For many retailers, Merchandise Lifecycle Management (MLM) — the cycle of planning, designing, delivering and managing a product from concept to customer — entails quite a combination of people, processes and technology that is knit together with a lot of blood, sweat and sometimes tears.
MLM within most retailers, particularly vertically integrated players, has been fine-tuned over the years, and while it works fairly well for most, others are "just barely" getting by. Either way, MLM is under some amount of threat today based on the new requirements most retailers and brands are facing to bring more products to market with increased variety, decreased costs and a speed to delivery that some would describe as blindingly fast.
The fast fashion pace isn't just limited to apparel retailers (some of whom now face "ultra-fast fashion"), but affects all retailers facing increased SKU counts, a greater number of new product introductions per year, and the impact of "endless aisle" as commerce spills over from the internet to brick and mortar. This means that the well-tuned, carefully calibrated in-house Concept to Customer lifecycle now faces increased pressure, which for many retailers makes the combination of people, processes and technology incapable of keeping up with demands. That one more SKU — or need to localize one more assortment plan — may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
As fast fashion becomes the industry norm, it's a constant race against time to get your products to market. Virtual products are here — items are being sold that aren't even created yet. And fashion is becoming globalized, meaning you can find inspiration in France, a designer in the USA, raw material in Spain, a manufacturer in China and finally sell your product in Mexico. While that example may be extreme, the moral is this: Multiple departments, organizations and vendors need to work together — and work quickly — in a streamlined manner.
The key to keeping up with fast fashion isn't just about having lightning-fast turnaround times. It's about agility. Retailers need to respond in real time to changes in the market, orienting their business cultures around the speed of modern fashion.
Fortunately, as the market and everything around it continues to evolve, technology is transforming at the same pace. Many of the fast fashion pioneers are turning to an end-to-end MLM software solution to centralize their processes on one platform and transform the way their organizations plan, design, develop and source their products.
An integrated MLM system reinforces the ability of the supply chain to become more agile and responsive to the demand-driven marketplace. Here's what retailers can expect with MLM technology:
So whether it's slashing lead times or improving agility, MLM software filters intelligence across a fluid network of channels and enables a multidirectional view, revolutionizing the way businesses think. The fast fashion trend is forcing retailers to become more responsive to consumer demand. And retailers should note, as long as data continues driving the way people think and shop, the fast fashion "trend" isn't in fact a trend at all. Fast fashion is here to stay, driving us to design and implement innovative solutions with a finger on the pulse of the fast fashion movement.