As a fashion brand, investing in apparel ERP software (Enterprise Resource Planning) is one critical decision that can impart your business in several positive ways. However, making that decision isn’t always easy, largely due to the cost implications.
This then begs the question: Is implementing ERP software beneficial, especially to fashion brands? The long and short answer is yes.
One of the major benefits implementing an ERP offers to fashion brands is that it reduces errors in business processes, thereby leading to higher operational efficiency. Besides improving efficiency, these systems can be instrumental in reducing costs by eliminating labor-intensive processes using automation.
In this post, we will review the many reasons why fashion brands need to use an ERP to run and manage their processes.
7 Reasons Why ERP Systems Are Beneficial to Fashion Brands
1. Simplified Data Flow
Data is the lifeblood of every business. It enables businesses to make important fact-based decisions. When you have accurate data at your fingertips, you will find it easier to determine which product is selling fast and which is tying up your capital. This makes making smart procurement decisions easier.
However, for this to happen, data has to flow seamlessly across each segment of your business. For example, when a customer order comes in, your sales should be able to see the order quantity to generate an invoice correctly.
Also, the guys managing your warehouse should have instant access to this data to enable them to pick the ordered products accurately. Finally, your supply chain team should have access to this data, as this will allow them to plan the next phase of procurement correctly, minimizing the chances of overstocking or understocking.
For all that to happen, you need an ERP system, as it is capable of collecting data and making it readily accessible to all stakeholders involved.
2. Analytics and Reporting
ERP systems go beyond providing data on demand, to providing you with actionable insights into your business processes. A typical instance where this feature comes in handy is tracking your inventory level.
By making it easy to monitor inventory levels, an ERP enables you to purchase supplies on time, hence ensuring your supply chain runs smoothly.
ERP systems do not only stop at tracking your inventory levels – they provide you with insights into every aspect of your business. This includes finance and sales, order fulfillment, team performance, etc.
Analyzing these reports enables you to make smarter decisions that move your fashion business forward.
3. Accurate Forecasting
When you have accurate reports and detailed analytics at your disposal, forecasting sales, trends, consumer preferences, etc. will become a lot easier – and more accurate.
Accurate forecasting offers several benefits. For starters, it helps keep your business agile by spotting trends way ahead of time and adjusting your product offerings accordingly. Secondly, it helps you stay one step ahead of your competitors by knowing the direction the market is heading way ahead of time.
4. Reduces Cost
As labor cost continues to soar bloating operational costs, it’s become imperative for businesses, regardless of the size, to come up with ingenious solutions to curtail these rising costs. This is also where ERP systems come in handy.
When you run your business on an ERP, many repetitive – and often time-consuming – tasks will become unnecessary. For example, manually entering figures into your sales record each time an order is processed will become unnecessary. Also, manually counting items in your warehouse at the end of a sales period won’t be necessary anymore as automating these processes is a cinch for ERPs.
This means you will need fewer hired hands to operate your business, further reducing operational costs.
5. Improved Communication and Smoother Collaboration
Uninterrupted communication and hitch-free collaboration among team members are key to the success of any business. For instance, the procurement team needs to know the budget finance has for a sales period. The warehouse team needs to communicate to the sales team products that are out of stock to avoid taking orders from customers for those products.
Managing this constant back-and-forth communication via email is a recipe for disaster. As such, you are better off using ERP systems because they foster seamless communication and collaboration between each department.
Besides fostering smooth communication and collaboration among team members, these systems also make it easy to keep customers updated about their orders, return requests, and vital information they need to know. They also make managing your customers’ contact information a breeze.
6. Scalable Growth
One of the major concerns many businesses have about procuring ERP software is that they worry they might outgrow the system as business starts to expand. While a valid concern, the truth is that you shouldn’t be too bothered about it.
And the reason is simple: Most ERPs are built with scalability in mind. This means you can subscribe to a solution and only pay for the features you need at the moment. Then as your business starts to expand and your business needs start to grow as well, you can pay for additional features.
That way, you won’t have to switch systems during the growth phase of your business. And you know, switching to a new system can be an expensive venture.
7. Increased Productivity
What’s the point of utilizing an ERP system if it can’t cut out bottlenecks from your operations, simplify your workflow, and improve overall productivity? Thankfully, most ERPs are built for this purpose.
By automating repetitive processes, ERPs frees you and your team time to focus on the core aspects of your business that yield the highest return. The instant result is better profitability and lower costs, which is a win-win.
Furthermore, leveraging these systems means tasks will be completed faster and more efficiently. For instance, if processing a customer’s order using manual systems like spreadsheets takes about an hour, an ERP can reduce it to a couple of minutes. In the end, you will leave customers happier and more willing to buy from you again in the future.
Conclusion
So there you have it; 7 reasons why fashion brands should not hesitate to take advantage of an apparel ERP software solution. It will cost you to implement at first, but the benefits will eventually outweigh the cost in the long run.
