TRADEFULL DROPSHIP NETWORK: VENDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN
Transcript of TRADEFULL DROPSHIP NETWORK: VENDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN
TRADEFULL DROPSHIP NETWORK:
VENDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN
Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Vendor On-Boarding .................................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Existing Vendors .................................................................................................................................. 3 1.1.1 Evaluate Vendor Terms ................................................................................................................ 3 1.1.2 Send Vendor Integration Request ................................................................................................ 4
1.2 New Vendors ....................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1 Establish Vendor Terms ............................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Send Vendor Integration Request ................................................................................................ 4
1.3 Tradefull Vendor On-Board ................................................................................................................. 4 1.3.1 Tradefull Intake ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.3.2 Initial Vendor Contact .................................................................................................................. 5 1.3.3 Vendor Registration ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.4 Vendor Training ............................................................................................................................ 6 1.3.5 Vendor Status Updates ................................................................................................................ 7
2 Octo Activation .......................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Vendor Approval ................................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Owned/Consignment Inventory Vendor ............................................................................................. 8 2.3 Dropship Inventory Vendor ................................................................................................................. 8
3 On-Board Products ..................................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Product Selection ................................................................................................................................ 9
3.1.1 Full Catalog Activation ................................................................................................................. 9 3.1.2 Purchase Order ............................................................................................................................ 9
3.2 Proposal Review .................................................................................................................................. 9 3.2.1 Proposal Creation ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.2.2 Buyer Review ............................................................................................................................... 9
3.3 Rejected Products ............................................................................................................................. 10 3.3.1 Data Quality Issues ..................................................................................................................... 10 3.3.2 Permanent Rejection ................................................................................................................. 10
3.4 Publish Products ................................................................................................................................ 10 4 Manage Products ..................................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 Product Details .................................................................................................................................. 11 4.1.1 Product UPC /EAN / or GTIN ...................................................................................................... 11 4.1.2 Product Model Number ............................................................................................................. 11 4.1.3 Product Price .............................................................................................................................. 11 4.1.4 Product Attributes ..................................................................................................................... 11 4.1.5 Product Description ................................................................................................................... 12 4.1.6 Product Features ........................................................................................................................ 12
4.2 Product Images ................................................................................................................................. 12 4.2.1 Stock Images of Product ............................................................................................................ 13 4.1.2 Product Photography in-house .................................................................................................. 13
4.3 Update Products ............................................................................................................................... 13 4.3.1 Update Request ......................................................................................................................... 13 4.3.2 Manually Reviewed Updates ..................................................................................................... 13
4.3.3 Automatically Approved Updates .............................................................................................. 14
5 Manage Inventory .................................................................................................................................... 14 5.1 Owned Inventory .............................................................................................................................. 14
5.1.1 Inbound Inventory ..................................................................................................................... 15 5.1.2 Inventory Updates ..................................................................................................................... 15 5.1.3 Inventory Audit .......................................................................................................................... 15
5.2 Dropship Inventory ........................................................................................................................... 15 5.2.1 Automated Inventory Feeds ...................................................................................................... 15 5.1.2 Manual Inventory Feeds ............................................................................................................ 16
6 Manage Orders ........................................................................................................................................ 16 6.1 Fulfilment .......................................................................................................................................... 16
6.1.1 Order Details .............................................................................................................................. 16 6.1.2 Packing Slip ................................................................................................................................ 17 6.1.2 Process Shipment ....................................................................................................................... 17 6.1.3 Order Invoicing ........................................................................................................................... 18
6.2 Fulfilment Issues ............................................................................................................................... 18 6.2.1 Product Fulfillment Issues .......................................................................................................... 18 6.2.2 Order Cancellation ..................................................................................................................... 18
7 Manage Returns ....................................................................................................................................... 19 7.1 Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) ....................................................................................... 19
7.1.1 Customer Service ....................................................................................................................... 19 7.1.2 Self-Service ................................................................................................................................. 19 7.1.3 Return to Sender ........................................................................................................................ 19
7.2 Return Processing ............................................................................................................................. 20 7.2.1 Returns Center ........................................................................................................................... 20 7.2.2 Direct to Vendor ......................................................................................................................... 20 7.2.3 Return Check-In.......................................................................................................................... 20 7.2.4 Return Resolution ...................................................................................................................... 20 7.2.5 Return Invoicing ......................................................................................................................... 21
8 Vendor Reporting ..................................................................................................................................... 21 8.1 Order Reporting ................................................................................................................................ 21
8.1.1 Sales Reporting .......................................................................................................................... 21 8.1.1 Return Reporting ........................................................................................................................ 21
8.2 Compliance Reporting ....................................................................................................................... 22 8.2.1 Item Content Score (IQS) ........................................................................................................... 22 8.2.2 On-Time Ship Performance ........................................................................................................ 22 8.2.3 Order Defect Rate ...................................................................................................................... 22 8.2.4 Negative Product Experience Score ........................................................................................... 22
Executive Summary The Tradefull Dropship Network (TDN) Vendor Management Plan describes and organizes the many
tasks, parties, and resources that are involved in managing vendor activities. Each section defines the
party or parties that are responsible for a task, which tasks precede or follow, a timeline (if applicable),
and additional information. This document is a supplement to the TDN Work Breakdown Structure,
which visually depicts the primary functions and tasks of the vendor management process, and the
individual workflows, which depict the order and timing of tasks for specific activities (e.x., order
fulfillment).
1 Vendor On-Boarding Owners: Brand (Buyer) and Tradefull (Integration Team)
Order: Precedes all tasks
When a brand/buyer signs on a vendor, they go through the following on-board process. This on-board
process will make the vendor’s products available for their brand and other REV brands without the
need for additional setup.
Vendors can already exist for REV brands - currently providing products to another brand - or they will
be entirely new to the organization. Vendors may also provide owned or consigned inventory, and/or
provide inventory for drop shipping. Each of these arrangements has a specific workflow.
1.1 Existing Vendors Owner: Brand (Buyer)
If the vendor already exists within the REV network, any negotiated terms need to be compared prior to
providing an integration request.
1.1.1 Evaluate Vendor Terms Owner: Brand (Buyer)
The buyer compares the terms they are negotiating with the vendor to the existing terms for that
vendor with other brands and take whichever terms are best for all REV brands.
Terms that should be evaluated are:
• Credit Limit
• Payment Days
• Return Limit
1.1.2 Send Vendor Integration Request Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Fill out a request for the existing vendor to be on-boarded and send it to: [email protected]
1.2 New Vendors Owner: Brand (Buyer)
If the vendor is believed to be new to REV network, an integration request should be sent after terms
have been established.
1.2.1 Establish Vendor Terms Owner: Brand (Buyer)
The buyer should negotiate standard terms with the potential vendor prior to sending an integration
request.
1.2.2 Send Vendor Integration Request Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Fill out a request for a new vendor to be on-boarded and send it to: [email protected] and
include the primary vendor contact on the request so that they are introduced to Tradefull.
1.3 Tradefull Vendor On-Board Owner: Tradefull (Integration Team)
Tradefull’s on-board process is initiated with a request from the brand team, at which point the
integration team completes an initial assessment and then processes the vendor on-boarding. Through
this process Tradefull works with the vendor to determine an integration method, providing relevant
support and system training. This process ends with Tradefull updating the on-board status in Octo to
“Active” and vendor products becoming available for order.
1.3.1 Tradefull Intake Owner: Tradefull (Integration Team) Timeline: 24 hours
Tradefull processes the initial request and cross-references current vendor information to provide an
acknowledgement. In the case of new vendor requests, if the vendor is determined to be entirely new
Tradefull responds to the requestee confirming this status. Otherwise, Tradefull provides any known
information about the vendor and works with the buyer to process the request under the existing
vendor workflow.
For existing vendors, Tradefull pulls down relevant vendor information from Octo to complete much of
the initial setup and registration.
1.3.2 Initial Vendor Contact Owner: Tradefull (Integration Team) Timeline: 1 Week
Tradefull contacts the vendor to schedule a kick-off meeting, gather additional technical information,
and determine which integration method the vendor will follow.
One of the following basic types of integration is selected:
API:
• The vendor receives instructions and credentials to interface with the Tradefull Drop Shipper
API. Included with their credentials, the vendor gains access to the API’s documentation for
assistance in the setup process.
• Vendors integrating with this method exclusively utilize the API connection to provide product
data, manage inventory feeds, and process orders.
EDI:
• The vendor receives instructions to connect to Tradefull’s AS2 Services and send/receive
encrypted data through EDI.
• Vendors integrating with this method utilize EDI transactions to manage inventory feeds and
process orders.
• Vendors integrating with this method manually upload product data to the Tradefull portal.
Manual:
• The vendor receives hands-on training, instructions, and credentials to access the Tradefull
portal.
• Vendors using this method manually upload product data and inventory feeds, using pre-
defined templates, to Tradefull.
• Vendors integrating with this method utilize the Tradefull portal to manage and process orders.
Custom:
• The vendor receives instructions that correspond to how they will send/receive data with
Tradefull along with the appropriate credentials for those transactions.
• The timeline for integration and training for vendors utilizing a custom approach can vary
depending on any additional software/system development that occurs.
1.3.3 Vendor Registration Owner: Tradefull (Integration Team) Timeline: 24 hours
After the initial kick-off call, the integration team creates a vendor account in Tradefull and adds users to
that account for product and order management. Vendors integrating via API/EDI validate connections
to Tradefull services utilizing the provided documentation and direct assistance from the integration
team. All vendor contacts also receive Tradefull account management documentation that provides
information on adding new users and resetting passwords.
Pre-existing Tradefull packing slips are used by default for vendors that utilize manual integrations.
Vendors integrating via other methods are provided with a sample packing slip image to replicate in
their order fulfillment step.
1.3.4 Vendor Training Owner: Tradefull (Integration Team) Timeline: Varies
Vendor training is dependent on which integration method is established during the vendor and
integration team kick-off. All vendors are given access to Tradefull U, a web-based training and help
portal, that has been established to provide step-by-step instructional guides and videos for Tradefull
systems.
API:
Vendors that integrate via API receive necessary training during the kick-off call when they receive their
credentials and API documentation. At this point, vendors are provided with guidance on the required
fields and data to provide for each process: uploading products, managing inventory, and processing
orders. Post kick-off support is provided by Tradefull to ensure that the vendor is able to successfully
connect and send/receive data.
EDI:
Vendors that integrate via EDI receive hands-on training during the kick-off call on how to upload
products with the required data. Additionally, they receive documentation and guidance on the required
fields and data to provide inventory feeds and order processing. Post kick-off support is provided by
Tradefull to ensure that the vendor is able to successfully connect and send/receive data.
Manual:
Vendors that integrate manually receive hands-on training and how-to guides on how to use the
Tradefull portal for each process: uploading products, managing inventory, and processing orders. These
vendors are also provided with several templates for manual product and inventory uploads, in addition
to the interfaces available in Tradefull for managing these processes.
Custom:
Vendors that integrate via Custom methods receive a hybrid of the above support, depending on what
their needs are relative to the integration approach. At a minimum, they are given guidance on each
step in the process and post integration verification that the vendor is able to successfully connect and
send/receive data.
1.3.5 Vendor Status Updates Owner: Tradefull (Integration Team) Timeline: At Each Status Change
Throughout the Tradefull on-board, information is sent to Octo for approvals and status of the vendor is
updated.
On-board status meanings:
Created
• Tradefull sent an indication that the vendor registration has been completed and is awaiting
approval from Octo
• Octo produced a success status
In Process
• Approval has been received from Octo
• Tradefull is awaiting the vendor’s product data – all data for required fields and product images
are provided and must pass Item Quality Score (IQS) threshold
o IQS is further defined in 8.2.1
Active
• The vendor is activated and has uploaded products with available inventory that pass the IQS
threshold
Pending
• The vendor is integrating via a Custom method which will require a longer timeline to complete
2 Octo Activation Owners: Octo and Tradefull Order: Follows Vendor On-Board and precedes Product On-Board
A vendor is activated in Octo once it has passed the approval step and the vendor has successfully
uploaded products and inventory to Tradefull. A vendor’s products only become available for order after
the vendor has been activated.
2.1 Vendor Approval Owner: Octo
Tradefull sends vendor registration data to Octo for validation which Octo accepts, if the data meet
criteria, or rejects, if the vendor fails to create. The vendor state must be set to approved before product
and inventory data can be ingested by Octo.
2.2 Owned/Consignment Inventory Vendor Owner: Octo
Owned/Consignment vendors are those suppliers whose inventory is purchased and managed by REV
brands and Tradefull. A vendor can be designated as an owned/consignment and a dropship vendor in
Octo.
2.3 Dropship Inventory Vendor Owner: Octo
Dropship vendors are those suppliers whose inventory is available on REV brand sites but the vendor
manages inventory and fulfills orders that are trafficked through Tradefull. A vendor can be designated
as an owned/consignment and a dropship vendor in Octo.
3 On-Board Products Owners: Brand (Buyer), Tradefull, and Vendor Order: Follows Product Management and precedes Order Management Occurs continuously for new products
Products are brought on-board in Octo after they have passed through a proposal review process.
Throughout this process, products are reviewed for their content and suitability for REV brands. A
product can be cycled back through the process for correction should it not meet standards or it can be
prevented from being published to Octo if it is unsuitable.
3.1 Product Selection Owner: Brand (Buyer) and Tradefull
Buyers choose to make a vendor’s full catalog of products available or convert a selection of products to
a proposal for review and the approval process. Prior to the product selection process, product listings
pass through the IQS evaluation; those that fail to pass the threshold are routed back to the vendor for
correction – additional product details or product images. Products that pass IQS evaluation can then be
selected through the search and filter features in Octo to create a proposal for a brand.
3.1.1 Full Catalog Activation Owner: Brand (Buyer)
The buyer selects all available products from the vendor in Octo and converts them into a proposal for
review.
3.1.2 Purchase Order Owner: Brand (Buyer)
The buyer utilizes criteria to select specific products in Octo and convert them into a proposal for
review.
3.2 Proposal Review Owner: Brand (Buyer)
A buyer(s) reviews the products and product information in a proposal, publishing products to Octo by
approving the proposal or requiring additional workflow by rejecting products.
3.2.1 Proposal Creation Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Selections made during product selection (task 3.1) are converted into a formal proposal in Octo.
3.2.2 Buyer Review Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Open proposals are reviewed by a buyer(s) under a brand’s guidelines. Buyers can approve a proposal,
publishing the products for purchase or drop shipping, or reject them which leads to a rejected product
workflow.
3.3 Rejected Products Owners: Brand (Buyer) and Vendor
Products rejected during the proposal review process are sent back to the vendor’s update product
workflow or the product is permanently rejected from being published.
3.3.1 Data Quality Issues Owner: Brand (Buyer) and Vendor
Products rejected by a buyer are routed to the manage products (task 4) workflow, for the vendor to
correct any issues raised during the review. These required changes will be for updates to the product
details and/or the product images.
3.3.2 Permanent Rejection Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Products that do not meet the standards for REV brands can be rejected permanently to prevent them
from being included in future proposals. These products are given master id numbers upon creation in
Tradefull so updates to product SKUs, UPCs, and/or model numbers will not reintroduce them in future
proposals or product update reviews.
3.4 Publish Products Owner: Octo
Products that have been approved following buyer review in the proposal process will be published,
making them available for owned/consignment orders and/or drop shipping.
4 Manage Products Owners: Vendor and Tradefull (Partner Services/Product Content)
Order: Follows Octo Activation and Precedes Product On-Board Occurs continuously for new product adds/product updates
Product management tasks describe the actions and data that are typically the responsibility of the
vendor to provide or update. In some cases, Tradefull’s Product Content Team will aid in managing
product data. When product data are updated, an update review is initiated in Octo that must be
reviewed by a brand/buyer and will only be published once an approval is received.
4.1 Product Details Owner: Vendor
Vendors that use API integration push product data through automated product feeds and those that
use EDI or manual integration utilize templates to provide this information through the Tradefull portal.
Vendors are provided a range of required and optional fields to provide for a product and these can be
updated by the vendor at any time.
4.1.1 Product UPC /EAN / or GTIN Owner: Vendor Optional field
This field is a unique product id typically assigned to products from a trade registry.
4.1.2 Product Model Number Owner: Vendor Optional field
Maps to ‘Style’ field in Tradefull. The code given to products by the manufacturer. Typically, 5-6
characters in length and can consist of any variation of letters and numbers depending on the
manufacturer.
4.1.3 Product Price Owner: Vendor Required field
This field indicates the vendor’s retail price of the product.
4.1.4 Product Attributes Owner: Vendor
Vendors are required to provide information for key attributes to meet the minimum standards for a
product to be publishable. Optional attribute fields are also available for the vendor to improve the
merchandising of their products.
Required fields:
Product Title: The heading of a listing, a short description that reflects what the product is Brand: Company or name that the product is attached to; may be the same as the manufacturer
Series: A name that identifies a line of products Category/Sub Category: Pre-defined options that identify the type and classification of a product Product Dimensions (inches): The length, width, and height of the product Weight (ounces): The weight of the product Gender: The size category of a product: Women’s, Men’s, Children’s, or Unisex Size: Unit of measure based on product category that describes size
Optional fields:
Material: Raw material(s) used in manufacturing
Life Style:
Variation:
Variant Size:
Color: Color the manufacturer gives the product, can be a unique name or a generic color
Color Map: Generic color options for the most dominant color on the product – used to narrow searches
Cost: The cost to purchase the product
Manufacturer: The person or company that made the goods being sold
Amazon ASIN: 10-digit alphanumeric Amazon Standard Identification Number - maps products to the
correct listings on Amazon
Item Package Quantity: Number of items that are being sold together (EX: 2PK=2)
4.1.5 Product Description Owner: Vendor Required field
This field communicates the value proposition of the product.
4.1.6 Product Features Owner: Vendor Optional field
There are up to 11 additional product feature fields that vendors can include for products.
4.2 Product Images Owners: Vendor and Tradefull (Partner Services/Product Content)
Images for products are either supplied by the vendor (stock images) or can be provided by Tradefull’s
Product Content team. Images are required to be high quality and are hosted so that they can be
rescaled to needed dimensions without image quality loss.
4.2.1 Stock Images of Product Owner: Vendor
Vendors should supply high quality, e-commerce suitable product images when adding or updating their
product catalog.
4.1.2 Product Photography in-house Owner: Tradefull (Partner Services/Product Content)
Tradefull’s Product Content team maintains an in-house studio that has been designed for taking e-
commerce suitable product photos. Upon request, the Product Content team can pull owned/consigned
inventory or receive samples to produce high quality product images.
4.3 Update Products Owners: Vendor, Brand (Buyer), Octo, and Tradefull
Product updates follow a similar process to the initial product on-board where data are updated through
an API or the Tradefull Portal and listing are evaluated prior to being pushed to Octo. Updates go live
once they have been accepted through the review process or, under certain conditions, are auto-
approved. Overrides will remain in place for updated fields despite approval or rejection.
4.3.1 Update Request Owners: Vendor and Tradefull
An update request is generated when a vendor changes data in the product details fields or submits new
product images. Data sent through API or uploaded manually through the Tradefull portal are collected
by Tradefull and pushed to Octo as a product update request.
4.3.2 Manually Reviewed Updates Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Product updates that require a manual approval in Octo will go to a brand/buyer for review. Fields that
will always trigger a manual review are: cost, product title, and product images. Buyers review updates
in Octo on a case-by-case basis or bulk approve/reject as needed.
4.3.2.1 Update Approval
Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Product update requests that are accepted by the brand/buyer will go live unless an override is in place
for the field(s) that has been updated.
4.3.2.2 Update Rejection
Owner: Brand (Buyer)
Product update requests that are rejected by the brand/buyer will initiate a send-back to the vendor for
correction.
4.3.3 Automatically Approved Updates Owners: Octo and Tradefull
Automatic approvals of product updates can occur under certain conditions. The first is, if data are
changed in optional fields then the update(s) can be approved automatically. A second is, if the vendor
achieves a high trust score then changes to data in specific required fields can be approved
automatically.
5 Manage Inventory Owners: Vendor and Tradefull (Integration Team /Partner Services)
Order: Follows Product Management and Precedes Order Management Occurs continuously for added products
Inventory, and ultimately the quantity of a product available for sale, is managed based on how the
product is purchased from a vendor. Products that REV brands purchase for on-hand inventory or on-
consignment are managed through the Tradefull Fulfillment Network. The requirement for drop shipped
products is that the vendor provide updated, accurate quantities available for sale.
5.1 Owned Inventory Owner: Tradefull (Partner Services/Operations)
Tradefull manages owned/consigned inventory for REV brands through the Tradefull Fulfillment
Network and provides real-time inventory feeds, inventory history, and quality control for these
products.
5.1.1 Inbound Inventory Owner: Tradefull (Partner Services/Operations)
Tradefull’s receiving team manages the product inbound process: receiving and verifying the items on a
purchase order, and putting products into inventory. The receiving team can resolve issues with missing
or incorrect barcodes when they identify these cases or when brought to Tradefull’s attention.
5.1.2 Inventory Updates Owner: Tradefull (Partner Services/Operations)
Updates to on-hand inventory are managed by Tradefull by request. These include actions like:
relabeling product when its SKU changes and moving owned SKUs between brands.
5.1.3 Inventory Audit Owner: Tradefull (Partner Services/Operations)
Tradefull’s operations team conducts on-going inventory audits as part of its normal fulfillment process.
However, specific SKU audits can also be conducted via request through the Partner Services team.
Audit reports are available in the Tradefull portal in real-time.
5.2 Dropship Inventory Owner: Vendor
Vendors are required to regularly update available quantities for sale for drop shipped products. There
are two approaches that vendors can use to provide these data: 1. automated feeds through API or EDI
connections, or 2. manual uploads in the Tradefull portal.
5.2.1 Automated Inventory Feeds Owner: Vendor
Vendors that connect to Tradefull via API or EDI receive protocols and guidance on updating available
inventory during the on-board phase. The exact timing of these updates depends on the vendor’s
inventory management policies however, these feeds are continuously providing updated quantities.
5.1.2 Manual Inventory Feeds Owner: Vendor
Vendors that connect to Tradefull via manual integration receive inventory templates and training on
how to update available inventory in the Tradefull portal. These updates can be completed in bulk to
make the process easier for the vendor. Under this setup, the vendor is responsible for updating
inventory as necessary to keep accurate quantities for their products.
6 Manage Orders Owners: Vendor and Tradefull Order: Follows Product On-Board and Inventory Management
Orders are fulfilled through a vendor’s in-house order management system (OMS) when they use API or
EDI integration and directly through the Tradefull portal when they use manual integration. Order
fulfillment will vary for custom integrations, typically these vendors fulfill orders in their own OMS and
send data back and forth with Tradefull. Steps in the fulfillment process provide detailed information on
order status and helps maintain vendor compliance.
6.1 Fulfilment Owners: Vendor and Tradefull
Tradefull pulls incoming orders from each brand’s site and prepares order data for fulfillment. This
process includes creating an order record, which is converted to a sales order (fulfillment) when being
sent to the party responsible for shipping the order/product(s). Once Tradefull has received
confirmation of shipment, tracking data are uploaded to the brand’s site and the order is marked as
shipped.
6.1.1 Order Details Owner: Vendor
API / EDI
Once a new order is received and processed into the Tradefull Dropship Network, necessary order data
are made available. Vendors that use API integration typically setup a process to check for new orders
and pull information multiple times an hour. For vendors that use EDI integration, Tradefull uploads an
order file onto an FTP server for the vendor to pick up and import into their system.
Order data include:
• Order Id
• Shipping Information
• Ship Method
• Promised Date
• Product(s)
• Quantity
• Price
Manual
Vendors that fulfill orders under manual integration will find all of the order details available in the
Tradefull portal. They can quickly find and select open orders using the various filtering methods in the
manage orders menu and use the order information to pick the correct product and quantities for
shipment.
6.1.2 Packing Slip Owner: Vendor
API / EDI
Samples are provided to the vendor during the on-board phase so that they can replicate the
appropriate packaging slip to include with a shipment.
Manual
In the Tradefull portal, the vendor can print a standard version of the Tradefull packaging slip from an
order detail page to include with a shipment.
6.1.2 Process Shipment Owner: Vendor
API / EDI
Vendors that use API integration directly access the Tradefull Fulfilment Network (TFN) to obtain rates
and utilize smart-routing for the order. TFN selects the best carrier and service, and produces the
shipping label(s) for the vendor to print. This makes the shipment data (ship time, tracking number,
boxes, etc.) immediately available in Tradefull and updates the order status to shipped.
Vendors that use EDI integration receive pre-selected carrier and service information with the order
data that is sent in task 6.1.1. These vendors produce their own shipping labels, using 3rd Party Billing to
obtain TFN rates, and upload shipment data to Tradefull through EDI.
Manual
In an order’s detail page, vendors can print a shipping label for the order – this will access TFN rates and
utilize smart-routing for the shipment. Once the label has been printed, the order status is updated to
shipped and shipment data become available through Tradefull.
6.1.3 Order Invoicing Owner: Tradefull
Order invoices are generated automatically after shipment confirmation has been received by Tradefull,
regardless of the vendor’s integration method. Invoices lines are added to the weekly detail for the
brand site that received the sale.
6.2 Fulfilment Issues Owner: Vendor and Tradefull (Customer Service)
Fulfillment issues occur when a vendor is unable to provide a product, resulting in a partial ship, of an
order. The other issue that can occur is a vendor being unable to fulfill the entire order which results in a
cancellation. Currently vendors must contact Tradefull’s customer service team to partial ship or cancel
an order.
6.2.1 Product Fulfillment Issues Owner: Vendor
Results in a partial ship, due to the vendor being unable to provide all products and/or quantities on the
order. This also occurs if the vendor is unable to fulfill all products belonging to them, but other
products are shipped from owned inventory and other vendors.
6.2.2 Order Cancellation Owner: Vendor
Vendor is unable to provide any of the products on the order and no other products are provided by
another party.
7 Manage Returns Owners: Brand, Vendor, and Tradefull (Customer Service) Order: Follows Order Management
The return management process builds on much of the existing infrastructure of the order and inventory
management processes; invoicing and inventory upload feeds are utilized in tracking accounts and
available inventory for sale.
7.1 Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) Owner: Brand and Tradefull (Customer Service)
Returns are initiated by customers through a number of channels and the return type (refund, exchange,
etc.) and return destination (return center or direct-to-vendor) are typically determined during this
process.
7.1.1 Customer Service Owner: Brand and Tradefull (Customer Service)
RMA requests received through contact with customer service agents. Returns are processed based on
customer request and the agent is responsible for providing the return address information.
7.1.2 Self-Service Owner: Brand
RMA requests received through the self-service application on brand sites. Returns are processed based
on customer request and the portal provides the customer with return instructions.
7.1.3 Return to Sender Owner: Vendor and Tradefull (Customer Service)
RMA’s designated as return to sender are processed as a refund, except in the case were the packages
was clearly opened and/or the product is damaged and cannot be resold. Return to sender can occur
when a package is undeliverable, is never picked up, or is refused by the customer.
7.2 Return Processing Owner: Vendor and Tradefull (Operations)
Workflow and information for returns is dependent on the destination of the product being returned
however, once checked in, TDN handles the invoicing and inventory updates.
7.2.1 Returns Center Owner: Tradefull (Operations)
Represents when product returned directly to Tradefull or processed through a 3rd party return service
and then forwarded to Tradefull’s return center. Products that go to this destination are added back into
owned/consignment inventory.
7.2.2 Direct to Vendor Owner: Vendor
Represents when product is returned to the vendor, typically for drop shipped products under certain
criteria. Products that go to this destination are added back into available drop ship inventory, once the
vendor has checked the product in.
7.2.3 Return Check-In Owner: Vendor and Tradefull (Operations)
Returns received by Tradefull are reviewed, inspected to determine salability, and logged by the returns
team during the check-in process. Once check-in is complete and if the product is salable, it is
automatically added back into inventory and the resolution is processed.
Vendors are responsible for timely completion of intake and review of returns that are directed to them.
After processing a return, the vendor uploads completed return data to Tradefull to initiate the invoicing
process.
7.2.4 Return Resolution Owner: Brand, Tradefull, and Vendor
In the case of a customer-initiated return, the resolution – refund, replacement, or exchange – is
determined by the customer’s request. In the case of return to sender, the resolution automatically
follows the brand’s default return policy.
7.2.5 Return Invoicing Owner: Tradefull
Return invoices are generated automatically after an RMA has been processed. Invoices lines are added
to the weekly detail for the brand site that received the sale.
8 Vendor Reporting Owner: Tradefull Order: Occurs continuously
Tradefull reporting focuses on two main categories of operation, orders reporting and vendor
compliance reporting, and are available through Tradefull for vendors and pushed to Octo for REV.
Order reporting provides analytics on product sales and returns while compliance reporting provides a
scorecard of overall vendor performance.
8.1 Order Reporting Owner: Tradefull
Order reporting provides insights and data related to orders, which includes sales and returns.
8.1.1 Sales Reporting Owner: Tradefull
Sales reporting provides data on daily sales, in units and dollars, by SKU which can be summarized by
several dimensions: time, channel, or product details. Vendors can also pull product velocity reports to
gain insight on which SKUs are their best-selling, which SKUs may need further merchandising, or which
SKUs need to be restocked.
8.1.1 Return Reporting Owner: Tradefull
Return reporting provides data on daily returns received and processed, in units and dollars, by SKU.
These data, plus data captured during the return intake, can also be found at the order-level by
reviewing the order details page for orders that have a return.
Tradefull captures return information from the customer’s RMA request and during the return intake to
provide insights on returns.
8.2 Compliance Reporting Owner: Tradefull
Compliance reporting provides insight on vendor performance and quality. Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) of vendor performance are reported together to form a vendor scorecard.
8.2.1 Item Content Score (IQS) Owner: Tradefull
Item Content Score (IQS) provides a comprehensive grade of a product’s listing data to help ensure that
high-quality product content is provided. The IQS score identifies listings that should be reviewed for
improvement and provides recommendations on listing sections to help improve scores. During new
product on-boards, a minimum IQS threshold must be achieved for the product listing to pass to the
publishing phase.
8.2.2 On-Time Ship Performance Owner: Tradefull
On-Time Ship (OTS%) is measured based on an order’s expected ship date and date of first scan by the
carrier; orders ship “on-time” when the carrier registers their first scan on the prior to or the day of the
expected ship. Carrier first scan signals acknowledgement of package receipt by the carrier and provides
updates to the customer that their package is on-the-way. A continually high OTS% is a sign of vendor
reliability vendor and is crucial in managing shipping cost.
8.2.3 Order Defect Rate Owner: Tradefull
Order Defect Rate (ODR%) is a blended measurement of a vendor’s fulfillment issues across all of their
orders; short shipments plus canceled orders are summarized to calculate ODR%. This KPI helps provide
insight on the accuracy and reliability of a vendor’s inventory management.
8.2.4 Negative Product Experience Score Owner: Tradefull
Negative Product Experience (NPE) measures customer experience based on customer service and
return data; higher scores indicate more negative experiences. This score is comprised of several
measures for a vendor: incorrect product shipments, damaged product, poor descriptions that lead to
customer confusion and incorrect product listings or labeling.