Cottonworld's seamless onboarding on Fynd StoreOS

Cottonworld - India’s Natural Clothing Destination

Cottonworld is an Indian womenswear & menswear brand specializing in modern classics made using top quality natural fabrics like cotton & linen. It all began in the year 1987, when the Lekhraj family, with an established garment export-manufacturing unit, had an idea to use the excess fabric to make quality cotton shirts.

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The shirts were put on sale and sold almost immediately. This was at a time when cotton clothing was not even considered fashionable. This prompted them to open their first store with just a few garments on display. The response was tremendous. And Cottonworld was born.

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Set up in a leafy lane in Colaba, Mumbai, the brand has been getting good footfall from loyalists since its inception. The brand later spread its branches throughout the country, with over 25 stores in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Goa, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, and Gurgaon. 

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Background

Cottonworld recognized the need for an omnichannel solution in the current retail environment. Especially when faced with the challenge of losing sales due to product unavailability at stores. With a focus on preventing this loss, Cottonworld embarked on finding an in-store tech solution that would address this challenge.

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The quest came to an end as Cottonworld chose Fynd as their omnichannel partner based on Fynd's historic establishment in the omnichannel space in India. The success stories other similar brands had created with Fynd strengthened Cottonworld's trust in their capabilities. Fynd's consultative approach further solidified the decision to choose Fynd Store OS as the preferred solution.

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Onboarding Success of Cottonworld

Cottonworld's onboarding process on Fynd Store OS became a noteworthy case study due to its remarkable speed and adherence to timelines. By going live on schedule, Cottonworld avoided the loss of additional revenue and saved time on extended processes. 

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This success story serves as a valuable lesson for other brands, emphasizing the importance of mindful attention to detail, which can expedite the onboarding process and lead to faster cash flow and increased sales at physical stores.

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Many of these are behavioral changes that can be addressed with a top-down approach rather than a bottom-up approach.

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At Fynd Store OS, we have been consistently following a rigorous, systematic, thoughtful, and 100% supportive onboarding process. However, smooth and fast onboarding cannot be ensured without the brand’s support.

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Here are the key 6 steps and how Cottonworld cracked each one of them:

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The 6 Key Steps of Brand Onboarding on Fynd Store OS

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Step 1: Upload and Validate List of Stores

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Standard process

The Account Manager shares the location upload format with the brand team and uploads the store locations along with the GST details on the Fynd Platform. Once the verification is complete, the stores can be added for inventory synchronization and marked as ordering-fulfilling and/or order-placing stores. 

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How Cottonworld aced it  

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Cottonworld initially planned to integrate a few stores, but eventually integrated 21 stores on Fynd Store OS at the beginning stage. This wide range of stores ensured wider adoption during the onboarding process. 

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Common mistake to be avoided

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Integrating only a handful of stores or stores from only one location, leaving behind other geographic clusters Wider distribution of stores across all geographies is the ideal practice, as it enables smoother order hopping (aka store reassignments), hence higher fulfillment, and eventually an enhanced shopping experience for the customers.

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Impact: Integration of 85% of stores on Fynd Store OS within 4-5 days

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Step 2: Catalog Listing & Inventory Integration

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1. Catalog Listing

Standard process

The process starts with training sessions by Fynd’s Catalog Support team. The brand team is trained on uploading the catalog, discounts, and other initial requirements on the Fynd Store OS platform.

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How Cottonworld aced it  

To begin with, Cottonworld already had a website, hence, the catalog for the brand existed. The ecommerce manager was well-versed with the process.

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Another important element is that Cottonworld uploaded the catalog for only their new season's merchandise first, nearly 1,000 products in the first go. 

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Common mistake to be avoided

Uploading a mixed inventory of old and new season merchandise all at once. This leads to a waste of effort and time, hence increased onboarding time. It also leads to higher PNAs (Product Not Available) right from the beginning, discouraging the store staff from adopting the new technology. 

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Old season and slow-selling merchandise are likely to not have inventory at all stores, and inventory of such products is not even replenished by the brand. Hence, the brand should identify fast-selling merchandise and upload only those with the new season catalog for faster onboarding and smooth adoption in the future.

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And with a ready-made catalog in hand, the onboarding time is further reduced.

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2. Inventory Integration

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Standard process

This stage involves POS integration for smooth inventory flow from all stock points on Fynd Store OS. Fynd has active integrations with 50+ POS and ERP partners. For brands with already existing integrations, the Fynd team defines sync timelines and guidelines. If the brand does not have an already integrated POS, Fynd builds an integration with the software used at stores.

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How Cottonworld aced it  

Cottonworld stores operate on Ginesys POS systems, and Fynd’s in-built integration with Ginesys made it a speedy affair. In addition, Fynd has an RTI (Real-Time Integration) team that ensured a smooth inventory sync between the two systems.

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Common mistake to be avoided

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Not having a modern POS system at stores

Fynd can create a sync with any POS technology used at your stores. However, having a modern-day cloud-based POS system helps with faster onboarding as well as smoother, more efficient, and faster inventory syncs. 

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Impact: 100% of the Summer-Spring 2023 catalog uploaded within 2 weeks

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Step 3: Setting up App Domain on Fynd Store OS

Standard process

Once all products and locations are integrated and mapped on the Fynd Store OS app, the Account Manager sets up a domain for the brand. With pre-built themes and third-party integrations for logistics and payment gateways, this step helps create a digital extension of a brand’s offline stores.

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How Cottonworld aced it  

Cottonworld proactively shared their artwork and logos with Fynd, enabling the creation of a customized app domain that reflected their brand identity. This familiarity and personalization helped with user adoption among the store staff and well- integrated offline store experience.

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Common mistake to be avoided

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Taking a backseat in the creation of the look and feel of your domain on the Fynd Store OS app 

Fynd Platform is a DIY, no-code platform where you can easily drag and drop elements without the need for developers. The more you play around with the pre-built themes and customize them to resonate with your brand identity, the better the online extension for your brand.

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The familiar brand elements ease app adoption amongst your store staff, and your end customers perceive it as your own tech. Our Account Managers are always happy to guide you through this process.

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Impact: Creation of a personalized app domain within 2 days

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Step 4: Operations Briefing

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Standard process

A meeting is scheduled with the brand’s Head of Operations and store team. Fynd Store OS shares a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document, which should be circulated to all store teams.

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How Cottonworld aced it  

Cottonworld ensured 100% attendance of all store staff during the operations briefing and monitored the attendees. They shared the SOP document with store teams, promoting engagement and a sense of preparedness.

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Common mistakes to be avoided

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Absence of stores and teams in the operations briefing session and not circulating the SOP document to store teams

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Missing the inauguration session creates a disconnect between the Fynd Store OS and its users the store staff right at the beginning. Lack of access to the SOP documents for the store team leads to inconsistent procedures and increased errors, hampering service quality and operational efficiency.

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This step also introduces the store staff with Fynd’s Customer Success Managers and makes them familiar with their point-of contact at every step of their upcoming journey with Fynd Store OS.

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Impact: Effective operations briefing, creating a strong foundation for smooth operations

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Step 5: Staff Training

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Standard Process

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The Fynd Store OS team organizes training sessions for the end-users—the store staff—as a standard SOP. This training addresses two components—order placement and order fulfillment. The Fynd Store OS team also shares all training materials, documents, and necessary links at this stage and takes up questions from the store staff.

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How Cottonworld aced it  

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Cottonworld had widely circulated the SOP document from the operations briefing session among its staff. The entire Cottonworld staff attended this virtual training and had already downloaded the Fynd Store OS app on their phones and logged in. They tried their hands on the app before interacting with the Fynd team and raised practical questions on different aspects and features of the app like billing, home shopping, discount creation, incentives, and so on. A warm up was also created between the Customer Success Manager and the store teams for all future communication, as the CSM is usually the first point of contact for the store team for Fynd Store OS.

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Common mistake to be avoided

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Not communicating with and engaging 100% of your store staff in the training session and coming unprepared during this session

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The training becomes engaging and productive when the staff has already downloaded the app and tried it personally. This training session is a good start to clearing all their doubts and building confidence in the staff to adopt Fynd Store OS readily, leading to higher sales for the brand.

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Impact: 90% of the stores trained within a week

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Step 6: Kickstart

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Standard process

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This is the final stage before going live, where the brand’s business team meets the Fynd Store OS team. Here, the Fynd team understands the brand’s expectations and discusses sales targets, incentive plans, monthly reviews, escalation matrix, dashboards, and other business details.

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The Customer Success Manager (CSM) from Fynd also arranges for another call with the store team to gauge their post-training understanding. Here, all stakeholders from both teams are present. The store team is trained on the dashboard review. At this stage, the CSM also starts a WhatsApp group and shares details with the brand team. The CSM builds a connection with all store teams from this point forward. 

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How Cottonworld aced it  

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Cottonworld proactively took the initiative to organize physical meetings at its stores in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. A brand rarely steps forward for this, but in doing so, not only large clusters of stores were trained in one go, but it also allowed for face-to-face interactions and addressed practical questions of the store staff. The staff was well-prepared and was ready to place orders on the app.

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Common mistake to be avoided

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Not involving the store staff after the first training

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The Fynd Store OS team is always happy to visit stores and connect with the store team. Organizing physical meetings imparts face-to face interactions with a large batch in one go. And physical meetings also make the sessions engaging and build a sense of excitement among the store staff to use the app. The store staff is also motivated by a briefing on incentives and the  introduction of the leaderboard concept on the WhatsApp group. 

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Impact: 60% of the stores placed orders within the first week

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Final Step: ​​Going Live

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With a final checklist of all mandates, the go-live decision is made collectively by the brand team and Fynd Store OS team. For Cottonworld, all boxes were ticked, and the brand went live on Fynd Store OS on 7th April 2023.

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Impact: Cottonworld onboarding complete in 3 weeks from the brand introduction

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Sustaining the Momentum: Building Initial Success

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An efficient onboarding process for Cottonworld not only accelerated the onboarding pace but also served as the foundation for early success in terms of adoption rate and revenue from Fynd Store OS. 

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The onboarding journey ensured well-trained and informed store staff, leading to an exceptional adoption rate in the very early stages. The impact can be seen in the number of orders placed right after onboarding.

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Conclusion

Cottonworld has set an excellent example for other brands on how they can reduce the onboarding time, which in turn increases opportunities for additional sales for the brand stores, and also reduce the engagement of manpower, time, and other resources in the onboarding process.

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Apart from this, setting the right ground with efficient and interactive onboarding sessions will ensure higher adoption rates by your store staff usually a problem difficult to crack for many brands. We at Fynd Store OS have streamlined processes built to ensure smoother onboarding for all brands.

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Our Account Managers are always on their toes to facilitate the process, support the brand, take up personalized requests, and provide consistent follow ups with the teams.

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One extra nudge from you can catapult your brand extra miles, and Cottonworls has elaborately presented the case. Reach out to our team to revolutionize your in-store experiences and propel your sales through Fynd Store OS. Get onboard, we are waiting!