Today there’s a huge focus on demand planning, as apparel and footwear brands and retailers attempt to better synch supply with demand. But the truth is, determining what to make is only part of the battle.
Delivering goods on time is a big challenge for most of the industry. And even if product development and production go according to plan, one area that retailers and brands struggle with is transportation, primarily because they don’t own this piece of the process. But that doesn’t mean there’s no solution.
Gary Barraco, senior director of product marketing for supply chain software firm E2open, sat down with Edward Hertzman, president of Sourcing Journal, to discuss how technology can ensure goods never miss a delivery date.
It starts, he said, with planning ahead and contracting with carriers in advance. “Giving them a six month plan… gives you a better rate with your carriers, increases your relationship with the carriers, and then it ensures that you’re going to have capacity and limits your need to go out and grab a spot rate or miss a deadline to get it into stores,” he said.
With the brand or retailer and all of their suppliers on a single tech platform, silos are removed and communication and collaboration become the new norm. With the demand planning team and the transportation teams on the same page, delivering products timed for a holiday, special promotion or other deadline becomes much more reliable.
Watch the video to learn about the costs associated with sitting on inventory, how much brands and retailers could save simply by collaborating with their carriers and how technology can facilitate “floating warehouses,” which would mean goods can go directly from the port to the distribution center or store.