Production automation and data analytics will allow companies to enhance and accelerate the flow of production knowledge, allowing them to produce faster, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively. The ability to predict changing consumer preferences, manufacture in-demand clothing, and distribute it quickly before consumer tastes shift is the key to sustainability and growth. Apparel manufacturers may also offer customization as a value-added alternative to their customers by leveraging advanced technology.
In the Sourcing Journal 2019 Personalization Report, which surveyed people across the apparel, accessories, and footwear industries, 68.9% of respondents said they think that consumers expect customized or personalized goods. In addition, 49.2% of respondents asserted that they are already creating smaller product runs to better serve market needs.
Traditional methods of garment manufacturing cannot satisfy the fashion consumer's needs or expectations in today's market. They’re a bit high maintenance. As the apparel industry transitions to a more demand-focused model, nearshoring and on-demand manufacturing will offer a cost-effective means of increasing market share.
It can be difficult to make the transition from a conventional supply chain to an on-demand business model of localized manufacturing. But it’s time to set those worries aside, because companies that have started the shift are already being rewarded financially.
Gucci DYI: Strategy of scarcity Luxury with Customization
For years, companies have differentiated themselves from mainstream brands by providing exceptional customer service, such as personalized styling or private shopping sessions. However, in an on-demand world, where personalized curation and recommendations are standard, luxury brands must now go further to satisfy their customers’ itch for exclusivity. They are also finding that emphasis on brand heritage is much less effective in capturing the new generation of luxury consumers who only care about the brands that have created value for them within the last 24 hours. ‘What have you done for me lately’ is a demanding philosophy.
Since Alessandro Michele took on the role of creative director for the brand, he has released an array of capsule collections and collaborations with a wide variety of visual artists and other high-end brands. The limited supply of items in capsule collections reinforce the sense of luxury through the perception of scarcity and exclusivity/personalization.
DiVERGE: end-to-end on-demand strategy implementation
Connecting demand - 3D Digital Selling of personalized products with all the rules of variation - directly with production. PlatformE implemented the whole PaaS - from the 3D customizable products and product configurator to the technology stack that manages orders, production, all the way to delivery (factory to consumer).
A well-designed technology stack can help streamline e-fashion (digital fashion) across the value chain enabling Fashion Brands to create their items, sell them and only produce them after the point of purchase with constant and integrated access to their entire production chains. That’s where we come in.
PlatformE is an end-to-end platform that connects demand directly to production and increases the number of products that Fashion brands sell at full price while eliminating dead stock. PlatformE services and technology streamline e-fashion (digital fashion) across the value chain enabling Fashion Brands to create their items, sell them, and only produce them after the point of purchase with constant and integrated access to their entire production chains.