We’re Sarah and Elle and we’re excited to launch RetailReady!

⏪ Backstory

Before we joined YC, we worked at a supply chain unicorn startup called Stord where our jobs involved making their warehouse shipping facility run efficiently. While we were there, we realized that operations still largely relied on paper to pack an order correctly. Let me explain what actually happens in the warehouse when you order something from Walmart…

🎯 TL;DR

Every time workers in a warehouse box an order, they are supposed to reference 100+ page manuals that include precise packing instructions like where to put the shipping label. It’s not practical for warehouse workers to check the manuals on every order, and thus mistakes happen. These mistakes result in hefty fines, amounting to $40B annually! RetailReady’s mobile application replaces the paper manuals, making it easy to stay compliant and mitigate these fines, without any training time or integrations required.

🔍 Problem

Retailers (e.g. Walmart, Amazon, Target) outline unique shipping requirements for brands (think Dove, Hanes, Stanley) through 100+ page manuals called routing guides. If retailers receive a non-compliant shipment such as incorrect label placement, they issue brands a compliance violation fee, called chargebacks.

An example from page 227/399 of Walmart’s guidelines…

…And how these shipping guidelines manifest on the warehouse floor today

On average, 3% of a brand’s gross invoice amount is deducted due to chargebacks, resulting in an estimated $40B worth of retailer chargebacks per year.

A subsection of violation fees outlined in a retailer routing guide

On the flip side, when retailers receive these orders from brands, their warehouse team also uses their own printed routing guides to determine whether or not a shipment is compliant, and then manually enter associated fines into a spreadsheet. 10-12% of all orders retailers receive are deemed non-compliant and require 2X the labor time.

🦾 Solution

RetailReady is the ultimate retail compliance solution for all stakeholders, requiring no training time or integrations.

Third-Party Logistics (3PLs): Our user-friendly mobile application ensures operational shipping compliance to retailers. Our software ingests retailer routing guides and translates them into step-by-step workflow tasks while providing a visual repository of every order for dispute resolution.

Brands: Our dashboard offers insights into your or your 3PL's operations, allowing you to upload chargebacks. This data enhances our model, tailoring your packing process with extra validation checks.

Retailers: Our retailer mobile app automatically detects and records shipping compliance errors from vendors, speeding up revenue generation and increasing labor efficiency.

👋Our Ask

• If you know any brands / 3PLs that are struggling with retailer compliance or retailers that are struggling with vendor compliance, we’d love warm intros! Email us at founders@retailreadyai.com
• If you are a brand / 3PL / retailer that is interested in our solution, schedule a demo with us!
• Are you or do you know a rockstar software engineer? Fill out this form! We’ll be looking to hire a founding engineer in the coming months.
• Follow us on LinkedIn for weekly blog posts!