Sourcing Journal Radio

Fashion brands and retailers might use stylish products, hip branding and slick marketing to set themselves apart to consumers, but on the supply chain side of things, differentiation excellence takes a logistical turn. Here, seamless technology and scale economics have emerged as major competitive differentiators, and it’s often where brand and retail successes are won or lost. In this Fireside Chat, Chirag Patel, president of supply chain technology company Bamboo Rose, joins Shaker Natrajan, chief supply chain officer at American Eagle Outfitters, to discuss the role technology plays in driving supply chain agility and resilience and why it's worth the investment. Watch the video to learn: ·How retailers can shift the perception of the supply chain organization from a cost center to a strategic differentiator ·The role technology plays in driving supply chain transformations and economies of scale ·How American Eagle Outfitter’s partnership and collaboration with its supply chain partner community via its Edge Network drives supply chain visibility and agility ·How supply chain synchronization (i.e., 2nd and 3rd tier suppliers and international logistics partners) supports great customer experiences even amid an optimized domestic distribution network ·How supply chain agility and responsiveness across domestic and international networks enabled American Eagle Outfitters to introduce new products and brands to market at record speed to keep pace with consumer trends and expectations ·How retailers can surmount their old mindsets to adopt robust software for managing supply chain fluidity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If you can't measure it, you can't improve it,” said Paul Magel, president, application solutions group of software solutions company CGS. “And if you don't have the visibility, you don't even know what you're measuring.” Even a fully transparent supply chain has so many moving parts and independent “bubbles” that need to be digitalized and linked for visibility and real-time tracking. It’s all about collecting data—and using it effectively. The urgency doesn’t stop with direct suppliers, either, as vendors increasingly sub-contract out work, putting overall compliance at risk. When it comes to visibility, from tracking worker efficiencies across the world to inventory allocation across DTC and wholesale channels, a solid cloud-based software system will be the backbone of any enterprise for 2022 and beyond. Watch the fireside chat to learn: ·How supply chain visibility can better manage product quality and costs ·How one of CGS’ clients reduced non-productive “off-standard time” by 90 percent ·How companies can prioritize where to focus their dollars when aiming for visibility ·What area of the supply chain is often overlooked but can reap rewards if better tracked ·Why saying ‘what we don’t know can’t hurt us’ is no longer an excuse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apparel demand has reached a new level of unpredictability. During the pandemic, the purchasing behavior pendulum has swung from weak sales amid early lockdowns to revenge spending in 2021. Historical data is therefore no longer a strong predictor of market performance. Retailers are also contending with supply chain disruptions, including expanded lead times and shipping schedules that threaten on-time arrivals of goods. The major risk has shifted from overstocks to understocks, and retailers have adjusted their buying strategies accordingly. In AlixPartners and Sourcing Journal’s recent “2021 Fashion in Focus” survey report, industry executives said they were planning for delays by buying earlier and ordering larger volumes of goods. But buying far out essentially means “buying blind,” explained Joe Schmitt, a managing director at AlixPartners.   As the industry adapts and learns from pandemic pressures, there are still uncertainties in how to navigate planning. “I don't think anyone has a clear game plan moving forward around what exactly they need to do,” Schmitt told Sourcing Journal founder and president Edward Hertzman in a recent podcast conversation. “I think the theme is really, ‘How can we be as flexible as possible while still being differentiated in the market?’ And that balancing act is what everyone's trying to figure out right now.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid the retail disruptions of the pandemic, consumers began shopping online more than ever before. But escalating e-commerce sales are not solely a positive for retailers’ profitability. In AlixPartners and Sourcing Journal’s recent industry survey: “2021 Fashion in Focus: Investing in a Future Forged by Adversity,” respondents were largely split on whether the growth in online sales had an accretive or dilutive effect on their business, and a number were unclear on the impact. Serving a customer in store has a different cost structure than fulfilling online orders, and the labor, operational and other expenses for the latter can add up. This makes it more difficult to calculate the actual net financial result of digital sales, explained Bryan Eshelman, a managing director at AlixPartners, in a recent conversation with Sourcing Journal founder and president Edward Hertzman. “It is a hard, tangled web of costs and activities to untangle and really truly understand,” said Eshelman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For sourcing professionals, the pandemic has served up a seemingly never-ending series of logistical quagmires. Factory shutdowns, transportation capacity constraints and cost spikes, and raw material shortages forced companies to adopt plan B, C or even D. Outside of the direct effects of Covid-19, environmental disasters and geopolitical upheaval threaten to abruptly cut off supply or derail shipments. And when time is of the essence, it pays to have planned ahead. “Companies have to start thinking about developing their own contingency plans and risk-mitigation playbooks,” said Murali Gokki, managing director at AlixPartners, who leads the company's apparel and fashion services as part of the retail practice. “These need to be institutionalized; they no longer have the luxury of waiting for an event to happen and then putting their best brains in a room to think through a solution.” Listen to this episode to learn how to navigate freight hurdles heading into the holiday season, what it will take to scale nearshoring and onshoring, the hidden impacts of inflation that are hurting bottom lines, where to start with digital design and production management tools and how companies should approach the supplier-buyer relationship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While there are numerous new tech platforms to help retailers improve efficiencies on their sales floor, a system is only as good as the frontline workers who use it. Brick-and-mortar retailing has already suffered greatly—with consumers migrating to e-commerce faster than you can say “free shipping”—and the frontline work force now is being tasked with more complex jobs. This leads to sub-optimal job performance, outright mistakes and high turnover. “Before, employees just had to put the stock out, work with the customer and ring up the register,” said Michael Appel, president of retail consultancy Appel Associates and the former CEO of retail chain Rue 21. “Now, we've added all these software solutions, payment solutions, buy online, pick up in store [BOPIS], ship from store, and more. Things that didn't even exist before now make an employee’s job much more complex. And it’s tougher for them to feel mastery.” It’s all about data, which the Axonify platform gathers via AI. Via the daily learning tasks, the system can see who knows what, and who needs more work in certain areas for optimal learning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert McMillan of Dearborn Denim discusses the appeal of Made in America denim, and how it makes for a more sustainable product. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blackhorse Lane Ateliers founder Han Ates discussed the ways in which his brand is practicing social sustainability and creating a London aesthetic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kings of Indigo’s Tony Tonnaer discusses how his sustainable foundation helped him navigate the pandemic, and what he has in store for 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeanologia’s CEO Enrique Silla discusses the company’s contributions during Covid-19 and what it learned from the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices