ERP Models

Apparel ERP: Evolving Business Models

Few industries are as much about change as the world of fashion and apparel. It is what drives the industry, creating demand and growth as fashion trends change overnight and one season evaporates into the next. Consumers are ever more fickle and demanding and want their size in their preferred color right now. If retailers don’t have the right product mix in the store at the right time, sales are lost and brand loyalty erodes. Low sell through rates drive price markdowns. That squeezes margins and makes a tough business even tougher. You entire supply chain has to be in tight harmony, focused on wooing the consumer.

It makes sense, then, that your Apparel ERP system has to have, at its core, the flexibility to never stop evolving, making it easy for you to fine tune business models on the fly, zig when the market is zigging, then zag when a new opportunity arises. Right now that looks like manufacturers sliding towards design/source/distribute models and even a retail presence.

Here’s a look at some of the hot rends affecting the Fashion/Apparel marketplace, and how Apparel ERP can respond to these changes.

Retail Replenishment. Getting the product mix right from the start, then replenishing hot sellers in real time is what drives the bottom line for Fashion/Apparel companies with their own retail operations. Timely replenishment becomes the key to sell through. So you need an Apparel ERP system that can energize and synchronize your back-end supply chain in a way spreadsheets never can. Assortment replenishment planning should be a key strength of the Apparel ERP system you choose. That gives you a more effective, efficient and integrated store assortment and replenishing planning process, boosts agility, decreases stock-outs and leads to more full-price sales.

eCommerce Channels. The internet provides the lowest cost of entry to a robust new sales channel, not just directly to consumers but as an automated gateway for your smaller business-to-business customers. It’s way to increase sales at much higher margins with a dramatically simplified distribution structure. It reduces cost and simplifies the process of order entering, on both sides of the transaction. Even small volumes of wide assortments can be processed economically. Your Apparel ERP system needs to encourage smaller customers to adopt this self-service model by making it easy for them to check prices, inventory availability and delivery dates before confirming their orders. Make sure the system you choose even supports credit-card processing so smaller customers can pay as they order.

Written by :

Amy Cruz