Ralph Lauren Gives Logistics Management A Shot

The retail world is just too big and has too many moving parts for a single company, regardless of size or market share, to handle alone — or so the traditional wisdom in an evolving industry goes.

However, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ralph Lauren, in a long-term attempt to streamline operations across its brand, will be moving on from a contract with XPO Logistics Supply Chain at one of its North Carolina distribution centers. Instead of hiring the responsibilities out to a third party, Ralph Lauren will be taking them on as its own in a larger warehouse it built and will run without outside help.

Ryan Lally, a spokesperson for Ralph Lauren, told WSJ that the decision was made long ago as a means of moving the retailer’s logistics in house piece by piece.

“As part of a long-term strategy, Ralph Lauren entered into a short-term contract with XPO Logistics to assist in transitioning the operations of a formerly licensed brand while completing a new larger facility,” Lally said. “Ralph Lauren continues to engage 3PL operators in specific markets that have local market expertise, knowledge of employment laws and the ability to increase scale in market.”

Kevin O’Marah, head of research at SCM World, told WSJ that what Ralph Lauren is doing isn’t uncommon across the industry. As consumers’ expectations for delivery continue to climb, more cooks in the kitchen of order fulfillment means that there are more opportunities for valuable data to fall through the cracks. With a third-party logistics partner, Ralph Lauren is stuck between a rock and a hard place when angry customers complain to them about mistakes they didn’t make.

Now that it’s starting to manage its own warehousing operations, though, Ralph Lauren and its customers will only have the brand to blame.