Companies that specialize in womenswear manufacturing are now looking for ways to sell directly to consumers. One way for manufacturers to sell to consumers is by creating relationships with top retail stores and selling through their websites. There are several top retailers that are popular in this industry, and one of these is Stein Mart. Stein Mart is a chain of stores and online sellers based in Jacksonville, Florida, that has been around since1908. Since they started selling online, the company began partnering with vendors for dropship-style relationships. In vendor partnerships, customer purchase items on the Stein Mart website, and the vendor is then responsible for fulfilling the order.
How To Sell Your Products On Stein Mart
If you are among those interested in selling your products on Stein Mart, you are probably wondering how to get started with the process.
Make Contact With A Buyer
The very first step in this process is to get noticed and approved by a Stein Mart buyer; the best way to do this is with determination. There are a few ways you can attempt to get in contact with the Stein Mart buying team.
Try contacting the company headquarters and asking for the buying department. While you may not be able to speak with a buyer on the phone right away, you may at least be able to get their contact information. Once you have a buyer’s email address, put together a well-thought-out email, including important information about your company, production capabilities, and a catalog of the products you offer. Another option for getting in contact with a Stein Mart buyer is LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to find and contact the professionals you need to make a connection with. You may also want to try reaching them the old fashion way, by mail. Send a catalog of your products along with a letter detailing your company information to their headquarters address or see if their customer service can provide you with the best address to send it to.
Once you have made contact with someone at the Stein Mart buying department, they will want to know more about your company, including information on your production, warehousing, inventory management, and connection capabilities. You may be required to send product samples so they can ascertain the quality of your products. If the buyer decides you are a good fit for the company, you will then move on to the onboarding phase.
EDI Connection For Stein Mart
Part of the process of creating a connection with Stein Mart is establishing an EDI Connection. An EDI connection is used to transfer essential documents from one party to the other; in this case, you need to be able to send the following documents:
- Invoices
- Purchase Orders
- Advanced Shipping Notice
- Purchase Order Changes
- Functional Acknowledgment
For the EDI connection, Stein Mart allows vendors to use either their own in-house EDI system or a 3rd party EDI provider. Stein Mart even offers discounted rates with select EDI providers. Stein Mart has particular requirements in place for things like purchase orders and invoices.
Item Catalog
Vendors must use OpenText to provide their UPC catalog to Stein Mart. Vendors must follow specific requirements when setting up their catalog. The exact details on these requirements will be provided by the buyer and should be noted in the Vendor Manual you are provided.
Images
Stein Mart also has strict rules in place for the images you provide for your products. They have rules in place for the product images in an effort to keep a clean and standard look on their website for their online shoppers.
- White image background
- 2400×2400-4800×4800 image size and ratio
- RGB Color Mode
- JPG
- 300 PPI
- Products should be centered in the image
The image requirements don’t stop at the visuals; Stein Mart also has a specific way they require vendors to name their product image files. The structure for naming image files is provided to the vendors, but you should expect it to include the GDTI Identification Key
Order Processing
After you have completed the EDI and catalog requirements, it will take a bit of time for the Stein Mart team to get your products live on their website. Once your products are finally live on their site, you will begin to receive orders.
Orders are to be packed and shipped in a timely manner, so having an accurate inventory system in place is crucial. After orders are shipped, you will be required to upload shipping information for each order; the required information includes the tracking number, shipping carrier, and date of shipment. The final step before closing out an order with Stein Mart is the invoicing step. Stein Mart needs an invoice to know what to pay you for; an invoice is required for each order. These invoices are not your traditional paper invoices, but instead, they are done through an EDI connection or with a spreadsheet that is uploaded into their backend system.
Sales Support
After all of the effort that goes into getting your products up for sale on SteinMart.com, you will want to increase your sales. At Right On Tech, we have the solutions necessary to help you stay ahead of your competition on this and other marketplaces. Contact Us for more information and to get started making the most of your sales.
