Rent the Runway hires chief supply chain officer to prevent future issues

Rent the Runway is working to improve its logistics and customer service. The rental service, which has previously run into trouble in this area, has appointed Brian Donato as its chief supply chain officer. He will assume the role on March 16, reporting to co-founder and chief executive officer Jennifer Hyman.

Donato will oversee Rent the Runway’s customer fulfillment operation, which includes reverse logistics, customer service, warehousing, inventory restoration, transportation, operational excellence and distribution network expansion.

Rent the Runway experienced several issues with order fulfillment and supply chain logistics last year, which ultimately led the company to take drastic action to solve its problems. In September the company announced a two-week hold on all reserve orders, following a high number of incomplete order fulfillments. According to consumer testimony on social media, one such instance involved a customer learning two days before her event that the item she had reserved was unavailable, though she had already paid for the rental.

As chief supply chain officer, Donato's contribution to the company should work to prevent fulfillment issues. He joins Rent the Runway from New York-based start-up Bowery Farming, where he built the operations team. He also spent seven years at Amazon, in several senior operational roles including leading the North American Customer Returns, Worldwide Fresh, Worldwide Pantry and half of the North American Fulfillment Network.

“Rent the Runway is the apparel rental category creator and I am inspired by the enormous market opportunities ahead for this groundbreaking brand,” Donato said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working closely with talent across the organization to unlock further efficiencies and provide our community more and faster access to Rent the Runway’s closet in the cloud.”

Photo credit: Rent the Runway, Facebook