Build to order … in the apparel industry this is kind of a Holy Grail opportunity for brand companies, tried by Levi’s and Nike. But it takes prowess in process and technology to profit from it.
We recently saw an article from Sports Business Journal that tells a great story on Majestic Sportswear, known for their apparel in the licensed sportswear market.Majestic, owned by VF Corp, has been able to leverage VF’s investment in supply chain apps to gain a new level of performance in the fast turn-custom/web market.
“Those ‘back-room’ capabilities added by VF aren’t sexy, but they are the elements that make large retailers choose one vendor over another. Areas like supply chain management and Vendor Managed Inventory, under which retailer and vendor share data to remove cost and time from delivery — yielding quicker turns for stores and faster service and replenishment on the retail floor,” says Jeff Hennion, Dick’s Sporting Goods executive VP and CMO. (Editors note: SCM and VMI Solutions provided by Logility.)
Not sexy?Sporting my own designed running shoes from Nike, or my own custom-fitting New York Yankees shirt — that’s pretty cool, I think. And these types of models differentiate companies in their markets — but you have to be able to execute, or your customers, channels and retailers won’t be customers for long.
It also takes better supplier relationships and contracts and real-time processes across the supply network. Majestic’s model also “includes the sourcing of materials from VF’s global supply chain, which services the company’s diverse collection of apparel brands that includes The North Face, Lee, Wrangler, JanSport and Vans,” continues Jeff Hennion.
You have to have a supply network ready to respond with the raw material and components, something that is a huge challenge in the apparel industry.
As customers become more sophisticated about the supply chains beyond the shelf, there will be more demand for custom with fast delivery.And many consumers are tired of buying things off the rack that do not fit, thus seeking out custom and unique designs. The concept has been around a long time, from custom shirt companies for the discerning buyers, as well as apparel merchants like Brooks Brothers with their configurable dress shirts.
Supply Chain prowess can ‘rebrand’ a company to be ‘sexy’ with services like these!
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