Explainer: Defining the Right Condition

Ensuring that goods are in the Right Condition means—per Dr. Marien’s definition—that goods are ready for “use or sale.” To ensure that goods are ready for use or sale, the goods need to be packaged and protected against the trials and tribulations of shipping and handling, including environmental factors along the way.

Related: The Perfect Order: Right Condition

But when it comes to retail supply chain vendor compliance, ensuring that goods are ready for use and sale takes on an extended definition. And the retail vendor needs to consider the customer (the retailer) and the consumer. The retail industry has something called “Floor Ready Guidelines” that were first established by the retail industry’s early trade association—VICS (Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions) which was created in 1986 for the purpose of developing supply chain standards for the industry. (VICS was merged into the U.S. affiliate of GS1—www.gs1us.org—in 2013, which continues to support the standards originated by VICS.) VICS guidelines are now part of the GS1US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative.

Floor-ready guidelines (over 60 pages) include requirements such as:

• Hangar specifications which vary by type of garment. (The hangar specification document is over 50 pages.)
• Wrinkle-free requirement that requires the garment is free of wrinkles when packaged and throughout the shipping and handling process until the carton is opened and the garment is to be placed on the retail floor/shelf/rack.
• Item-tagging for identification, description, and pricing.
• Poly-bagging for single items, multiple items, or item protection.
• Minimal/reduced fill in boxes, because all that fill material makes a mess, requires retail staff to clean up, and takes up space in trash receptacles.

Ensuring that goods arrive in the “right condition” requires assessment of the full extent of an item’s supply chain. Shipping cartons cannot be too small or too large because they will not fit on the retailer’s conveyor lines. (Cartons that are too small might bounce around.) Cartons also cannot be too heavy: remember that people have to lift these things. Vendors need to review each retailer’s vendor compliance guidelines and should consolidate their shipping carton sizing.

To access the GS1US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative Floor Ready Guidelines, go to: https://www.gs1us.org/industries-and-insights/by-industry/apparel-and-general-merchandise/industry-initiative

The hangar specification can be found using the magnifier search feature on the GS1US home page—www.gs1us.org—and using the search term “floor ready merchandise.”

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