Inventory management is an increasingly crucial factor in fashion companies looking to secure a competitive edge. Faced with new market challenges and in the quest to satisfy customer expectations, fashion houses are increasingly focusing on product innovation and selecting the best technological solutions to help them manage their business. This is certainly the case with Infor M3 for fashion, specifically designed to help companies operating in the fashion industry in the management of key processes. Let’s take a closer look at the new challenges facing fashion and apparel companies, and how they can benefit from the advantages provided by Infor ERP, in terms of inventory management and handling the most critical aspects of their business.

Inventory Management and the new challenges facing companies in the fashion industry

Out of all the main requirements of fashion and apparel companies, the optimisation of inventory management processes is undoubtedly one of the most important and challenging ones. This is because inventory management is a central issue for companies in this industry, the aim being to minimise warehousing costs without undermining business continuity.

Companies operating in the fashion industry require a high level of control in the flow of materials within a production process (fabrics, for example) as well in the quantities of finished items in stock. This is why they require tools that facilitate and optimise their inventory processes, streamlining and continuously updating them. The production of many companies in the fashion industry is subject to seasonality: this is especially the case for winter sports apparel or swimwear, for example. This makes the smart management of materials all the more crucial, in order to avoid repercussions on production, caused for example by shortages of a specific fabric needed to produce a particular model. It is equally important to avoid stock shortages or gluts, to avoid a build-up of unsold items. Inventory management aside, companies in the fashion industry are also facing many other challenges. These include sustainability, the time-to-market of new products, as well as the industry’s production process and logistical needs.

In order to respond to all these needs, companies of the industry require specific instruments like Infor M3 for fashion, the solution specially developed by Infor for businesses operating in the fabric, apparel, footwear and fashion accessories sectors.

The benefits of the Infor ERP solution for fashion

Infor M3 for fashion provides end-to-end functionalities for managing the most crucial aspects of fashion company processes, adapting to different types of businesses: manufacturers, brands and brand retailers. The vertical ERP cloud solution by Infor enables the monitoring and management of a long series of processes linked to products and logistics, including procurement of materials, inventory and tracking of single products.
But what are the main advantages of Infor M3 for fashion companies? Let’s discover them together.

• Improved production chain visibility: many fashion companies continue to outsource production, which is why they need total supply chain visibility. ERP Infor helps them to automate production processes and provide accurate estimations of product delivery times, while also enhancing their transparency with consumers, especially with reference to green topics.
• Precise and constant monitoring in the field of finance: thanks to integrated machine learning technology in the Infor M3 solution for the fashion industry, companies in the industry can constantly monitor their financial situation, tracking and analysing data from different company teams, suppliers and customers. Moreover, reports are automatically customised to adapt to the requirements of different company users, enhancing usability and simplifying the internal decision-making process.
• Smarter production planning: Infor ERP also enables stock monitoring, preventing stock shortages and gluts, so that orders can be promptly executed. This generates positive impacts on business in direct terms, as production varies according to inventory stock, and in indirect terms, as a faster supply chain means greater levels of customer satisfaction. The Infor solution helps identify critical problems in advance, so that decisions can be made and deadlines met, thus saving time and money.
• Optimised Inventory Management: the automation of processes common to warehouse and production facilities (reception of goods, pick and pack, shipping, inventory modifications and monitoring, reporting and production of orders), is ensured by the Infor ERP solution for the fashion industry. Thanks to real time updates, all users are always informed of processes connecting production and stock, so as to optimise the company’s response to customer orders, improve inventory precision and optimise product storage.
• Support for circular economy models: companies of the industry are always called to answer for the pollution generated by their production processes. Infor M3 for Fashion can help companies of the industry to keep data on their polluting emissions under control. This generates a positive impact for these companies, both in terms of waste and consumption, enhancing brand reputation in the eyes of consumers.

Isa Seta is one of our clients that benefit from the Infor for fashion, a leading global provider of fabric solutions for the luxury market.

The right approach to tackling the digital transition in the fashion world

Atlantic Technologies has an international team of certified Infor consultants that supports companies in the world of fashion along the delicate pathway towards digitalisation. This enables us to acquire the necessary expertise to help them in the implementation of Infor solutions for the fashion industry, in Italy and the UK.

We have also decided to strengthen our partnership with Infor in the UK. British fashion companies (operating in an industry with a pre-pandemic worth of 35 billion pounds and over 28 billion in 2021*) and companies with production sites in the UK, will be able to benefit from all our expertise in the field of enterprise resource planning, and the Infor solution specifically developed for the fashion industry. In addition to the best solutions and the right technological partner, just like all other companies, those in the fashion industry need the right approach to change. This is a fundamental prerequisite for a successful digital transformation journey. Overhauling some of the old company process models, for management and daily users alike, is a necessary step and Atlantic is there for companies ready to make it. We support the change management of fashion companies, assisting them throughout the entire process, from the implementation of new solutions to the go-live and beyond.

Contact us to find out more about how our Infor ERP consultants can support fashion companies along their digital transformation journey!

*British Fashion Council