Threading the needle to success: Part 2 - ERP

Chances are your brand already relies on an ERP solution to house foundational functions and master data. But can it withstand the rapid developmental, transactional, and digitized industry of the future? To meet the rigorous demands of supply, demand, financials, inventory management, and the needs of a collaborative network, the ERP solution employed by your company needs to have the flexibility to meet changing business models, encapsulate industry best practice processes, and integrate in real time with other key applications. Just as your people need to be connected in a collaborative network, so do your technology solutions.

Collaborate your way to greatness 

In today’s fast-moving and increasingly competitive business environment, being “good enough” is simply not good enough. A modern ERP will provide fashion brands with enterprise-wide visibility, agility, flexibility, and the ability to collaborate and achieve unprecedented productivity levels. As teams leverage improved communications and cross-functional data from the collaborative network, they can reduce cycle time and increase accuracy, which is often lost in times of urgency. Native social tools within a modernized ERP system allow teams to share rich information across regions, time zones, and departments with devices supported by the network. 

Among the leading components of a transformational ERP is the ability to act as a key component in the collaborative network. Collaboration isn’t just between two people—it is the confluence of people, processes, systems, products, functionalities, and technologies working together to achieve a common goal. A cloud-based, networked enterprise resource planning solution could be the last ERP upgrade your company will ever need. When you create your collaborative network of people, technology, and processes, you’re investing in technology that can be updated in conjunction with other network solutions, helping you prepare your business for the future while succeeding in the present. 

The benefits of networked processes and enterprise planning resources don’t stop at transformation. Networked product lifecycle management, enterprise resource planning, and supply chain management work in tandem to:

• Reduce cycle times
• Increase accuracy
• Enhance visibility and proactivity
• Improve business flexibility
• Reduce multiple system upgrades
• Analyze and report on third-party data 
• Forecast for improved planning
• Better inform cost and risk management 
• Bring the value chain closer to the customer

To learn more about this topic and gain some practical information about how your organization can create a connected and collaborative digitized network, check out this best practice guide.