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“See Now, Buy Now” Consumer Mentality Calls for a Faster Supply Chain

As technology continues to advance, the industry seems to be increasingly governed by instantaneous fulfillment. Quick processes like same-day delivery and on-demand services normalize a fast-paced culture, and the pressure to conform especially affects the fashion industry, where trends are constantly changing. While popular brands such as Forever 21, H&M and Zara are known for their “fast fashion” approach, producing replicas of fresh-off-the-runway items for sale in the time span of just a few weeks, shortening the apparel calendar is far from a quick-fix.

Proper Onboarding Is Crucial as Impending U.S-China Trade War Looms

U.S. companies that source materials and labor from China may have to make some changes to their sourcing strategies now that the U.S. added 25% tariffs on more than $30 billion of Chinese shipments earlier this month. The tariff spike doesn’t seem to be slowing down either; the Trump administration threatened up to $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, scheduled to take effect after Aug. 30, pending a consultation process.

Sourcing Journal Podcast: Episode 1, Speed Bump

In the first episode of Sourcing Journal’s new podcast, NGC’s Mark Burstein, Robert D’Loren, chairman and CEO of NGC customer Xcel Brands, and John Thorbeck, CEO and founder of Chainge Capital, discuss how retailers can successfully improve speed to market without sacrificing quality by executing a total transformation of the supply chain.

Shift to the Digital Supply Chain to Transform Design Productivity and Reduce Lead Times

Every year, WhichPLM publishes a buyer’s guide, highlighting PLM industry trends and predictions. It comes as no surprise to NGC, that this year, WhichPLM says that the approach to replacing your PLM has shifted. The guide compares the process to “replacing the operating system of a computer that everyone in the office shares: it requires an understanding of not just the capabilities of the different software environments themselves, but the needs of a variety of different stakeholders. Most importantly, it requires an acknowledgement that, to get the most out of a new environment, you need to fully understand the limitations of your existing one from every possible angle, and you need to identify how you and your colleagues visualize things changing in the future.”

PLM and the Digital Supply Chain

Because siloed information contains so many risks, companies are moving quickly to eliminate disconnected data siloes. The digital supply chain focuses on breaking down these barriers with a single cloud-based portal that centralizes and shares all the information that originates in legacy PLM, ERP, logistics and other systems. The digital supply chain unites all the disparate processes and information of fashion design and production into a real-time, connected digital enterprise system, and the advantages are significant.

Digital Supply Chains: The Important Thing is to Start Now

The digital supply chain is one of the hottest topics in our industry right now, and with good reason. Companies that have digitized their design and manufacturing processes are winning the race in speed to market, increased sales and consumer satisfaction.

The Key Benefits of Digitizing Vendor Compliance

In today’s socially connected world, a whole host of issues at the factory level can turn into a full-blown crisis once customers and other stakeholders take to social media. And if the problem is serious enough, it could damage your business—even if you’re not directly responsible. However, if you properly manage your vendors from day one, issues can often be avoided, or at the very least mitigated, before they turn into nightmare scenarios.

The Key Benefits of Digitizing Quality Control

If not properly managed, quality is an area where your business can fail due to factors that are out of your control. Fortunately, quality control is an area that is quantifiable and closely tied to financial performance, and retailers and brand owners can easily and quickly see ROI.

The Key Benefits of Digitizing Your Product Development Processes

Every fashion company today aspires to the same basic goals: to become more agile in order to produce the right products faster, to delight customers with on-trend designs, and to produce compelling products that build brand loyalty. Succeeding in today’s hyper-competitive environment is tougher than ever, though. Companies must improve the speed from concept to delivery and improve operational efficiency to offset higher sourcing and production costs. There’s also the constant pressure for lower prices and higher margins, and the need to react quickly to changing consumer demands. The stakes are high, too: companies that fail to meet these objectives will not survive.

Three Keys to Vendor Compliance

Ensuring vendor compliance for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Good Manufacturing Practices is necessary in order to mitigate risk and protect a company’s brand. The stakes are high, as fashion brands can’t afford to have their names associated with unsafe working conditions, tragic factory accidents, or products that contain banned substances. However, managing the intricacies of vendor compliance is an extraordinarily complex process that involves brands, retailers, third parties, NGOs and governmental entities at multiple levels. To simplify the process, we've broken down compliance into three basic areas.