-by date. DSC’s operation provided counter seasonal balance that allowed SLBA to pay only for space and labor used.