Up Close: In Conversation with Rithum’s Ellie Williams

Up Close is Sourcing Journal’s regular check-in with industry executives to get their take on topics ranging from personal style to their company’s latest moves. In this Q&A, Ellie Williams, vice president, product management at commerce platform Rithum —previously CommerceHub—discusses how fashion can better manage inventory and what other retailers could learn from Nordstrom.

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Name: Ellie Williams
Title: Vice president, product management
Company: Rithum

Which other industry has the best handle on the supply chain? What can apparel learn?

Technology (specifically Apple), food and grocery, and the automotive industries all excel at supply chain management. Apparel has several unique challenges, but the industry can learn from each of these sectors. Opportunities for improvement include implementing just-in-time inventory to minimize excess stock, leveraging predictive analytics to better align supply with seasonal demand and adopting vendor-managed inventory systems to enhance stock-level visibility.

What should be the apparel industry’s top priority right now?

Sustainability. There has been strong consumer demand for eco-friendly products in the last few years. Additionally, with new technologies that support sustainable returns and reverse logistics, the retail sector will see a greater emphasis on environmental sustainability. That means adopting more efficient supply chain management efforts and balancing these initiatives with profitability goals.

What innovation or development holds the greatest potential to improve operations in the apparel and textile industries?

One of the biggest challenges in the apparel industry, both from a business perspective and an environmental aspect, is excess stock. The rapid trend cycles make demand forecasting difficult. Third-party commerce technologies that leverage artificial intelligence and established networks to bring various players together—like Rithum—can be impactful in more effectively managing supply and demand to reduce waste and the overall risk profile of their inventory.

Where do you look for personal style inspiration?

I look to my favorite designers and brands for style inspiration—off the top of my head: Celine, Loewe, Veronica Beard, Frame and Vince. It can be hard to keep up on, so I also look to my fashion-forward friends and sister to tell me about new brands.

How do you shop for clothing? How would you describe yourself as a fashion consumer?

Like many modern consumers, I shop mostly online with occasional in-store visits. I’ve learned the hard way that I have to exercise a lot of restraint because I’m naturally drawn to very standout pieces that I end up not getting a lot of use out of. It’s a classic “closet full of clothes, nothing to wear” situation.

To fix this, I’ve had to intentionally focus on acquiring more versatile everyday pieces, which requires more upfront thought and planning. For example, each season I ask myself, “What are the key pieces I need to update?” Inevitably something beautiful will catch my eye, but now my first thought is, “How many wears will I get out of this?”

What are the top three product attributes that you factor into your purchasing decisions?

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Quality: Fabric and craftsmanship. Will this last?
Style: Is it flattering on me?
Care: Being able to wash it at home versus send to the dry cleaners is a bonus.

What is a retail experience that stands out to you?

My go-to for apparel is Nordstrom, and that’s because they have a seamless customer journey, whether in-store or online. The last standout experience I had was visiting the Nordstrom Local in Newport Beach. I ordered online and picked it up the next day while simultaneously making a return and dropping off a pair of boots for repair. This is a great example of how apparel retailers can make the customer journey more engaging, whether it’s for purchases, returns or both. To achieve a similar outcome to Nordstrom, I believe retailers should continuously evolve their online marketplaces and invest in solutions that enhance operational efficiency, increase flexibility and enable them to respond quickly to consumer demand.

How would you describe your corporate culture?

We place a lot of value on putting our customers first, collaboration and accountability at Rithum. We are remote-first and global, so we rely heavily on asynchronous communication. In-person meetings are primarily focused on team building and living our value of being better today than yesterday.

What’s the best decision your company has made in the last year?

We rebranded to Rithum late last year, formerly CommerceHub, ChannelAdvisor and Dsco, to bring a unified brand product for third-party commerce solutions to the market. We’ve always been a customer-first organization, but over the last year, we also made customer obsession a company value. These changes have sparked a lot of productive conversation and new initiatives across every aspect of the business.

What keeps you up at night?

How do we continue to help our customers grow profitably? This is a big focus for my team at Rithum today. The third-party commerce model provides this opportunity for retailers and brands, but their success lies in the right ideas, strategies and technologies to get it right. Our solutions intersect technology with strategy to help our partners achieve profitable growth and stay competitive in any market condition.

What makes you most optimistic?

There are a few key things I’m optimistic about. The growth of third-party (3P) commerce is a sustainable business model for e-commerce businesses. We believe 3P is the path to helping this industry grow profitably now and in the future. [I’m also optimistic about] AI being able to automate the arduous setup processes for new selling channels that slow down brands and retailers today.  Third, our delivery products help retailers get shipments to their customers faster for less.

Tell us about your company’s latest product introduction:

I’m excited about how we’re using AI to solve challenges for retailers and brands to save them time and resources. We just launched a new product called AI Magic Mapper, which maps a brand’s product content data to any retail channel’s format. In early testing, AI Magic Mapper achieved 99 percent accuracy in category recommendations for a clothing and apparel company with approximately 14,000 products—all in minutes compared with hours previously. This has been a major pain point for brands for so long, we’re very excited about its rollout.

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