Onesies and Zeros: Modernizing Fulfillment for the Digital Age
INDUSTRY
RetailSOLUTION
Warehouse Operations & AutomationOFFERING(S)
Warehouse Design & Optimization, WMS Implementation, Organizational Change ManagementTECHNOLOGY
Manhattan Active®Growing up and growing stronger
The largest branded marketer of baby and children’s apparel in North America faced increasing fulfillment complexity across its wholesale, retail, and DTC channels. With over 425 branded retail outlets and explosive ecommerce growth, the company’s legacy WMS solution had become a liability. It was costly to customize, slow to adapt, and not able to meet a growing list of retail compliance requirements.
In 2011, the company made a strategic pivot to insource fulfillment operations, reducing its dependence on LSPs. With the help of Spinnaker SCA, the children's apparel retailer built a 1.2M sq. ft. omnichannel distribution center that ran on Manhattan Warehouse Management and next gen WES & WCS solutions to power another decade of growth and maturity.
Tailored to deliver, every time
Over a decade-long partnership, Spinnaker SCA led a holistic transformation of the retailer's fulfillment operations—designing and activating a high capacity, omnichannel distribution network, modernizing core warehouse technologies, upskilling operators, and enabling responsive, retail-compliant workflows.
The result: A resilient, scalable supply chain that supports sustained growth and enterprise-wide agility to this day.
- 01 Build the flagship
- 02 A tech stack that works
- 03 Operators, not order takers
- 04 From box movers to brand builders
- 05 The journey continues
From greenfield to growth engine
Our team led the design, build, and phased activation of a flagship DC in Stockbridge, GA. The goal was to fulfill orders across all channels using shared inventory. And the location would serve as the control tower of an increasingly global network.
- Enabled ship-to-store, BOPIS, endless aisle, and save-a-sale
- Replaced traditional bulk fulfillment with dynamic, store-specific packout processes
- Enabled 1M+ unit/day throughput capacity across 5 DC network
- FTZ activation for global sourcing and zone-bypassing capabilities
Technology modernization that scales
The retailer's legacy WMS solution was lagging and unsustainable—requiring costly customizations to meet even routine customer demands.
Spinnaker SCA recommended Manhattan Warehouse Management which offered scalable functionality, out-of-the-box retail compliance, and the flexibility to support diverse fulfillment strategies across facilities.
- End-to-end Manhattan WM implementation and upgrades
- WES selection and next gen WCS integration
- Cloud migration from on-premise architecture
- Eliminated customizations through system-native features
- Built SOPs and embedded across all functions
Operator enablement without the revolving door
As the company restructured its operations function and relocated core roles, it experienced high turnover and critical knowledge loss. Spinnaker SCA developed and delivered a scenario-based training curriculum that upskilled operators, institutionalized best practices, and prepared the team for new system functionality.
- Decreased turnover and increased operator autonomy
- Reduction in seasonal/temp labor via skill-building and retention
- Consolidated tasks—e.g., labeling and packing—to reduce touchpoints
- Embedded problem-solving capabilities into daily operator workflows
Responding to value-added retail requirements
Major retail customers increasingly demanded vendor-performed value-added services, from custom labeling to store-specific packing. Spinnaker SCA enabled the retailer to respond rapidly to evolving requirements by configuring Manhattan WM to accommodate diverse workflows with no code changes required.
- Store-specific cartonization and labeling
- Dynamic workflows, including put-to-store, mass channel, and traditional pick-pack
- Real-time inventory management at the piece level
- Top 100 retail compliance tracking and automation
- Reduced audit requirements by 90% with improved accuracy
Enduring enterprise-wide impact
Over a decade-long partnership, Spinnaker SCA served as a transformation catalyst—leading warehouse modernization, organizational change management, and operational scaling efforts that continue to deliver value.
- Strategic ecommerce insourcing created resilience and cost advantage
- SLA improvements and reduced CPU across all fulfillment channels
- Operationalized Manhattan WM across a 5 site network (including two owned DCs in Stockbridge and Hogansville, GA)
- Perpetual inventory capability and real-time visibility
Let's build what's next.
From pick to pack to profit, turn omnichannel fulfillment into your next competitive advantage.