Victoria’s Secret for Success

Intimate Brands Inc. is a leading specialty retailer of intimate apparel and beauty and
personal care products through the Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works brand. In 1999,
net sales for the Victoria’s Secret brand, including stores, catalogue, and e-commerce, were
$2.9 billion. Catalogue and E-commerce accounted for 18% of the business, or $799 million.
According to Kurt Kravchuk, director of Parcel Transportation for Victoria’s secret
catalogue and E-commerce, “Victoria’s Secret catalogue is using cutting- edge technology
partners to provide the excellent brand experience Victoria’s Secret customers have come to
expect thus through on time delivery and efforts to keep shipping cost down”.
For shipments under 1 pound, about 33% to 35%, Victoria’s Secret ships via the US
Postal Service. With products including clothing, shoes, accessories, and bath and beauty
products, in addition to lingerie, orders can vary from a few ounces for a single item to several
pounds. “We’ve always used some form of postal service,” Kravchuk says, “because they
provide a good service at a good price and because of customer request or orders that go to
post office boxes.” Kravchuk continues, “the USPS offers us a cost benefit in a certain area, and
we take advantage of that.” However, he says even though cost is always one consideration, it
is not the primary one.” Service to customers is always primary.”
Although there are request for expedited service, with which Victoria’s Secret complies,
many customers are happy with the companies pledge to deliver orders in seven to ten
business days. It works hard to stay within that timeframe and monitors performance in a
weekly basis to ensure that service level. The majority of orders come in by phone but also fax
and mail, with increasing activity via http://www.VictoriasSecret.com. Contrary to what might
be expected, Kravchuk says customer delivery requirements on internet orders closely mirror
phone orders. He has not seen a dramatic surge in request for expedited delivery of internet
orders.
For the past three years, Victoria’s Secret has use Global Logistics, a package expeditor,
to service its USPS shipments in the southeast. Bob Thatcher, Global Logistics’ President, makes
the distinction himself between being a consolidator and an expeditor. He describes the
company as a regional expeditor because he focuses more on service and performance than
price. Global Logistics focuses on serving major cataloguers that focus on quality of service. HIS
goal is to provide 3-to-5-day service from the time an order is shipped to the time it is delivered
to the household. This obviously fits well with the Victoria’s Secret promise delivery. Intimate
Brands provides linehaul from its Columbus, Ohio, distribution center Global Logistics’ facility in
Stone Mountain, Georgia. Global then sorts, palletizes, and manifest loads for delivery.
Victoria’s Secret send an average of one trailer every day, five days a week. This may increase
two trailers a day during the peak holiday season in December, as well as a sales period in
January.
 Among the service Global Logistics offers is serving its customers’ eyes in the field. For
example, Global Logistics on the alert for area – specific issues that may affect delivery such as
weather or other events and determines which ZIP code will be affected. Sharing this
information with Victoria Secret helps Global Logistics keep delivery schedules on track.
According to Thatcher, “We look at every opportunity to reduce time, either in transit or in
steps, to ensure quick delivery.”
One of the time-saving techniques it uses is taking orders process on Fridays and getting
them to the post office on Sunday and Monday. This can cut up to a day off delivery times. In
reducing steps, Global Logistics does not over label. The shipper is responsible for applying all
markings (including the postage indicia) on its labels. As a result, when Global Logistics receive
the shipment, it just scans the 5-digit barcode, sorts, palletizes, and manifest.
All deliveries are palletized for ease of handling. Thatcher is quick to point out that all
Global Logistics’ deliveries to the bulk mail centers are standing appointments and live unloads.
The alternative Thatcher says, is a drop and pick, were a trailer is drop at the bulk mail center
and the postal service personnel have up to 20-4 hours to unload it. Although it typically does
not take the full 24hours, it is a variable Thatcher does not want in his schedule.
According to Kravchuk, visibility of products at this point does not play a role in their
distribution. He would however, like to work more closely with the USPS to get delivery
information in real time. Because Victoria Secret does not apply a tracking number, Global
Logistics tracks performance through the postal system with an 8125 (Mailing Form) to ensure
proper service.

Source: Bert Moore, “Victoria Secret for Success,” Parcel Shipping & Distribution (Fall 2000): 32-
34