BoF Insights | Building Resilience and Value in Fashion’s Supply Chain

The Covid-19 pandemic precipitated an infinite human and financial disaster, ushering in a interval of disruption and volatility that reveals no indicators of abating. In simply the final week, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine surprised and outraged the world. The pandemic and the current battle in Europe are the most recent indications that an period of relative stability on the planet order — and provide chains — is coming to an finish.

For the style business, the pandemic magnified fragilities and vulnerabilities in its provide chain given the business’s labour depth and the sprawl of its international operations. It uncovered present points, together with difficulties in safeguarding human rights, navigating geopolitical tensions and enhancing environmental requirements. It additionally created new challenges, reminiscent of an unexpected surge in shopper demand coupled with operational bottlenecks in key hubs and transit factors.

Certainly, even earlier than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, senior trend executives ranked provide and worth chain pressures as the highest theme that can form the style business in 2022.

Building Resiliency and Value in Fashion’s Supply Chain is the third in-depth report back to be revealed by BoF Insights, a brand new information and evaluation assume tank from The Enterprise of Style that arms enterprise leaders with proprietary and data-driven analysis to navigate the fast-changing trend business.

On this report, BoF Insights identifies 5 secular shifts which were affecting trend’s provide chains:

• Accelerated progress of e-commerce
• Elevated speed-to-market of ultra-fast trend gamers
• Better geopolitical pressure
• Rising shopper and authorities calls for to be extra sustainable
• New developments in expertise

The report additionally surveys senior trend executives to grasp their main considerations and priorities, revealing that:

• Executives are most fearful concerning the upstream (planning, sourcing, manufacturing) parts of their provide chain than the downstream (transport, distribution, returns)
• Inflation is a sustained concern: price will increase in uncooked materials is probably the most generally cited provide chain difficulty for 2022 and past 2022
• Commerce disputes signify the only most regarding geopolitical threat, with 84 p.c of respondents ranking it as a excessive or medium threat
• Trying forward, strengthening provider relationships is the highest precedence, with many executives additionally indicating that their firms are investing financially to enhance the capabilities of their suppliers

The report concludes with a model and retailer playbook that’s designed to assist firms transfer away from trying to resolve the availability chain “trilemma” — balancing pace, reliability and price when solely two elements might be achieved at anyone time. As an alternative, BoF Insights outlines a discrete set of value-creating initiatives that concentrate on enhancing visibility throughout, velocity in and the final word viability of trend’s provide chains.

Why this report is a must have:

• Affords an outline on how trend’s provide chain must evolve in an more and more risky world
• Summarises underlying secular shifts that have been already impacting trend’s provide chain earlier than the pandemic
• Particulars pandemic-specific challenges which have emerged with skilled steerage as to the way to navigate them
• Ranks the considerations and priorities of senior trend executives with regard to their firm’s provide chains
• Affords a strategic playbook with ten discrete value-generating initiatives for firms to evolve their provide chains right into a supply of aggressive benefit and worth

The report relies on proprietary analysis inputs, together with:

30 interviews with founders, senior executives and academicians drawn from:

• Manufacturers and retailers
• Producers
• Freight forwarders
• Third-party logistics suppliers
• Know-how start-ups
• Universities and analysis establishments

An unique BoF Resolution-Maker Survey fielded by BoF throughout its international group of trend professionals, representing a cross-section of senior decision-makers throughout a number one set of trend manufacturers and retailers.

Firms lined and/or interviewed within the report embrace American Eagle Outfitters, ASKET, ASOS, DXM Inc., Flexport, Katla, Kavida.ai, Li & Fung, Linc, MANGO, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Ohi, On, PANGAIA, Panjiva, Quiet Logistics, Reformation, Saint Artwork, Shahi Exports, SHEIN, SILQ, SXD, Syrup Tech, TextileGenesis, TrusTrace and Zalando.

For enquiries and/or help, please e-mail insights@businessoffashion.com.