How fashion brands can create a connected and collaborative digitized network

HOW-TO GUIDE

Today’s fashion industry is fast-paced, competitive, and evolving at a faster rate than ever before. When looking for a fashion enterprise software vendor, it’s important to know what capabilities to expect to ensure that your decision is suited for success—now and in the future. The following checklist is designed to help you focus on key attributes that are indicators of:

• Comprehensive solutions that are easy to use, yet powerful enough to run your whole business
• Modern, scalable architecture that delivers stability and usability
• Mature platforms proven in the fashion industry
• Optimized implementation processes designed to deliver best-in-class time to value

Seven capabilities to expect from product lifecycle management software:

1. Designed specifically for the needs of apparel, fashion, and footwear brands and retailers
2. Configurable and user-friendly collaboration tools that seamlessly link vital areas of the fashion value chain to their business processes—from line planning, merchandising, design, costing, sampling quality, and development, to supply chain sourcing
3. Workflow process management calendars to track progress, manage delays, and keep all partners up to date in real time
4. Integrated quality control that provides process automation and control for quality processes—allowing QC managers to monitor, audit, and report results
5. A single repository to facilitate re-use of information to speed up product development
6. Efficient collaboration with partners around new designs (private label or own brand)
7. Margin control by BOM version management and costing build up

Five capabilities to expect from your enterprise resource planning solution:

1. Deep capabilities across a comprehensive set of business process digitization, not just a financial suite in the cloud
2. One single source of data across the global enterprise with “multi-X” support, allowing real-time review, action, and reconciliation
3. Global inventory visibility with omni-channel order orchestration (wholesale, retail, e-commerce)
4. The ability to manage complex business models with fashion-specific support, from manufacturing to sales and execution
5. Style management supporting three attributes per style—including color, size, and fit

Six capabilities to expect from your supply chain forecasting and visibility solution:

1. Seamless collaboration with all parties across a broad and complex supply chain—from vendors to manufacturers, brokers, agents, forwarders, and banks
2. Built-in warehouse management and logistics
3. Advanced supply chain planning—from forecasting to planning and scheduling
4. Built-in order management for omni-channel order orchestration, smart fulfillment, and replenishment
5. Multi-enterprise value chain orchestration
6. Supply chain finance and procure-to-pay automation

Introducing a modern, scalable architecture

Cloud-based systems facilitate the communication, performance, scale, security, and computing power needed to leverage technology solutions across the entire design to the manufacturing cycle. Here’s a closer look at what you get when you choose Infor’s innovative platform to power your business transformation:

Multi-tenant cloud

• Integrations to other applications regardless of their deployment supported via iPaaS (ION) platform
• Highly scalable and elastic data management platform
• Cloud based analytics, artificial intelligence, and data-driven applications available
• Modern UX that is focused on the characteristics and context that make users more productive
• Always up-to-date on the latest corrections and security
• Continuous innovation delivered in a non-disruptive fashion
• Automatic upgrades mean that major, disruptive ERP upgrades are a thing of the past

Proven maturity

• A portfolio of reference customers using all features and modules
• Micro-vertical expertise and out-of-the box configuration to deliver business value faster
• Ecosystem of strong implementation, supplier, and integration partners
• Upgrades available without the cost of re-implementation

Optimized implementation methodology

• Agile delivery processes focused on differentiation areas, time to market, and continuous delivery of innovation—with no big bang
• Remote delivery capabilities
• Process intelligence defined by industry best practices and incorporated into delivery methodology
• Documented best practice program plans with delivery timescales and cost expectations

Get started with Infor’s industry expertise

We hope that you found this checklist valuable, with the areas of focus and recommendation resonating with your current priorities. Infor’s industry experts play a central role in our customers’ cloud transformation initiatives, enabling global organizations to rapidly execute their vision, experience near-term success, and build incremental value over time. Our transformation leaders engage beyond the deployment of technology to help develop digital skills, create agile cultures, and enable rapid time-to-market in the cloud. We would value the opportunity to learn about your business priorities and explore the value Infor can play in your transformation.