Reflaunt Teams with DHL to Power Resale Logistics
Online fashion resale platform Reflaunt has tapped DHL Supply Chain as its logistics provider as it looks to scale its re-commerce capabilities.
The fashion technology company and the global logistics firm this week announced their strategic partnership, which follows a successful one-year pilot between DHL and Reflaunt in the Poland market. The collaboration will allow Reflaunt to deepen its operational efficiency and grow its business by unlocking new capabilities for scalability and cost management, the groups said.
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Going forward, DHL will manage Reflaunt’s logistics processes, including the acquisition and digitization of inventory from consumers’ closets. The logistics provider will handle the items Reflaunt receives, inspect, grade and photograph them, and digitally enter their specs onto Reflaunt’s platform. It will take on functions like inventory management, storage and pick-and-pack, as well as outbound distribution.
DHL will support both channels of Reflaunt’s business—the concierge service, which was developed for luxury labels and retailers, and the takeback service, which was created for all fashion brands. The program is already in motion with brands and retailers like Net-a-Porter, Harvey Nichols, Balenciaga and Altuzarra, with both concierge and takeback services embedded into a European DHL warehouse operation. Reflaunt also integrates with systems for resale marketplaces like Poshmark, Vestiaire Collective and eBay, along with luxury retail like Yoox and Saks Off Fifth.
“For years, first and second hands have been in separate corners,” Reflaunt CEO Stephanie Crespin said. “You buy an item from a brand, then sell it in a completely different experience”—a “headache” for both users and brands.
“Reflaunt’s been shaking things up, by tearing down the walls between first- and secondhand, and e-commerce and re-commerce,” she added. “Our cooperation with DHL opens the door to a seamless circular supply chain.”
Looking to the future that a partnership with DHL could support, Crespin said, “Imagine one place handling firsthand fulfilment, returns, resale management, and other end of life solutions such as recycling.” In the near term, company aims to up item sell-through and provide more seamless returns.
DHL Supply Chain vice president of supply chain and EMEA e-commerce and retail business development Massimo Degiorgi said the company aims to lead the charge in developing sustainable logistics practices.
“We’ve been helping clients streamline their e-commerce operational game for years, tackling growing issues like returns, especially in the ever-demanding fashion industry,” he explained. “Our expertise in logistics and returns solutions, coupled with our logistics footprint, harmonizes with Reflaunt’s technology, positioning this collaboration as a scalable resale option within the market and for our existing customers.”
Sustainability is a top agenda item for most of the firm’s clients and their consumers, DHL Express U.S. CEO Greg Hewitt told Sourcing Journal earlier this year. “We found that decarbonization and alternative energy solutions are some of the top trends that will have the biggest impact in transforming logistics” in 2024, he said.
As such, the global logistics firm is investing heavily in electrified vehicles to support the growth of e-commerce, as well as sustainable aviation fuels, updated, fuel-efficient planes and even electric planes.
