TORONTO (ONTARIO), September 14, 2022 – SCI Group, a leading Canadian 3PL specializing in e-commerce fulfillment and transportation management, has partnered with Bench, an athleisure clothing brand, to create a cross-border ecommerce fulfilment solution for the U.S. market leveraging duty savings made available through Section 321. This direct-to-consumer strategy enables Bench to deliver to e-commerce customers in the U.S. directly from Canada, creating cost efficiencies without any impact to delivery times.
Beginning in early 2021, SCI and Bench have built their relationship based on trust, strategic planning and proven results through the expansion of Bench’s Canadian, coast-to-coast wholesale business. This led to a new opportunity to expand Bench’s business into the USA with the SCI team building out a cross-border solution through their expertise in southbound ecommerce fulfillment and Section 321.
“We’ve had a great experience partnering with SCI to develop a new coast-to-coast distribution strategy for our Bench brand that services both the Canadian and U.S. direct to consumer market,” says Victor Levis, CFO/COO at Freemark Apparel Brands International. “SCI’s team worked closely with us to help us understand the benefits of Section 321 and guided us through the process from start to finish. Thanks to their expertise we’ve been able to expand our business and conveniently reach U.S. consumers.”
Section 321 is an exemption in the Canada-US-Mexico free trade agreement that allows shipments of products valued at $800US or less to enter the U.S., from Canada, duty free. For direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce retailers, this offers an opportunity to reduce their cost per unit through waived or refunded import duties on items that enter Canada bound for U.S. recipients, without effecting the customer experience.
“We’re thrilled to be able to drive this North American e-commerce strategy for Bench from Canada,” says Dave Mack, Vice President, Omni-channel Retail at SCI. “By consolidating distribution in strategic centers in Canada, Bench is able to reduce their inventory carrying costs and turn products faster, while driving out duty and tariff costs”
To learn more about Section 321 and how SCI can help reduce your cross-border costs, please visit: https://www.sci.ca/section-321
About Bench:
Inspired by an active 24-hour lifestyle, Bench is a brand that designs, sources, and markets clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. Born in the heart of Manchester, England, it originated in the late ‘80s as a niche t-shirt brand, taking influence from the music and the skate scenes. Bench is dedicated to design clothing that embraces individuality and supports all lifestyles. From heritage hoodies to iconic track suits, Bench’s wardrobe staples focus on multipurpose components that meet the modern needs of city dwellers. Learn more at Bench.ca.
About SCI:
SCI makes North American businesses even better by offering our clients a suite of innovative supply chain solutions in the omni-channel retail, technology, health, beauty and wellness sectors.
Across Canada’s most extensive national distribution and transport network, SCI manages complex logistics for both Canadian and North American clients. We pride ourselves on adding value to clients’ business with our commitment to reducing costs, risks and complexity through continuous improvement, business intelligence, analytics, and transparency. We give our clients the competitive advantage they need to grow their business.
SCI’s tagline “We’ll make you even better” is a commitment today from a business that’s leading clients into tomorrow. As a trusted strategic partner, our team is dedicated to understanding the unique intricacies of our clients’ businesses, providing end-to-end management of the entire customer experience. We have the North American expertise and 30+ years experience to deliver on this commitment and keep our clients steps ahead of their customers’ expectations.
For further information, please contact:
SCI | https://www.sci.ca| Natasha Wookey | natasha.wookey@sci.ca
Bench | https://www.bench.ca| Michael Routtenberg | mrouttenberg@fabinc.ca
