How Stitched automated their inventory system and saved hundreds of hours with Sourceful
Replenishing stock exactly when and where it's needed
Introduction
Stitched is a Pending B Corp that makes bespoke curtains and blinds using over 200 sustainable fabrics. Amongst them are hemp, upcycled silk and revive, an ingenious material made from recycled bottles. Customers use an intuitive 3D studio to visualise their fabric, compare prices and learn more about each material.
By pairing eco-friendly materials with modern tools, Stitched aims to make buying sustainable products simple. Sourceful helped Stitched automate their packaging replenishment system, saving days of manual work for the team every month.
The Challenge
Stitched's supply chain is complex. Instead of working with big overseas manufacturers, they work with a network of workshops, mills and curtain makers in the UK. This gives them control over quality, drives innovation and keeps their transport footprint low. But it does create a lot of moving parts. Each workshop needs different packaging at different times, and before Sourceful, Stitched had to manage everything.
First, workshops would request packaging. Stitched would then bulk-buy items before splitting them into each request. They had over 10 different logins for packaging suppliers. Finally, the team packed and shipped every order themselves — often from Founder Elinor Pitt's home. It was a taxing process for the team. And as Stitched grew and faced surges in demand, this heavily manual workflow became a burden and a distraction.
The Solution
Stitched had to automate their replenishment system. So, they worked with Sourceful to connect every workshop with Auto-Stock, Sourceful's inventory management system. Stitched didn't need to give any identifying data, just order types and volumes. Once connected, Auto-Stock used its predictive technology to track usage and alert Sourceful when a workshop was low on stock. Stitched stored all of their packaging in Sourceful's warehouse, and Sourceful would then fulfil every request. Packaging was replenished on time, every time, and with minimal input from Stitched.
Auto-Stock was the perfect solution for Stitched. Instead of the team fulfilling every request by hand, the entire process was outsourced and automated. They freed up space — both at their office and Elinor's home — and new workshops were connected seamlessly. Stitched no longer spent valuable time managing packaging, and now had more time to focus on their customers. Stitched later connected their sample pack orders with Auto-Stock, simplifying yet another operation.
“Sourceful has helped us with a really efficient and scalable solution. This has ensured we can keep orders flowing without fear of running out of packaging supplies.”Elinor Pitt, founder of Stitched
The Result
With Sourceful, Stitched saves hundreds of hours every year which they now spend speaking to customers, developing new fabrics and building their business. And they have an automated replenishment system that scales as they grow. It saves the team 4 days of manual input every month. The workshops that are invaluable to Stitched benefit too, no longer having to make a request every time they need packaging. What was a manual, time-consuming task is now a streamlined process that Stitched doesn't have to think about.