Fashion – Can Supply Chains Keep Up?
ModCloth is a online vintage fashion retailer that uses feedback from customers to improve their supply chain.
In class, we looked at how Dell’s virtually integrated supply chain was a key component to their success. Their close relationships with manufacturers made just-in-time production possible, and the constant feedback from customers made it able to adapt to customer needs quickly.
How can other industries learn from this? In this fashion industry, demand can often be difficult to predict because with so many substitutes, sales depend heavily on consumer tastes (which are often swayed by marketing). Instead of a product oriented approach where brands will make products and spend most of their time trying to sell them, the industry seems to be moving towards a market oriented approach where customer feedback shapes production decisions to enhance customer value. This allows companies to cut down costs on unwanted inventory and efficiently capitalize on consumer wants by customizing. This is especially important with the development of online shopping, where there are many more substitutes and customer value is vital to consumer decision making.
This is a suitable direction for the fashion industry especially because fashion is by nature interactive, with clothes being part of how we express ourselves and relate to one another. This aspect of the industry makes it even easier to gather feedback with the use of social media and networking.