# **Case Study:**  
## UNIQUE VINTAGE  
## Overview  
Unique Vintage is a female-founded clothing company started by CEO Katie Echeverry.  
  
The business began as a passion project more than two decades ago in Katie’s garage,  
where she initially sold her favorite vintage finds. Like-minded fashion enthusiasts  
couldn’t get enough, and Unique Vintage soon established corporate offices with a  
co-located warehouse facility in Katie’s hometown of Burbank, California.  
  
Today, the brand has become an icon for inclusivity and offers dresses, swimwear, shoes  
and more from two lines, Unique Vintage and Smak Parlor. Its products can be found  
online and in boutiques and select big box stores throughout the country.  
  
### Benefits and Key Outcomes  
  
#### 12% reduction in shipping costs with rate shopping  
  
#### Improved inventory accuracy  
  
#### Automated manual tasks for improved productivity  
  
#### Advanced analytics unlocked KPIs for continuous improvement  
  
### Industry  
Fashion  
### ERP  
NetSuite  
### Website  
[www.unique-vintage.com](https://www.unique-vintage.com/)  
[Download the case study](https://3793859.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/3793859/Case%20Studies/Unique%20Vintage%20Case%20Study.pdf)  
## Challenge  
Unique Vintage needed a WMS that could not only keep up with changing priorities but also help leadership identify and correct  
hidden inefficiencies in its processes. Unique Vintage’s previous WMS system was paper-based, labor intensive and resulted in  
inventory counting issues that made it difficult for the team to quickly and accurately fulfill orders through direct-to-consumer,  
wholesale and drop-ship channels.  
  
“Because the process was paper-based, it wasn’t dynamic so if a picker went to the bin listed on the pick ticket and the item  
wasn’t there or it had the wrong size, the picker then would have to walk back and tell a supervisor to go fix the problem,” said  
Amanda Wahl, Operations Director at Unique Vintage. “It was very time-consuming.” Shipping rate shopping was also done  
manually, which hindered Unique Vintage from identifying opportunities for cost savings.  
## Solution  
After evaluating warehouse management systems, Unique Vintage selected ShipHawk WMS as the solution to streamline its  
operations. It later added ShipHawk’s Advanced Shipping to achieve end-to-end fulfillment efficiency. ShipHawk has digitized the  
company’s pick, pack and ship processes, eliminating manual tasks that complicated inventory counts and bringing a new level  
of efficiency to Unique Vintage’s warehouse. If an item isn’t in the assigned bin, ShipHawk automatically redirects the picker to  
the next location to keep workflows on track.  
  
The solution also integrates seamlessly with Shopify and NetSuite, making it easy for the company to prioritize shipments, meet  
customer expectations and maintain service-level agreements with drop-ship marketplaces like Macy’s and QVC. “We do  
wholesale, we do direct-to-consumer on our website, and we also drop-ship. The great thing is that we’re able to manage and  
prioritize each channel differently based on our needs and SLAs,” said Wahl.  
  
Although many aspects of ShipHawk have been transformational for Unique Vintage, one of the biggest improvements has been  
a reduction in shipping costs. The solution’s rate shopping functionality has reduced shipping costs by 12% and given Unique  
Vintage more control over its operations. “Rate shopping enabled by ShipHawk has been a total game changer,” said Wahl. “It  
has saved us so much money, and it has helped us to diversify our shipping and our carriers. It was something we were trying to  
do manually, but without this solution in place, it was just impossible to do at scale. Shipping costs used to be one of our largest  
line items on our P&L and now it’s not.”  
  
The team leverages ShipHawk’s real-time data and advanced analytics to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) that were  
previously not being reported on and uses the insights to continually drive operational improvements. “ShipHawk helps us figure  
out our processes and what really works best for the business,” said Wahl. Another benefit is being able to tailor the system to  
work the way they need it to. “The system is so easy to use and to make changes in – whether it’s the layout of our warehouse or  
putting in new rules or priorities,” said Wahl. “As we’ve grown over the years it’s been so nice to be able to make the changes  
myself instead of having to put a ticket in and wait for someone to get to it.”  
  
ShipHawk has helped us get way more accurate on our inventory and improve short picks.  
Everything is just set it and forget it.  
Amanda Wahl \| Director of Operations at Unique Vintage