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Supply Chains Will Suffer in the Apparel Industry, Due to Lack of Investment

June 5, 2009, 2:27 pm

AMR Research recently reported that the apparel industry is investing less on IT programs than it has in previous years, possibly due to the bad economy. The lack of spending is most prevalent in ERP systems, and in systems aimed at establishing and maintaining an end-to-end global supply chain. According to a report in Supply Chain Management Review, this indicates that companies in this industry do not respect the value and potential cost-savings of a well-run supply chain.

“That includes even basic supply chain management processes and functions. Often, he said, apparel companies, rather than adopting a unified, holistic approach to the supply chain, spend time plugging holes here and there with short-term, one-shot fixes that lead to a scattershot supply chain, at best. 

Aquino said this is problematic in the best of times, but with the recession crushing markets worldwide, the current supply chain model that most apparel manufacturers’ use is outdated and inflexible, and could ultimately lead to disaster.”

So while the do-it-your-self approach might be an effective cost-cutting measure in the short term, companies will inevitably begin to see the negative effects over time. The good news is that this problem can easily be avoided. Check out this Traffic World article on how one well-known retailer was able to overcome a lack in visibility with an investment in a Supply Chain Visibility solution.

Please go here to read SCMR’s full analysis of the survey findings.

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