Establishing a drop-ship relationship with national retailers like Macy’s used to be a cumbersome process for manufacturers and suppliers who would go to great lengths to get in front of buyers at tradeshows and via sales calls. All too often they would invest this effort only to find out that they were not a match. Now with Macys.com Vendor Direct Program manufacturers and suppliers have a faster way to be vetted and establish a successful working relationship Macy’s.

To support your growth efforts, Rithum has partnered with Macy’s and their Vice President Vendor Direct, Dominique Dwyer, to provide you with an overview of their Vendor Direct Program and a simple way to get your company in front of their key decision makers (buyers) by joining Rithum’s Retailer Connection Network and completing a Supplier Profile.

Macy’s Vendor Direct Program

Providing more styles and selection is a top priority for Macy’s and they are looking to partner with the right vendors to provide more choices to their customers and ultimately deliver an exceptional online customer experience. Today, we’re taking a closer look at how Rithum can help you take full advantage of the opportunity that connecting to Macys.com via its Vendor Direct Program offers your company.

Macys.com Vendor Direct Program benefits:

  • The ability to offer your full assortment while keeping control over it
  • With one contract, you can set up multiple brands at no additional cost
  • Leverage Macys.com to test new brands and assortments
  • Macy’s pays for all shipping both to and from customers: FREE shipping for vendors

How to Get Started and What to Expect when Onboarding

One of the biggest challenges for establishing a new drop-ship relationship is getting in front of the right buyer at the right time. Rithum and Macy’s have partnered to streamline that process, which typically takes 2-3 months and is highly dependent on the vendor’s available resources and engagement.

Here’s how to get started:

  1. Join the Retailer Connection Network
    Complete your Supplier Profile which will contain high level info about your company, products, categories and brands to enable Macy’s to determine if your company is a good fit for its assortment expansion priorities. Even if it’s not the right time, your information is retained for the future and revisited regularly whenever Macy’s begins a new merchandising effort. This information can also be used to match you to other retailers on Rithum’s network. You can get started by clicking the link above or one of the banners.
  1. Get Introduced
    If your company is a match for Macy’s, we’ll be in contact to confirm you’re still interested, share your information with Macy’s and then make an introduction to the buyer.
  1. Onboarding
    As part of the onboarding process, there will be dedicated representatives from both Macy’s and Rithum to help. You’ll be assigned a point person from each of the following departments: Onboarding, Operations, Rithum and Item Setup.The process takes a parallel path for item setup and onboarding. You’ll work with Macy’s on all parts of the vendor and assortment setup process simultaneously, which enables you to be launched and ready in 6-8 weeks. From a product perspective, Macy’s wants to partner on the full assortment. MORE STYLES = MORE SALES! Macys.com serves a customer base which reflects a comparable customer to both Amazon and Nordstrom, customers who are looking for more choices.

By the numbers: Macys.com

  • 550 million unique loyal customers
  • The most shopped apparel site: 55.7 million monthly visits*
  • 1.5 billion visits annually and 6,000 clicks per second during the peak holiday sales period
  • Macy’s mobile app is its fastest growing channel: reached a billion in sales this past year

Macy’s Dropship Requirements

At a high level, the requirements to work with Macy’s are as follows:

  • Product quality must meet Macy’s standards and requirements.
  • Vendor must have efficient and dependable fulfillment operations.
  • Integration via Rithum: We are asking that all our partners integrate with Rithum.
  • US Bank Account: We need to pay you. Please have a US bank account on US soil which accepts US dollars for ACH direct deposit transfers.
  • GS1 Certified UPC’s/EAN’s: Macy’s only accepts UPC’s or EAN’s issued by GS1. We do not accept after-market or 3rd party purchased UPC’s. More info here: https://www.gs1us.org
  • US Warehouse: We require that items ship from a US warehouse or 3rd party US warehouse partner. Please remember Macy’s pays for all shipping to and from the customer.
  • Certificate of Liability: While you do not need to provide your COI, we ask that you have one on file. Coverage must amount to no less than $1 million per occurrence for bodily injury and no less than $2 million total.

Macy’s + Rithum

Macy’s uses the Rithum platform for EDI integration. The two companies have had a long-standing relationship and Rithum has played an instrumental role in helping Macy’s establish a robust drop-ship model. If your company isn’t EDI capable, Rithum also offers a browser-based integration that can be set up in a day without IT resources.

Not only does Rithum offer a cloud-based platform for easy connecting, it provides vendors with robust reporting capabilities, the ability to track order status and review order history, printable Macy’s- branded packing documents for a seamless customer experience as well as notifications of compliant confirmations, cancellations and inventory updates.

Once your business is part of the program, Macy’s and Rithum will work with you directly to onboard your company and establish your fulfillment process.

Here’s a quick look at fulfillment expectations for the Macys.com Vendor Direct Program:

  1. Acknowledge an order within 24 hours of receiving the order: This is done through your Rithum portal
  2. Ship out the order within 48 hours (2 business days) of receiving the reservation
  3. Macy’s vendor-direct fulfillment operations team will set up a Macy’s UPS shipping account for you specifically: You will print your shipping label for the customer.


A Closer Look at the Program: Interview with Macy’s Vice President Vendor Direct, Dominique Dwyer

Q: How does drop ship support Macy’s overall merchandising goals?

A: At Macy’s we’re always looking at ways to better meet our customers’ fashion and home needs. Expanding our partnerships with Dropshippers allows Macy’s to offer our customers greater assortment choices with the convenience and quality they’ve come to expect from Macy’s. We leverage drop shipping as a key part of our merchandising strategy to enable that assortment expansion and provide customer more great choices.

Q: What are the benefits of working with Macy’s for a supplier?

A: As a Macy’s supplier you have access to over 550 million unique customers annually with over 1.5 billion visits annually to Macys.com. In addition, our customer is very loyal with the top 10% of our customers spending over $1.2K annually with us.

Q: What are key categories for growth in 2020? 

A: Our focus for 2020 is expanding Home and Fashion categories.

Q: How are new (drop ship) products featured and marketed on the site? 

A: Macy’s has an integrated site experience (single search and browse for all assortment) that is focused on meeting our customer needs.  Macy’s also invests in SEM and SEO optimizations.  We also offer paid site placement opportunities on the site.

Q: How does Macy’s adopt and maintain assortment with its suppliers?

A: We work with suppliers to ensure their products and quality align with the Macy’s brand. Once chosen as a vendor, we work with you quarterly to setup your assortment on Macys.com.

Q: How is a successful partnership measured? Quality Assortment, Customer Experience, and Sale/Profit.

A: ROI is measured by looking at revenue vs. time you have invested. We want to be your most productive retailer.

Q: How does Macy’s use its stores to differentiate its eCommerce experience?

A: We continue to build an OMNI experience, prioritizing convenience and choice for the customer, enabling them to engage Macy’s whoever they, whenever they want… as such we’ve enabled for our vendors the features of BOSS, Search & Send (for store colleagues), and store returns. Buy online and ship to store is aggressively growing in Vendor Direct.  As a Vendor Direct vendor you will automatically be adding to this program. Our Vendors have seen a +20pt increase in growth trend from this program.

Q: How does Macy’s work with minority and women-owned suppliers?

A: Our CEO put it best when he said: “Simply put, for Macy’s, Inc. diversity is a business imperative – aligned with our priorities and integrated into all areas of the business.” From a vendor perspective, we have a goal to increase our retail and non-retail spend to 5% or more by 2021 and are actively looking to partner with more ethnically diverse-, women-, veteran- and LGBTQ-owned vendors.

Interested in connecting your business to Macys.com Vendor Direct Program? Click here to get started on your Supplier Profile.

Today’s consumers want more selection and more access to what they’re looking for all from one trusted source. With more than 12,000 retailers, brands and suppliers connected on the Rithum network, we have the know-how and solutions to connect you with the world’s top retailers, like Macy’s, so you can increase sales and find more customers.

* WWD April 2019