In the constantly evolving fashion industry, relying on guesswork and intuition is no longer enough. That's why data-driven decisions are revolutionizing the way fashion companies operate. Data driven business approach adopt data analysis to make strategic decisions within businesses operations. By leveraging data and analytical approach, businesses gain insights into customer behaviour, market trends or demand volume. Using a data-driven approach boost the business not only within overall efficiency but also profitability.
Regular fashion production process Vs. Data-drive production
Regular fashion production is a more traditional approach to manufacturing fashion products that have been used for decades. In this method, designers create a collection of designs based on their own creative ideas, market research, and industry trends. These designs are then manufactured and produced in large quantities, without much regard for consumer demand or market trends.
On the other hand, data-driven fashion production is a more modern approach that uses data analysis and insights to guide the manufacturing and production process. This method involves analyzing data on consumer behaviour, market trends, and product demand to determine which designs and products are most likely to be popular. Based on this analysis, designers can create collections that are more likely to sell, and manufacturers can adjust production schedules and inventory levels to optimise for demand.
What are the biggest pain points within fashion product development processes?
One of the most addressed topics in the fashion industry is the long development processes that traditional manufacturing methods involve. The fashion brands plan their collections so far in advance (usually up to two years ahead), they struggle to keep up with rapidly changing trends and consumer demands. This can lead to missed opportunities and lost sales.
Another common issue is the significant amount of material waste that comes out during the sampling, fitting, and production processes. This not only has negative environmental impacts but tights brands´ financial resources.
Overproduction is a next challenge that fashion brands are facing. Holding onto massive inventory and unsold stock can tie up huge financial resources, leading to reduced profitability.
Lastly, the biggest pain point for fashion manufacturers and brands is the loss of profit when demand exceeds the supply. Without accurate forecasting and production planning, brands risk losing out on potential sales and revenue.
What exactly means data-driven decision making?
Data-driven decision-making is the secret to success in today's business world: it's the process of making a crucial business decision based on relevant, reliable data, information and facts. Brands only make a final strategic decision after collecting and analyzing data.
“Data-driven decision-making found that organizations using data to make decisions are more likely to be profitable and can more effectively retain and acquire customers vs those who fail to use this approach.” - A McKinsey study
Data Driven Fashion Production
Fashion companies are turning to data analytics to drive innovation in the industry. It’s a growing trend, driven by the need to meet consumer demands for faster delivery times, the estimated demand for retail products, and increased sustainability. By leveraging data analytics and insights, fashion companies can optimize various aspects and resources of the production process to achieve these goals and more.
What benefits does Data-Driven Production Planning bring?
The power of data brings a multitude of benefits to production planning in the fashion industry:
Better forecasting
Data provides information about past and current sales volume, brands gain insights into sales volume, trends, customer behavior, and production demands. This provides accurate forecasting that guides strategic decisions and ensures the right products are created to meet customer demands.
Improving efficiency throughout the supply chain
Data-driven production planning boosts efficiency across the entire supply chain. Analysing data within the inventory, demand fluctuations and production timeline enable optimizing internal operations to maximum level.
Sustainability in Action
Aligning production with demand volume not only minimizes waste but also empowers sustainable practices. Production planning according to forecasted demand volume enables fashion brands and apparel manufacturers to produce only what is demanded. Fashion brands can reduce significant waste within the production process and subsequent push of lowering margins within the unsold inventory.
Trimming Excess Stock
Connected to waste, data-driven production planning allows to decrease inventory and prevent brands from holding deadstock. Instead of investing resources into products with uncertain demand, brands can focus on developing the forecasted, in-demand products that will fly off the shelves.
So, a step into the future of production planning with data as your compass. Embracing the power of data-driven decisions to transform your operations will ultimately lead to increase profitability, and make a positive impact on the fashion industry.
Achieving goals with data in Fashion
Maximize Profitability
The power of data tackles business to make informed decisions that impact your bottom line. When choosing the right strategy using an analytical approach provides making logical and reliable decisions rather than using personal instincts.
From Reactive to Proactive
Leave the guesswork behind and grasp the power of reliable data in decision making. Having reliable sources helps accurately identify trends and specific patterns to forecast the future. This brings up the opportunity to “foreseeing the future” and be more proactive.
Optimize inventory and trend forecasting
Keeping up with ever-changing trends is no easy task, but data is here to help. Predictive analysis based on data enables fashion brands and retailers to estimate products' “shelf time” and identify trending and highly demanded products. With data as your guide, you ensure your inventory aligns with customer demand, paving the way for optimized production planning.
How can brands leverage data to improve decision making?
Within the fashion industry, data-based decisions are crucial to level up business efficiency. Data within production development enables a clear understanding “of the future” and provides a direction to follow. Fashion brands and manufacturers require smooth communication while having full transparency throughout all steps. To streamline internal processes manufacturers need to adapt technology to ensure fast and accurate data on both ends. Having real-time data for product development, regarding lead times or demand volume can increase business efficiency same as reduce the environmental impact.
Empowering technology and data within product development processes scales up digital product development and real-time communication within both parties and potentially can prevent time and resource-consuming sampling stages. Last, but not least, data can provide full transparency within the costs of production, which give brands a clear idea of the necessary investment of planned collection.
Data can bring plenty of benefits to internal processes and boost the business´ efficiency and profitability. Do you need to streamline product development and planning, improve communication with suppliers and have full transparency over the processes?
Leverage data usage with PlatformE, contact us!