New York, N.Y (December 20, 2022) — Today, CALA, the world's first fashion operating system, has partnered with SEKO Logistics (SEKO), a leading global logistics provider, to launch a new pricing engine that incorporates the most comprehensive door-to-door total landed cost calculator, factoring in product type, material type, complexity, number of units, time of year, and destination. CALA’s pricing engine considers dozens of factories in 13 countries, and more than 100 shipping lanes across four different shipping modes.
CALA unifies the entire fashion and lifestyle product creation process – from product ideation all the way through production, quality control, freight forwarding, and customer fulfillment – into a single digital platform upon which brands can build. CALA works with hundreds of brands, scaling with companies of all sizes: large established retailers, medium-sized fashion houses, and independent designers.
Brands can make better decisions through the new pricing engine by showcasing all factors that impact a product's margin profile upfront and even allowing users to change the number of product units to see real-time price impact (pictured below). Based on the product specifications submitted, the pricing engine will generate a total cost breakdown of a project for development, production, and logistics, while also accounting for duties and taxes.
For an added layer of forecasting, brands can also see an estimate of how long each stage will take to complete, giving a unique window into the expected project scope before financially committing to a project.
“Margin management, responsiveness, and reliability are critical for managing supply chains right now, so we partnered with SEKO to ensure our customers have the most comprehensive, upfront overview of production and shipping costs possible,” said Andrew Wyatt, CEO of CALA. “Decisions can only be made based on the information available, so prior to the introduction of our pricing engine brands selected their factory based purely on it having the lowest production cost. Our pricing engine’s added layer of analysis reveals that this isn’t always the best decision. For example, a customer might rule out another factory because its production cost is higher. However, overall, that factory may actually be the most cost-effective if it’s closer to the shipment’s final destination and devoid of excessive duty and shipping costs. Costs can also look completely different by doubling or tripling units. Crunching the numbers on all of these variables previously took weeks. Now, in just seconds, CALA reveals the full supply chain picture so our customers can make the most efficient decisions for their business.”
Total landed door-to-door pricing has remained an area with many complexities yet to be modernized, and CALA is proud to tackle this hurdle alongside SEKO. CALA continues to further its commitment to powering the long-needed digital transformation of the fashion industry. With CALA’s new pricing tool, all brands can benefit from complete visibility into the price and timing of their projects, enabling them to make confident, informed decisions that best fit their budget. CALA’s pricing engine will be an immensely valuable tool for fashion brands of all sizes and stages, saving time and money by arming them upfront with an understanding of the total cost of potential projects.
“CALA’s platform is revolutionary for fashion brands and retailers. This new pricing engine is one-of-a-kind and gives brands rapid, tangible insights in one, easy-to-use system that saves them both valuable time and money,” added Brian Bourke, SEKO’s Global Chief Commercial Officer. “Leveraging our global network and forwarding capabilities allows organizations the ability to scale based on both their current and future needs as their customer base grows. With customer demands only continuing to become more complex, this partnership offers the right solution to enable global supply chains effectively and efficiently.”
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About SEKO Logistics
Built on nearly 50 years of logistics expertise, SEKO Logistics is the no-nonsense global end-to-end logistics partner –from factory to consumer. SEKO delivers sustainable client-first service, expert reliability and tech-driven shipping solutions that turn supply chains into a competitive differentiator. With over 150 offices in more than 40 countries, SEKO helps you move at the speed of commerce. Learn more here.
About CALA
Since 2016, CALA has been providing fashion brands and retailers with a single all-in-one platform that powers every step of the fashion design and supply chain process, while allowing for cross-team collaboration: ideation, designing, fabric selection, manufacturing, fulfillment, e-commerce enablement, and branding/marketing, can all be managed from inside the digital CALA platform. CALA’s partner network consists of a global supply chain including over 60 factories in 13 countries, with 16 fulfillment centers in four regions. This redundant supply chain network allows for customers to be connected to the manufacturer that best suits their product and quantity needs for seamless production. CALA handles the complex back-end logistics of bringing a collection to market so their customers can focus on what they do best, ideate.
