Movex Fashion Helps Diadora Keep in Step with Customers

4
Fashion Newsletter
Industry Focus cont.
Have Visibility,
Will Succeed
However, building relationships with new suppliers is
easier said than done. More often than not, increased
global outsourcing results in a longer lead-time from a
more complex supply chain. This is because
manufacturers rely on manual processes to place
orders, track inventory and monitor production cycles.
Even if they have automated their workflow,
manufacturers maintain systems that do not talk to the
computers of their contractors and suppliers.
Meanwhile, customer expectations are not letting up.
Retailers and distributors are increasingly placing their
orders closer to the time the goods are needed,
pressuring manufacturers to improve lead-times, offer
faster replenishment and respond quickly to changes in
requirements.
Unless fashion and apparel makers can see through
their supply chains, potential benefits from a larger
sourcing market could be overshadowed by supply
chain "fog". The fashion industry needs to discard slow,
manual processes and start connecting disparate
systems with a collaborative enterprise solution.
Movex Fashion, Intentia’s application for the fashion
industry, synchronizes demand and production across
the enterprise, allowing managers to have a real-time
overview of the entire operation. Such visibility is critical
as it allows an organization to respond quickly to
changing market conditions and enhance profitability.
Movex Fashion Focus cont.
Critical Path
Tracking
they need to know quickly what has happened so that
proactive action is taken to minimize the impact delays
brings.
With Movex Fashion critical path tracking
functionality, companies can define key activities within
a sourcing cycle, and pre-plan delays between the
steps and processes. When a new collection or style is
introduced, it is possible to quickly generate a plan of
activities with critical dates automatically calculated.
Planning can be forward or backward planning for
completion on a specific date. Companies can also
decide the level they want to track at—from a high level
of collection or range down to individual style or
style/color. Activities are largely user-definable with
certain standard functions such as placing the
purchase order or receiving the goods integrated with
other Movex functions.
As activities are completed, the date of completion will
be updated against the critical path. The updating is done
internally, or alternatively opened up to parties along the
Many of the world's fashion and apparel players—
including American Eagle Outfitters, Delta Galil, GUCCI
Timepieces, Kathmandu, Mission Hockey, Ocean Sky
International, The Grandoe Corporation, The TAP Group
and Verde Holdings --are already using Movex Fashion.
In fact, there is compelling evidence that fashion
companies have found success from using
collaborative technologies. For instance, faster and
more flexible supply chains have allowed the
introduction of international styles, such as those
displayed by H&M, Zara and Mango, says Ira Kalish,
director of Retail Forward's Global Intelligence
Program. Retail Forward is an US-based retail
marketing and management consulting firm.
Kalish believes that a faster and more integrated supply
chain will continue to shape the future of the apparel
industry and enable a demand-led fashion business.
Therefore, in an environment where timeliness is
critical, the fashion industry needs to embrace
collaborative supply chain technologies, which actually
reduce the geographical distance that separates
manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and retailers.
For Further Information
Intentia
Tel: +46 8 5552 5000
Vendevägen 89, Box 596
182 15 Danderyd
Sweden
Fas-04-052-1-en
supply chain such as suppliers, agents, and shippers
through a portal. Movex reviews the critical paths on
a daily basis, identifying activities that are delayed.
Messages which can be retrieved from a message
system within Movex or via e-mail are then sent to
product managers or buyers, enabling them to
investigate delays on an exception basis.
Movex Fashion critical path tracking provides
companies with a single tool to track the sourcing
process, maintain visibility of orders and inventory
throughout the supply chain, and facilitate
communication. Companies will therefore reap the
benefits of reduced lead times and greater agility
in responding to consumer needs.
For further information on Intentia and Movex fashion,
please visit www.intentia.com/fashion