Tackling excess inventory: “Small companies can do this now”

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By Marcy Medina | for The SKUpe

Stephanie Benedetto, founder and CEO of deadstock textile marketplace Queen of Raw, has evolved that company into Aloqia, a plug-and-play platform that turns excess inventory into opportunity by enabling fashion, CPG, technology and F&B companies to resell, reuse or recycle their surplus, or source goods from other companies.

“I always said fashion was just the beginning,” says Benedetto, whose family has been in the textile business for three generations. She and Aloqia CTO/COO Phil Derasmo share how the company works and how SMB retailers can start to take control of their supply chains. –Marcy Medina

Can you describe how Aloqia works?

Derasmo: We leverage technology to give companies complete visibility into their excess inventory so they can take action, whether they choose to reuse, resell or recycle it. We act as their team on the ground, connecting them with a network to repurpose it and seeing it through with complete accounting so they know what they did with their inventory and where it went.

Why is this important for retailers?

Benedetto: As businesses go through challenging times you need to find places to free up more capital, improve margins, make more revenue and make more out of less. In the present environment, knowing where in the world your inventory sits and what to do with it can massively affect your supply chain. You could avoid tariffs and navigate regulatory risks while maintaining speed to market. We’re not just saving your excess inventory, but also the costs that go into it: people [and] warehouse management. For some companies, it’s up to 15% of their bottom line.

What can retailers do to protect themselves in an unstable economy?

Benedetto: First, know that what you don’t see may be costing you. If you’re looking to save and make money, getting visibility is very important for businesses of any size. Making and buying things close to home is one way to protect yourself, but the availability of skills and resources may be challenging. Try to diversify your portfolio if you are heavily weighted in one part of the world. And leverage the technology that’s out there. You don’t need to build everything from scratch.

What’s one trend you’re excited about?

Benedetto: This movement toward more on-demand, smaller batch production is very powerful, especially for smaller companies. I get excited when I see more companies moving in that direction. It’s a competitive advantage for sure. They don’t need to buy things two years out and 10,000 units at a time.

Above: Phil Derasmo and Stephanie Benedetto. (Courtesy) 

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The SKUpe is curated and written  by Marcy Medina and edited by Bianca Prieto