What are Value Added Services (VAS)?
Value Added Services (VAS) are additional services provided within the logistics and fulfilment process that go beyond basic storage, picking, packing, and shipping.
There services are designed to:
- Enhance product presentation
- Improve operational efficiency
- Support compliance with retailer and marketplace requirements
- Enable faster route-to-market
- Elevate the end-customer experience
At Advanced Supply Chain, we specialise in providing customers with value-added services that prepare their apparel for retail and e-commerce sales. Our focus is on ensuring that garments and footwear are fully compliant, quality assured and processed according to the specific requirements of the end destinations. With our expertise, our customers can confidently deliver products that meet industry standards and seamlessly reach their intended markets.
Key Value Added Services for Clothing & Apparel Brands
- Garment Processing: These are specialised garment cleaning services to ensure apparel arrives looking flawless and ready for the hanger or shelf. Effective implementation reduces in-store labour and ensures product consistency across retail channels.
- Spot Cleaning – Spot cleaning is a targeted process used to treat small areas of dirt, stains, or surface contamination on garments and textiles without washing the entire product.
- Garment Finishing – Designed to give clothing perfect presentation, this service is comprised of steam tunnelling, dolly pressing & hand pressing.
- Ozone Cleaning – Using Ozone (O3) to effectively eliminate a wide range of issues without harsh chemicals or excessive water.
- Garment on Hanger (GOH) – This service is perfect for processing more structured apparel like dresses, suits, jackets, and formal wear. Its main features are the steam tunnelling, hanger management and auto bagging services.
- Labelling: These services streamline compliance and keep goods flowing through supply chains with little disruption. From crucial pricing and barcode information to essential care instructions, security tags, and country-specific declarations, incorrect or missing labels can lead to stock rejections, compliance fines, customer dissatisfaction, and significant delays.
- Label Printing – In addition to printing EAN, UPC, and other standard retail barcodes across a range of materials, a comprehensive service like ASC’s also offers satin label printing for apparel and textile products.
- Box End & Carton Labelling – This service covers everything on the outside of the box/carton. From placing serial shipping container codes all the way to re-labelling and re-working packaging as needed.
- Individual Item Labelling – While often small, the labels directly affixed to products are fundamental to their market readiness and your operational efficiency. The individual item labelling service ensures every product is perfectly prepared, compliant, and ready for its journey to the consumer.
- RFID Labelling – RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology uses radio waves to automatically identify, and track tags attached to objects.
- Quality Control & Inspections: These services are aimed at maintaining product quality, which is essential in fashion, where defects can damage brand perception on sight.
- Measurement Verification – Teams conduct precise measurement checks against your specified tolerance levels and grading rules.
- Fault Detection & Grading – Inspectors are trained to identify a vast array of manufacturing and material faults, no matter how subtle.
- AQL Shading Checks – AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) shading checks ensure colour consistency across batches and within multi-panel garments.
- Packing & Kitting: Packing, co-packing, and re-packing services go beyond simply putting items in a box, they are tailored solutions that can enhance product value and streamline supply chains.
- Kitting & Co-packing – Creating multi-packs, promotional bundles, gift sets, or custom retail displays.
- Box to Hang – Garments arrive boxed and flat-packed and are then carefully transferred onto the correct type of hanger, tagged, and then polybagged so that they are ready for the shop floor.
- De-ratio & Re-ratio – De-ratio and re-ratio services are a sophisticated solution for optimising your inventory efficiency. We break down existing packs (de-ratio) and reconfigure them into new size and colour assortments (re-ratio) that precisely align with the unique demands of individual stores or sales channels.
Why VAS Matters in Fashion & Apparel Supply Chains
High-volume fulfilment for apparel and footwear needs specialised services to operate without disruption. Having the capabilities to process garments, and make sure they are retailer-compliant, is a strategic advantage that makes brands more competitive in four key ways:
- Faster time-to-market
VAS streamline supply chains by preparing garments for sale and making sure products can move from inbound delivery to outbound shipment faster. - Reduced operational burden
Having a fulfilment partner take on the more labour-intensive processes in your supply chain reduces the burden on internal teams and retail staff. - Enhanced customer experiences
Premium packaging, accurate orders, and fast fulfilment contribute directly to customer satisfaction and retention. - Scalability for growth
VAS allows brands to scale operations efficiently during peak periods, such as seasonal launches and sales events.
VAS in Practice
With over 25 years of experience, Advanced Supply Chain (ASC) has had the opportunity implement VAS and positively impact apparel supply chains. Through our case studies on Lacoste and ASDA, we demonstrate the different ways value added services help streamline apparel logistics.
With a professional relationship spanning over 10 years, ASC have provided value added services in the form of both planned and unplanned processing and Retail Ready services for ASDA/George. Through integrated VAS capabilities, ASC ensured: accurate ticketing and labelling aligned with retail compliance; efficient handling of high-volume apparel SKUs; and streamlined flow of goods from suppliers into stores. By embedding VAS into the supply chain, ASDA benefits from improved efficiency, reduced in-store processing, and faster product availability on shelves.
When Lacoste needed a UK supply chain partner that could improve retailer compliance and increase speed to market, ASC provided a comprehensive set of value added services that were underpinned by their bespoke software solution, Vector. The result was a 100% retailer compliance across 10-15 different retailers, as well as reducing the time top market of deliveries from 7-10 days down to 1-2 days. Additionally, the Vector-led solution, combined with the expertise and experience of ASC’s warehousing and fulfilment teams, have reduced estimated VAS labour costs for the UK operation by 50% per annum.
Conclusion
Value Added Services are a critical component of modern fashion and apparel supply chains. By extending beyond basic fulfilment, VAS enables brands to improve efficiency, enhance customer experience, and adapt to the growing complexity of omnichannel retail.
Whether it’s preparing garments for store shelves, managing returns, or delivering personalised ecommerce experiences, VAS transforms logistics from a cost centre into a strategic advantage. For brands looking to scale efficiently and deliver exceptional customer journeys, partnering with an experienced provider like Advanced Supply Chain ensures that VAS is seamlessly integrated into every stage of the supply chain.