Apparel and footwear giant gains nearly 100% inventory accuracy with new warehouse and workforce management systems
Apparel and footwear giant gains nearly 100% inventory accuracy with new warehouse and workforce management systems
VF Corporation, a multi-billion dollar retailer and manufacturer, recently reported it had improved inventory control and product availability with new supply chain software.
With an international portfolio of brands, including Wrangler, Vans, Nautica and Timberland, which operate through 30 distribution centres (DCs) that manage 1,400 suppliers, 47,000 retailers and 786 stores, the $9-billion (£5.7bn) US company wanted to improve supply chain processes to support growth.
Matching control to scale
Having also acquired several of these high-profile brands over the last decade, VF Corporation selected warehouse management (WMS) and workforce management (WFM) systems from the Manhattan SCOPE supply chain portfolio of Manhattan Associates to manage the core distribution capabilities in its DCs to meet the diverse needs of its product lines. As a result, VF Corporation has reported a decrease in overall labour costs, as well as a 90% improvement in retail service levels.
“The transformed supply chain is keeping pace with the high-demand SKUs called ‘never outs,' which are products that must always remain in stock,” said Terry Brown, director of supply chain systems for VF Corporation’s Global Business Technology group. “We can now deliver these products to retail stores within 24 hours.”
Brown continued: “Speed to market is challenging for any large and growing company. We needed better control of our inventory and a fulfilment strategy that would put the right product in the customer’s hand at the right time.”
Retail and wholesale improvements
The company has made gains with its wholesale service levels as well, achieving a 32% performance improvement. With increased visibility into its supply chain, VF Corporation has achieved nearly 100% inventory accuracy – an increase that has also helped reduce inventory levels. “These improvements mean we’re getting the right product on the floor when it needs to be there,” Brown said.
The implementation of Manhattan Associates’ products has also allowed VF Corporation to increase the shipping and capacity support of Vans, which also included expanding its Santa Fe Springs, California-based DC from 317,000 square feet to more than 530,000 sq. ft.
By using a common fulfilment strategy and implementing complimentary process changes, Vans’ service levels for retail and wholesale improved by more than 50% while increasing inventory accuracy to nearly 100%.
“A compelling reason we opted to strengthen our partnership with Manhattan Associates is that its WMS is the most functional and commercially available system on the market,” Brown concluded. “As we acquire new companies, there’s a high probability that Manhattan’s warehouse management is already in place. That allows for easier integration into our business processes.”
