Global luxury brand relies on leading OMS to achieve an enterprise view of inventory and centrally and profitably manage orders

Aptos, a recognised market leader in retail technology solutions, today announced that Mulberry has deployed the company’s Order Management solution. The system – which serves as a centralised commerce hub to help Mulberry profitably manage orders through their lifecycle – has been implemented across the brand’s vast retail estate, which includes stores and its online channel. 

Founded as a family-run business in 1971, Mulberry has grown into the largest designer and manufacturer of luxury leather goods in the UK, with Somerset factories and a design studio in London. Mulberry is a truly global lifestyle brand with bags, accessories, jewellery, eyewear and shoes available in over 120 stores worldwide and the digital flagship at mulberry.com.

As its brand continues to expand internationally – and as customer interactions more often span both the digital and physical realms – Mulberry recognised the need to establish a unified view of inventory whether stock was positioned in stores, distribution centres or elsewhere. Ultimately, achieving this single view of stock best equips Mulberry to meet customer expectations for seamless online/offline experiences, faster delivery and heightened convenience.

"As e-commerce adoption accelerates, driven in large part by the pandemic, it is clear that the future of retail belongs to those brands that can offer a cohesive and differentiated omnichannel strategy,” said George Clark, Technology and Customer Experience Director at Mulberry.

“After a thorough review of the order management market, we selected and implemented Aptos Order Management,” Clark added. “Given the solution’s advanced functionality, including in areas such as enterprise inventory and distributed order management, we knew we could offer customers more flexible, ‘phygital’ fulfilment options while increasing profitability for our business.”

With the solution now deployed across multiple countries in Europe, Asia and North America, Mulberry is able to holistically manage a wide range of fulfilment scenarios including buy online, ship from warehouse; buy online, ship from store; and in-store pickup whether the product is being fulfilled from warehouse or store inventory.

With Aptos Order Management, Mulberry has core capabilities for enterprise inventory visibility, order orchestration and routing, customer service, store fulfilment, and more. The solution also served a critical need when Mulberry’s shops were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a result of our omnichannel approach and use of Aptos’ order management solution, we were able to fulfil online orders with products ‘trapped’ in closed stores during lockdowns,” Clark said. “The ability to sell-through store inventory was a strategic advantage to our business during the pandemic.” 

“Now, as the crisis subsides in many parts of the world, Mulberry is committed to offering customers a fully unified bricks and clicks experience,” Clark added. “This includes interactions with our brand that are both omnichannel and experience rich and fuse the best of the physical and digital worlds. We are excited to move forward on our vision for modern retailing, and with our Aptos partnership.” 

“We are proud to work with Mulberry – an iconic British brand that celebrates creativity and takes great pride in its quality and heritage,” said Aptos CEO Pete Sinisgalli. “With Aptos’ Order Management solution, Mulberry has the tools it needs to offer stellar customer experiences and optimise back-end processes – a powerful combination as it surges ahead on its unified commerce journey.”