Fashion retailer manages 185% increase in orders without increasing back-office staff

Fashion retailer manages 185% increase in orders without increasing back-office staff

Fast fashion retailer New Look today announced that a supply chain management solution developed by ediTRACK has enabled it to process 185% more purchase orders than it could five years ago, and without needing to significantly increase its back-office staffing levels.

Lighthouse, the ediTRACK software-as-a-service (SaaS) that New Look is using, provides an accessible platform for all its trading partners to share information on product development and delivery. It has allowed the company to grow without having to constantly invest in larger in-house IT capability. In addition to dramatically increasing the numbers of purchase orders it handles each week, New Look has used Lighthouse to increase the number of stores it services and the number of distribution hubs that it can manage.

Managing global development teams

ediTRACK said its service allows buyers in the UK and producers in the Far East to share information about designs, fabrics and delivery schedules electronically in real time, and ensures that the latest information is always available to everyone involved. Having ‘one version of the truth’ has led to a significant reduction in errors.

Maxine Walter, New Look supply chain coordination manager, commented: “Now our buyers can exchange photographs with suppliers and have a real-time dialogue as they develop styles, while buyers out in the Far East can send detailed and accurate information back to their teams in the UK. It has certainly cut lead times and reduced errors.

“And, because it includes an event-based tracking tool there is an action list based on the agreed critical path so we reduce slippage and have the merchandise where we want it when it is needed.”

A ‘sales approval process’ module also allows New Look’s trading partners to access a common platform containing all the pre-delivery information they require. This helps retailers like New Look to minimise lead times as well as move hot styles to the right markets to maximise sales.

Meeting growing supply needs

John Devany, ediTRACK managing director, described his take on how New Look’s approach to supply chain management has evolved: “New Look has worldwide distribution needs, and achieving end-to-end visibility of its supply chain has played a vital role in its growth plans. While the initial applications we developed were focused on streamlining relationships with freight forwarders and improving supplier compliance, a succession of releases since then have not only ensured visibility through the supply chain, but helped enable future growth.

“One of the latest system upgrades has involved the creation of a ‘booking diary,’ which monitors inbound stock movements from factory to freight forwarder to warehouse to delivery truck and store so that everyone involved knows exactly which merchandise is expected where at any given time.”

Dan Monaghan, New Look head of supply chain operations, added, “If in future we need more distribution hubs to handle additional franchises, then the system can scale up to meet demand.”