Footwear can be an incredibly complex sector to manage, let alone make a profit from. As well as marshalling hundreds of different products and manufacturers to supply your outlets, you've got to consider the complex demands manufacturers expect to deal with during production.
Footwear production is labour-intensive, requiring many different steps and processes that need to be planned and monitored before any item can be shipped and sold. It's for these reasons that you should consider an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software suite if you're managing footwear manufacturing, distribution, or retail. ERP centralises and automates data collection and key decision management, simplifying business analysis, ordering, and planning.
What Advantages Does Enterprise Resource Planning Software Offer To The Apparel Industry?
ERP centralises and expands overall executive control of the business, saves money by cutting down on the number of micro-processes and logistical red tape needed. It allows real-time stock and order management in a way not possible with older business planning technologies.
ERP can transform a static, fractured supply chain into a closely monitored, dynamic, streamlined operation that can be altered and checked by administrators and business leaders on the move. Rapid communication, easy-to-use readable interfaces, and data updates make this all possible.
How Is ERP Implemented In The Fashion Industry?
With any fashion-focused ERP system, there are six key phases to its implementation. These are:
- Selection - the business decides which areas need ERP integration while setting aside the budget needed
- Planning - the ERP functions are mapped to the business processes by application experts, key users and company executives
- Training - staff are trained in the effective use of the new systems
- Testing - the ERP system is fed real world data as a pilot run to test the planned implementation
- Final implementation - the ERP is fine-tuned and becomes part of the apparel supply chain
- Delivery - the ERP system is measured to check for objective, metric improvements in meeting pre-agreed key targets
Anticipating Automation
Soon, more and more industrial, manufacturing, and retail processes will be digitised, automated, and controllable via a remote link. Footwear is no exception. By updating your business to use a dedicated, bespoke ERP platform, such as STYLEman, you'll be well prepared for the digital integration of footwear robotics, automated supply chains, and real-time data monitoring in processing and manufacturing.
STYLEman: Footwear ERP From Option Systems Ltd.
Our Styleman modular ERP is purpose designed to handle footwear supply chains, deliveries, product tracking, warehousing, brand performance monitoring and much more. Contact us today, and we'll tell you what we can do for your shoes.
Image Source: Pixabay
