10 Benefits of Using an Apparel ERP Solution – Running Your Business

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Innovative technologies can help companies in the apparel industry gain insights into their business processes. In fact, apparel ERP, meaning enterprise resource planning software designed specifically for the apparel industry, is an ideal solution.

Exciting Changes in the Apparel Industry

These are exciting and challenging times for businesses in the apparel industry. For one thing, social media wields a powerful influence. For another, consumers have changed. People want to buy whatever they see. What’s more, they want it right now!

But innovative technologies, such as ERP software designed specifically for the apparel industry, can help companies in the apparel industry gain insights into their business processes. This helps them to become more efficient and more competitive.

Let’s take a look at some of the most important benefits of using apparel ERP software.

1. Business Planning in the Apparel Industry

Forget about big, complicated spreadsheets. As we all know, these are tedious to update and difficult to share. Instead, turn to ERP software. It will provide you with a single, centralized platform that will improve how you use your resources, leading to more efficient operations.

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2. Managing Manufacturing, Importing, and Contracting Activities

An apparel ERP solution will help you manage all the manufacturing stages of your product’s life cycle. Whether you are an importer, a domestic manufacturer, or you use domestic contractors, ERP software will help. This is because it allows you to track materials, overhead, labor, and costs for all your production activities.

From initial design and engineering to quality and cost management, you will be able to stay on top of any production issues. This frees you to create realistic schedules, maximize shop floor throughput, and optimize resource investment.

3. Managing the Apparel Supply Chain

Today’s leading apparel companies demand an apparel ERP system that will help them easily manage raw materials as well as finished goods.

For example, a good apparel ERP system will seamlessly adapt to scheduling changes and supplier delays by reallocating projected inventory. This in turn minimizes negative effects on your customers.

Further, a good ERP system will enable you to create domestic and offshore orders, optimize your supply performance, increase visibility into the complete procurement-to-payment process, and more.

4. Accurate and Updated Data

The data in the apparel ERP software is accurate because it is continuously updated in real time. For example, it logs and monitors data in order to guarantee that no data manipulation of any kind can take place.

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Moreover, an effective ERP solution provides comprehensive statistics on revenues and expenses. This lets managers know which areas need adjustment.

5. Improved Productivity

It’s difficult to estimate how much duplicate and otherwise inaccurate data gets communicated in the apparel production process.

However, software automates operational tasks and provides easy access to information. This saves time and significantly reduces the risk of human error. You’ll have accurate information that you can access from any location and at any time. This will undoubtedly improve your organization’s productivity.

6. Reduced Costs

Apparel ERP software will centralize your data and integrate various operations across all departments. This will inevitably lead to reduced costs.

For instance, if a certain fabric is used in the making of several different garments across a number of divisions, an ERP solution will help you calculate the total amount of fabric you will need.

Moreover, ERP software will help you improve flow and communication within your organization. For example, when all key product data is centralized, you will save money by sourcing only the right amounts of materials and making more precise forecasts.

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7. Apparel Inventory Management

You need to meet the demands of today’s omnichannel market.

However, manual tracking of items across offline and online channels can lead to miscalculations and errors. This inevitably leads to loss of profit.

Therefore, fashion retailers, brand owners, and companies working in the wholesale apparel industry need to have an accurate and up-to-date overview of their inventory. This enables them to optimize their stock levels.

To this end, ERP software designed specifically for the apparel industry provides a consolidated overview of your inventory. It does so by sorting merchandise into various categories, such as style, size, color, price, vendor, and so on.

This significantly decreases the time you spend on ordering and distribution. In short, ERP software will enable you to maintain optimum inventory levels and allocate resources to areas that need attention.

8. Higher Levels of Customer Satisfaction with Their Apparel Purchases

Today’s businesses need to provide customers, suppliers, and sales representatives with multiple channels of communication. For example, consumers want to use email, phone, or the Internet to place orders quickly and easily. Moreover, they want to access product and order information conveniently.

However, providing multiple means of contact and managing the flow of information can be a real challenge. On the other hand, an apparel ERP solution will provide consistent service levels and access to real-time information however and wherever customers demand it.

9. Financial Information Management

An apparel ERP system will enable you to leverage timely and accurate financial information while reducing operational and maintenance costs.

Good ERP solutions are flexible enough to change and grow along with your business. Moreover, they will provide advanced functionality for managing even the most complex financial operations.

10. Report Generation

An apparel ERP solution will enable you to compile reports quickly and efficiently.

Use it to create summaries and operational overviews. This will save you time and still give you a clear picture of what is happening in your company, all the way through manufacturing processes to the availability of certain items in your warehouse.

Final Thoughts

Technology has become vital for all modern businesses, and the apparel industry is no exception. ERP software in the apparel industry centralizes data from all departments and functions within an organization.

You can easily use this centralized data for designing, manufacturing, and supply chain management. Moreover, an apparel ERP solution monitors and controls the company’s operations. It drafts query responses, plans, schedules, and tracks orders, and predicts data with great accuracy.

As a result, you get a clear view of business procedures. This in turn leads to reduced costs, time savings, and increased productivity and efficiency throughout your organization.

For more articles about running your business efficiently, be sure to browse our blog.