Wrapping up my 8th Big Show in NYC last week, I reflected on the ebb and tides the show has taken and how much the industry is truly reflected in the activities of the event. The roller coaster ride for US retailers and brands is just like the weather each year at the Big Show – this year we had warm weather and drizzle compared to the year’s past where trudging to the Javits Center on thick layers of ice was the norm, and the freezing cold blasts off the Hudson just part of “the experience”. The economic downturn in 2010 meant that this (an almost every retail event in the country) was poorly attended back then. But in 2012 the show was overwhelmed by the comeback and flocks waited for hours to get into the show.

Changes in geography, commodity prices and political commotion are shifting the way retailers and brand manufacturers do business.  The focus for brands continues to be on being agile and highly responsive to the market demands and choosing those partners that can provide the highest quality at the best price and terms. These changes in the supply chain have created an environment in which risk mitigation is driving the industry and competition, thus requiring tighter collaboration across the supply chain.

A few weeks ago, I participated in three apparel and footwear industry events where the term “omni-channel” was a recurring topic of discussion – one event was strictly focused on this subject with a range of speakers all chiming into the conversation lasting a full day. But the realization that selling omni-channel retailing – also called multi-channel but defined as the seamless approach to the consumer experience through all available shopping channels, i.e. mobile Internet devices, computers, bricks-and-mortar, television, radio, direct mail, catalog and so on.[1]

Technology has driven retailers and brands to transform their approach to selling because of the widespread adoption of mobile devices and utilization of the Internet. Gen Yhas yielded to Generation C – the Connected Generation. Everyone, regardless of age, is now living “on-line” and everything about our society will revolve around technology. The economy is now a mobile, app or connected economy that is driven by consumers that embrace all the value from being digital and are “always on”.

In the apparel and footwear industry, the term material management can mean a lot of different things – you may recognize it as concept and design, product innovation, supplier selection, quality and testing, bulk buying and purchasing, production planning or even material libraries.

Partnership with NRI Delivers Supply Chain Management Solutions for Fashion Brands

ISELIN, NJ, October 10, 2013 – In line with the company’s growth strategy, ecVision®, the leader in supply chain collaboration solutions for retailers and brands, announced the opening of a regional office in Tokyo, Japan to further develop burgeoning relationship with the retail market there.

The SEC ruling on Conflict Minerals has created unprecedented complexity to manage that requires collaboration across the entire supply chain. A robust management solution is required to deal with suppliers at every tier and many companies will need to look to third-party software and service solutions to tackle data collection, documentation management and reporting. In this free 45-minute webinar, hear from a panel of distinct leaders in the retail footwear and apparel space as they discuss the relevant points you need to know about to address Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act on “conflict minerals”.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Traceability Tools Essential for Global Sourcing

The terrible news from Bangladesh has focused the world’s attention on garment factories and reminds most in the industry of a similar tragedy in New York City in 1911 at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. But the reports of the Tazreen Fashions fire that occurred on November 24th outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh leaving more than 110 factory workers dead, highlights the ongoing fire safety issues in that country. According to sources, fires at garment factories in Bangladesh have killed over 600 people in the last six years, including the December 2010 factory fire that resulted in 29 deaths.

The economic downturn and recession that hit hard in 2008 caused retailers to trim down take a closer look at their operations, make changes fast, or suffer. Initially this sent most brands and manufacturers into a tailspin trying to figure out how to keep the goods flowing with a “lean” staff structure. Senior management was left searching for new strategies to keep afloat.

The lessons learned during the recent recession helped position their companies for strong and sustained growth once consumer spending reached normal levels. Even though they are acting more cautiously when making investments, retailers have reached a point where the expenditures they made in tougher times are starting to pay off. The leaders in apparel and footwear have restructured their organizations and processes to be more efficient, and able to scale as sales up-turn – whether seasonally, through other brand acquisition or the launch of new product lines.

In a recent report published by the American Apparel and Footwear Association, it is apparel that the industry is still thriving. “While U.S. apparel consumption slightly declined in 2011, the value of sales grew by 4.9 percent to $283.7 billion at retail. This growth reflects both the increase in retail prices driven by higher supply chain costs, including increases in materials, labor, and transportation, as well as consumers returning to purchases of apparel at higher price-points coming out of the recession.” These numbers reflect the need for retailers to not only keep a close watch on sales figures, but strive for profitability in each sale.

Even while maintaining a conservative posture, retailers that made the investments geared their spending toward technology to help them gain greater control over both their customer-facing and back-end operations. For example, while pre-recession expansion often focused on adding stores, post-recession retailers boosted their Internet presence and more fully integrated their internal and external teams and data.

Retailers chose technology-focused initiatives to implement solutions that streamline design, sourcing, shipping and inventory management processes. The trend toward implementing advanced technologies to ease the workload has helped retailers streamline their operations and enhance the responsiveness of the supply chain.

ecVision’s collaborative platform has been key for many brands that are now thriving and growing. One of our customers, a leader in athletic footwear and apparel, has seen the results. Since implementing a collaborative, integrated platform – including vendors and internal teams – they have experienced remarkable results. The Number 1 benefit they have expressed is overall efficiency.

In an effort to streamline our lives and communication among our internal teams, we have inevitably done just the opposite – caused disorganization, confusion and big delays in productivity.

Are your suppliers inspiring your products?  Are your suppliers reviewing your company and industry standards and do they fully understand them?  Are you engaging your suppliers and actively thinking about the future of your relationships?

The Diagnosis: