Apparel Retailer Outfits Supply Chain With Automation Gains Real-Time Visibility

This leading retailer of casual apparel for men, women and children operates over 1,000 stores in the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom. It also sells products through online stores and catalogues. Merchandise is shipped to these stores by air and sea freight from three distribution centers.

The Challenge

The company lacked visibility into its supply chain. Its homegrown system involved spreadsheets, emails and phone calls with international business units and over 30 trading partners. With a 12-hour time difference between partners, accurate and real-time information was nearly impossible. The company’s logistics team needed a single, detailed level view of shipments and orders in-transit to track, manage exceptions, proactively pinpoint in-transit delays and respond to any potential logistics crisis. “We needed to create reliability in our global supply chain with the ability to respond to actual and potential issues and tightly collaborate with our merchants, distribution centers and service providers,” said the company’s Vice President Global Trade & transportation.