9 Challenges Your Beauty Supply Chain Could Face | Flowspace

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Common Challenges of the Beauty Supply Chain

The US cosmetics industry is massive – estimated to amount to about $49 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 – but has been impacted dramatically by recent supply chain challenges. Many products are out of stock or cost more money than they did before the pandemic, and consumers are starting to notice in ways they didn’t before. The cosmetics supply chain issues don’t stem from just one thing—factory closures, employment, importing, ingredient sourcing—but all of the things at the same time. The beauty industry is extremely competitive and comes with its own unique logistics challenges. That’s why it’s so important that beauty brands take advantage of technology to efficiently track and manage inventory to make learning how to overcome supply chain disruptions that much simpler.

1. Temperature Control Compliance

Cosmetics often have very specific and intentional formulations, and many of the ingredients can be sensitive to temperature fluctuations. This requires that all methods of transportation—road, air, sea, and railway—follow strict temperature control. Not having temperature control can mean raw materials or finished products lose some of their properties. One way of ensuring temperature control is through detailed data on when shipments are being transported. Flowspace’s omnichannel order fulfillment solutions allow brands to track inbound and outbound shipments, provide real-time insights and recommendations, optimize their fulfillment network, and access customer insights.

2. Traceability and Shipment Conditions

Traceability provides transparency throughout the entire beauty supply chain—from sourcing raw materials to delivering the products to a customer’s door. A third-party logistics provider can help brands access item-level details at every step of the supply chain. Being able to track shipment conditions down to the finest detail is becoming just as important as tracking products in the supply chain. This allows brands to track individual batches of products and determine at which stage of the supply chain something went wrong. Brands can then take action to address any problems in the supply chain and prevent future issues. Some brands might even go as far as monitoring specific conditions along the shipping journey, including moisture, humidity, temperature, light exposure, bumps, or shocks.

3. Unconnected Communications

Whether a brand is selling direct to consumers, into retail stores, or both, fast and accurate communication and product information is critical. To remove human error, many retailers require the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). EDI ensures standardized, specifically-formatted communication regarding product information for retail fulfillment. Flowspace offers EDI connectivity within its fulfillment platform, ensuring businesses are able to share accurate data instantly. EDI integration also helps businesses get more done faster by speeding up logistics timelines and eliminating manual errors through B2B communication automation.

4. Demand Driven by Trends

Social media and influencers play a huge role in beauty and personal care products trends, so if a celebrity is seen wearing a specific nail polish, that product can start flying off the shelves. On the other hand, if an influencer shares a less-than-positive review of a new lipstick, that product can stop selling. What’s hot today might be old news tomorrow, making forecasting and real-time visibility crucial for beauty supply chain efficiency. Using a third-party solution to help track and forecast inventory can help brands weather the ups and downs of the fickle cosmetics industry. Flowspace’s fulfillment technology gives brands real-time insights so they can discover and get ahead of any trends and demand changes coming their way.

5. Need for Quality Packaging

How the product looks when it lands at a customer’s address is also incredibly important, especially for luxury brands. Ensuring the packaging extends and upholds the brand experience is critical. More consumers are interested in sustainable products, which extends to sustainable packaging. More than two-thirds of consumers consider it essential that the products they buy are in recyclable or eco-friendly packaging, actively considering sustainability when buying from brands. Flowspace partners with no issue for sustainable packaging and shipping materials.

6. Addressing Consumer’s Desire for Sustainability

It’s not just in packaging that consumers are looking for green practices but throughout the entire beauty supply chain—from using cleaner raw materials in products to transportation methods. Flowspace’s Network Optimization model reduces transit times and emissions created by long-distance shipments by identifying optimal fulfillment centers closer to consumers. Flowspace’s Network Optimization was even named Sustainability Service of the Year in the 2021 Sustainability Awards program.

7. Dealing with Product Outages

The current supply chain crisis has made it harder for beauty brands to keep items in stock. Many cosmetics brands started ordering more products further in advance to deal with the supply chain crisis. However, accurate and efficient inventory tracking is crucial to avoid over-ordering and dealing with slow-moving or obsolete inventory. Flowspace’s solutions ensure brands get real-time recommendations on inventory levels and insights on customer activity to accurately forecast and order ahead.

8. Tracking All the SKUs

In the beauty world, consumers expect a wide variety of shades and fragrances, leading brands to carry a large number of unique products with individual SKUs. Real-time insights and inventory tracking help ensure that products and their variations have enough stock. Flowspace offers industry-leading ecommerce software to ensure effective inventory tracking and provides real-time visibility into orders and inventory.

9. Challenges Procuring Raw Materials

Many brands are facing difficulties in procuring their usual raw materials due to the global supply chain crisis. Brands may need to reformulate products and source trusted suppliers for raw materials to address shortages. Flowspace’s Inventory Planning & Forecasting Software provides brands with real-time recommendations on inventory levels and insights on customer activity, allowing accurate forecasts.