Every fashion eCommerce business needs efficient inventory control to keep track of inventory flow, manage products, and schedule timely stock replenishment. Nowadays, apparel inventory management is automated with the use of digital inventory management software to synchronize all inventory and eCommerce sales data and help business owners make informed decisions, enabling them to act fast in response to emerging trends in the rapidly evolving apparel industry.

The good news is, there are many appealing fashion eCommerce software solutions available. But how do you find the best one for your apparel business? The right eCommerce fashion software must fulfill your unique needs while also providing scope for future expansion. 

If you have an apparel eCommerce business, keep reading to learn about the importance of fashion software solutions, the features good inventory management software must have, and how to choose one that will help you improve your eCommerce business.

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What Is a Fashion eCommerce Inventory Management System?

A software system that tracks inventory, orders, and fulfillment is known as a retail inventory management system. It aids retailers in following products through the supply chain and contributes to more efficient supply chain management.

Fashion eCommerce software solutions are used by high-volume apparel eCommerce businesses to prevent inventory shortages and excess inventory, eliminate inventory errors, and improve the entire inventory management process.

Having all inventory data in a single centralized location is especially important for fashion businesses that sell through several offline and online channels, as well as those that use multiple storage facilities. 

Types of eCommerce Inventory Management Systems

Spreadsheets were the first inventory management tools that required manual updates. Fortunately, inventory software solutions have advanced and today, most of an eCommerce retailer’s inventory management can be automated. Inventory management systems come in three different varieties:

• Manual inventory management system. Using a manual system is the conventional method of managing inventories. Systems for manual inventory management are typically built on a spreadsheet or even just a piece of paper and a pen. If your monthly sales are under ten thousand dollars, this may be a viable alternative, but it is not a great option for a growing eCommerce company.

• Periodic inventory management system. Periodic inventory systems rely on physical inventory counts at predetermined periods to keep track of stock levels. If you use this type of inventory management system, you won’t know how many products you have until the physical inventory count is finished. As a result, when a consumer wants to purchase something, someone must physically verify the inventory to see if the item is in stock and ready to be purchased.

• Perpetual inventory management system. This type of retail inventory management system offers inventory tracking in real-time. The inventory database is updated when a new item is received, scanned, and added and a product’s barcode is deleted from the database when it is sold. The main advantage of this cloud-based solution is that it provides an incredibly thorough, real-time view of all inventory movement and changes. Additionally, it offers accurate inventory accounting without the need for physical inventory counts. It is effective for all sizes of businesses, but it is especially important for eCommerce companies with numerous warehouses or big sales volumes.

Key Features of Fashion eCommerce Inventory Software 

Most leading eCommerce fashion inventory management systems include the following key features: 

Inventory tracking

Keeping an eye on the movement of your stock along the supply chain is known as inventory tracking. Retail inventory management software makes it easier to rapidly locate a product with a single click. 

Since clothing retailers typically have a large number of product SKUs in a wide range of sizes and colors, traceability is a major feature. The inventory software will show you what you have in stock and reflect real-time movements of your products. 

Supplier management and purchase management 

Providing complete control over the procurement process is another helpful aspect of apparel inventory software. The system will help eliminate a lot of tedious manual processes, reduce the chance of human error, and make sure all purchasing processes adhere to the proper procedure. 

The best eCommerce fashion software solutions let you create and autofill purchase orders, build and save all your supplier-related information in one database, review your past transactions with each supplier, assess supplier performance, and more.

Inventory barcoding

By eliminating data entry errors, the barcoding functionality digitizes various business processes including collecting, organizing and storing inventory data. You may speed up the process and obtain correct product information by barcode scanning the inventory item before it leaves a store or enters an eCommerce warehouse.

This functionality interacts with other inventory management system key features including advanced reporting capabilities and digital invoicing to further increase operational efficiency and the accuracy of your inventory. 

Low stock alerts and reorder points

When stock is getting low, your fashion eCommerce inventory management tool should be able to send out alerts. This feature can be in the form of automated notifications or emails that inform you when there are low stock levels, shipments are delayed, or logistics are running behind schedule. As a result, you have far more control over every aspect of your supply chain, from vendor management to logistics for transporting materials. 

The inventory management system also offers an inventory forecasting tool that can help you determine when is the best time to restock products in order to minimize waste and maximize inventory storage depending on customer demand and lead time. 

Inventory reports

If you want to expand your eCommerce business, inventory reporting is an essential tool. This feature offers a way to visualize and analyze data, which can be a source of valuable customer insights that directly contribute to improved customer experiences and increased customer satisfaction. 

Reporting features can provide answers to crucial business questions and help you make more informed decisions. Inventory turnover rate, the average time to sell for an SKU, backorder rate, profit margins, unit sales, stock age, etc. are some of the statistics that this feature can provide.

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How to Choose the Best Fashion eCommerce Software Solution

When selecting the best fashion inventory management solution for eCommerce, you must take the priorities and primary requirements of your company into consideration. The following are some things to think about when you look for the best inventory software for your fashion business:

1. Your business requirements

Every eCommerce business has a different set of specifications for its inventory system. For instance, some online retailers could favor a system that tracks goods shipments, whereas retail businesses that also have physical stores might prefer a system with the capability to synchronize multiple sales channels. 

On the other hand, online retail stores whose products depend on seasonal demand will benefit most from retail inventory management software with sophisticated analytics and reporting tools for better customer demand forecasting. 

2. Integration with other systems

Your selected eCommerce inventory management system must interface with other systems you’re already using in order to streamline your retail operations. It should, at the very least, be integrated with your POS and eCommerce software.

As your online store grows, you’ll probably increase the number of platforms you are using. Be sure to check whether the number of integrations offered by your preferred inventory management system is sufficient to meet your future needs. 

3. Pricing 

The needs of your company will also affect the price of inventory software. The more capabilities and features you need, the higher the cost of the system will be. Consider your company’s budget before looking for eCommerce fashion inventory software. You must take into account the price of setup, software installation, migration of data from other systems, employee training, etc. in addition to a recurring monthly subscription.

4. Usability and customization 

While cutting-edge features are important, you shouldn’t ignore a system’s usability. It’s probably not worth investing in a system if it takes too much time for your staff to figure out how to use its simplest functions efficiently. Select the simple option that has an intuitive interface and is easier to use over a complex one.

Additionally, your system must be configurable in a way that synchronizes with your business without any interruptions. Verify the software’s suitability for your company’s requirements and the extent of its customizability. If you already use an inventory system but you want to upgrade to one with more capabilities, make sure the new inventory system can readily integrate with the existing one.

The Bottom Line

We hope this post has provided you with the necessary knowledge on the advantages and core features of the appropriate retail inventory management system for your eCommerce business. This will put you on your way to streamline your operations and eliminate mistakes. 

ApparelMagic is a product lifecycle management (PLM) software and an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform specifically designed for companies in the apparel industry. We offer in-depth functionality to meet your requirements, stay by your side with technical assistance, and provide monthly system enhancements to scale with you. Would you like to see what a  fashion eCommerce software solution can do? Get a free ApparelMagic demo!

Today’s retail store owners are aware of the advantages emerging technologies offer and use them to create shopping experiences that will appeal to modern consumers. 

From retail inventory solutions to augmented reality, technology in retail is reshaping retail shops and empowering consumers to make quick and informed buying decisions, while at the same time helping retailers to reduce their overhead and improve planning, providing them with a competitive edge to grow in the market. 

In this post, we’re discussing six technologies you should consider including in your retail operation and explaining how they can improve your business. 

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How to Use Technology in Retail Businesses?

Here are six instances of new technology that retailers are proactively integrating into their stores in order to give customers the best user experience and achieve their business objectives.

1. Mobile Shopping

Over 86 million people in the US use their smartphones to shop online, and four out of five phone users thoroughly examine the goods and services offered online before making a purchase.

Since smartphones are becoming the standard platform for brand interaction and online purchases, it is essential for retailers to maintain a positive online image. To drive business growth, business owners and marketers must work to make customers’ mobile purchasing experiences entertaining, educational, and convenient. 

2. Behavioral Analytics

Customer behavioral analytics and web analytics are growing more significant as mobile users grow more accustomed to online buying. Customers prefer to explore products and services online, but they anticipate that online retailers will provide them with a variety of options based on their tastes and purchasing patterns. Retailers can improve their supply chain, merchandising, marketing, and other strategic business decisions by utilizing the rich data on customer behavior patterns provided by online business analytics.

Online marketers can benefit greatly from behavioral analytics, which keeps track of customers’ past search and buying activity as well as their interactions with customer service representatives. Thanks to this data, retailers can predict and recommend the appropriate goods and services to their target audience.

3. Retail Inventory Solutions

Efficiently managing inventory is essential for all retail organizations. Inventory management software is a system for tracking retail inventory levels, orders, transactions, and conveyances. It is a tool for organizing stock information that was previously primarily stored in printed copy structures or bookkeeping sheets. 

By using retail inventory management software, retail stores can save money by preventing both product shortages and overstocks, and reach balance in their stock levels. As a result, they are able to keep more money in their pockets, which they can use to fund the development of profitable businesses. Inventory software can also make keeping track of your stock in many locations much simpler if you have several distribution centers or locations where an item is kept.

4. Cloud-Based ERP 

An enterprise resource planning system has every feature that is included in retail inventory software, but that is where the similarities end. An ERP’s feature set is far more comprehensive than that of standard inventory software. It is intended for large organizations, asit is also significantly more costly and less flexible.

When you keep track of your inventory using a cloud-based ERP system, you can compare inventory data with billing schedules, purchase orders, financial data, and other useful analytics. You can make decisions based on data because up-to-date, reliable data is always within grasp at every point of the selling, buying, and managing processes. 

5. Mobile POS

The days of large registers are over; now, it’s simple to upgrade your retail business with mobile POS systems which can be added anywhere in your store.

Given that 34% of millennial shoppers rarely or never carry cash, mobile POS caters to the preferences of today’s customers while also expediting in-store operations. Mobile POS enhances the consumer experience at the checkout counter by decreasing waiting times. Sales associates can start processing transactions while customers are still in line, allowing them to check out quickly and conveniently. 

6. Augmented Reality

Retailers with physical locations have started to use augmented reality to create engaging customer experiences. This is a wise move, given that more than 60% of customers like establishments with augmented reality experiences. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that AR encourages impulsive purchasing, with over 70% of consumers reporting that AR has led them to make unplanned purchases of goods.

In the modern retail environment, augmented reality can make it simple for customers to see a product they are thinking about purchasing, no matter if it’s a new dining room table or a pair of boots. Consumers tend to frequent shops that use AR to enhance the shopping experience more and lengthen the time they spend interacting with a particular product. 

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3 Examples of Technology in Fashion Retail Stores

Augmented reality window displays – Zara

Zara temporarily incorporated augmented reality technology into their stores in 2018 through external window displays and designated in-store AR zones. Customers in a few Zara stores were instructed to stand in a particular spot on the shop floor and use their phone as a lens when held up to a sensor. Then, models started to appear wearing items from the most recent collection and interacting with their surroundings. 

This allowed customers to have a better idea of how the clothing fit and could be styled without having to use the changing rooms if they were pressed for time.

Speed shop – Nike

A flagship Nike store called the “Nike House of Innovation 000” debuted in NYC in 2018 and featured digital components to give customers an immersive and extremely practical shopping experience. The six-floor studio’s “Speed Shop” is a standout feature, along with customization studios and quick checkout areas. 

Customers are now able to reserve shoes online to try on in-store. To be more specific, they can come through a designated entry, find a locker with their name on it, and unlock it using their smartphone. Customers do not even need to stand in line or speak to anyone in order to purchase the shoes in question because mobile check-out is also an option.

Social retail store – Burberry

Burberry’s first social retail store opened in Shenzhen, China’s innovation hub, in July 2020 with the intention of combining the area’s passion for luxury retail with social media to offer an interactive and immersive shopping experience.

Users accumulate virtual social currency by engaging with a customized mini-program within the WeChat app (learning more about specific products, scheduling appointments, and sharing user-generated content). This virtual currency is then utilized to hatch and gradually evolve an animal character on the shopper’s mobile device as they go around the retail store – a fun way to gamify the shopping experience and reward customers for their involvement. 

The Bottom Line

While it does take some time for some technological advancements to enter the everyday operations of businesses, the truth is there are many emerging technologies that are already having a positive impact on many retail companies, such as mobile shopping, retail inventory solutions, and augmented reality. 

Of course, utilizing technology alone does not ensure a retailer’s success. For instance, a store may employ technology to manage and control product flow, but if it keeps inventory that customers don’t want, it will lose money. Therefore, retailers should strive to develop a combination of technological expertise, solid retail management strategies, problem-solving progress and interpersonal skills, in order to see growth. 

A value chain is a set of activities that a company performs in order to deliver a product to customers. All the stages involved in moving a product from its ideation to distribution, including design, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing, make up a value chain. The value chain for organizations that manufacture goods begins with the raw materials used to create the products and includes everything before the product is sold to end customers.

But what is the importance of a retail value chain? How can it help boost your company’s efficiency and productivity? We’re answering these and more questions related to retail value chains in this article. 

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How Do Retail Value Chains Work? 

A value chain can assist an organization in identifying inefficient areas of operation, and then support decisions and optimize activities to maximize productivity and profitability. Value chain analysis can also help businesses to ensure their clients feel secure and confident enough to remain loyal. 

Michael E. Porter, the founder of the value chain idea, divides a company’s activities into two broad categories: primary and support.

Primary activities contribute to a product’s physical creation, maintenance, sale, and support. 

• Inbound logistics refers to the internal management and handling of external resources such as vendors. Known as ‘inputs’, these external resources can include raw materials.
• Operations are all processes and activities that convert inputs into products or services (‘outputs’) that the company sells to consumers by charging a greater price than the price of materials and manufacture.
• Outbound logistics is the delivery of products and services to consumers. Systems for collecting, storage, and distribution are all part of the process. 
• Sales and marketing. Brand-building and advertising are examples of activities that aim to reach an audience, raise visibility, and explain why a consumer should buy a product/service.
• Service. Product support and customer service are examples of activities that help maintain strong relationships with the people who have bought a product/service.

The support activities support the company’s primary activities and include:

• Procurement. Obtaining the essential resources and materials needed to develop a product/service, including finding vendors, managing vendor relationships, negotiating costs, etc.
• Technological development. IT management, cybersecurity, and research and development are all activities that help a business establish and sustain its technological capabilities.
• HR management. Recruiting, training, establishing and maintaining company culture, and keeping strong employee relationships are all part of this.
• Company infrastructure encompasses all necessary business activities such as general management, legal, administrative, finance, accounting, quality assurance, and public relations. 

2.1. Value Chain vs Supply Chain

Value chain and supply chain are two mechanisms that help turn product ideas into actual products. As a result, they are frequently confused. Both of these concepts, however, approach the same process in a different way and have different objectives.

The key difference between a value chain and a supply chain is that the latter doesn’t provide value. The major role of a value chain is to add value to the commodity so that it can be given to the consumer, whereas the main function of a supply chain is to transport a commodity or material from one company to another.

Supply chain management is the practice of planning and controlling supply chain activities, while the purpose of a value chain is to provide a company with a competitive advantage by boosting productivity while keeping costs low.

Stages of the Retail Value Chain 

The retail value chain consists of the following four steps: 

Creating the product. A product must be developed before a company may sell it. Companies can make these items by obtaining raw materials from external sources or by using their own resources.

Inventory management. After a product has been manufactured in sufficient quantities, the manufacturer must keep the goods until they’re ready for the next phase. Inventory products are tracked as they arrive in the warehouse, counted, stored, and prepared for delivery to retail outlets. Using retail inventory management software can make inventory management much easier by replacing physical inventory sheets, and help you to quickly estimate the value of your ending inventory over a given time by automating the retail method of inventory. 

Distributing goods. Distributors are in charge of transporting items from warehouses to retail stores. It’s their responsibility to deliver the goods on schedule, in good condition, and on budget. Clothing inventory management software can help make sure that seasonal clothes, such as winter coats and summer shorts are delivered on time to meet customer demand, and that enough items are available during busy shopping days like Black Friday.

Making the product available to consumers. When the items arrive at the stores, retailers need to figure out if they have the right things in the right amounts to meet client demand. If they offer too few things, the goods will sell out rapidly, leaving barren shelves for late-arriving clients. If, on the other hand, retailers stock too many things to match client demand, those products will sit on the shelf, unable to generate revenue.

Why is Retail Value Chain Important 

The value chain framework can benefit companies in the following ways:

• Determine inefficient areas for corrective action.
• Provide decision-making support for many business activities.
• Optimize operations in order to increase output while lowering costs.
• Recognize the connections and interdependencies between various company sectors and activities. 
• Recognize your primary competencies and opportunities for growth.
• Create a cost advantage over your competitors.

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Example of a Retail Value Chain 

The renowned Spanish clothing retailer and manufacturer Zara is one company that’s interesting to analyze from a value chain perspective. 

Inbound logistics: Zara’s supply chain control is a significant component of its inbound logistics, with about half of its products manufactured in Spain and the rest manufactured elsewhere. However, before being distributed, all of the goods are received and kept in warehouses. The company has set up its manufacturing centers without specified prints or colors in order to be able to react quickly to minor market changes.

Operations: The company’s headquarters and key design departments are based in Spain, which allows for easy collaboration with the purchasing department to make quick choices and changes. In addition, the retailer has three distinct and autonomous lines: women’s, men’s, and children’s clothes. This ensures that each line can respond to market developments rapidly and make decisions without requiring approval from other departments. Procurement, design, marketing, and sales exist for each of the three lines, but they are handled differently.

Outbound logistics: Zara’s main distribution of clothing occurs at the beginning of fashion seasons, which coincide with actual weather seasons. Shop managers should keep this in mind and endeavor to order clothing quantities as accurately as possible. They rely heavily on projections and data to reach that precision. Fast apparel distribution is a key aspect of the company’s outbound logistics, and in order to achieve this, shipping within Spain takes 24 hours while deliveries overseas take 40 hours.

Marketing and sales: Zara doesn’t invest significantly in promotion and marketing compared to other fashion brands and instead employs other innovative commercial techniques. Clothing is displayed and sold for a limited time in order to keep buyers interested and coming back in search of new items or discounted products. As a result, unsold products account for only 18%. As this strategy can increase the cost of labor, the company keeps its marketing and advertising costs low in order to reach balance and keep a competitive advantage.  

Service: Zara follows numerous principles to retain consumer interest and satisfaction, in spite of the fact that they focus on product management and do not require great service support. The company’s rule is to avoid long waiting periods and formation of lines in their stores. As the majority of their customers are young, the purchasing process has to be completed quickly, so personnel are instructed to assist clients who are in a rush or require assistance. They also strive to reply to customer requests and concerns as promptly as possible.

The Bottom Line 

The activities and people involved in taking a product from concept through distribution are documented in a value chain. Understanding your retail value chain allows you to think about your profit margins and determine how to create more value with less money.

A retail value chain can not only help you cut costs while enhancing the value of your product or service, but it can also differentiate your brand from the competition. Perform a value chain analysis on your own, adapt the basic value chain model to your organization’s unique characteristics, and appropriately manage the activities, and you’ll see greater revenues and efficiency in the end.

With the climate crisis, fashion is stepping up to the challenge, designing and manufacturing the most ecologically savvy garments in industry history. Supply chains are being shortened, transformed, and analyzed. Products are being rethought from the ground up, literally starting from the cotton seed.

For the modern fashion brand, this is all less of a set-back and more of an opportunity to change the world for the better.

The urgency and relevancy of this issue isn’t lost on anyone in fashion, but how does a brand get started on a path to sustainability?

As with many of fashion’s innovations, it all starts with technology.

Fashion’s impact on the environment is of mythical proportion, but few can fully quantify its effects—or its recent improvements—because so little data exists. The first step your brand can take is doing a real analysis of the resources used in your production.

How much yardage is used in each style, and how much is wasted, not even making it past the factory floor? Where is everything being made, and how does it get from point A to point B? When the wrong trim is ordered by mistake, does it find its way into a future style, or is it cast aside in perpetuity? And on a more granular level, are the fabrics and trims you’re using living up to the ethical expectations of your customers and your brand values?

Software can help you track each of these elements, ensuring that you are on top of your production and all of its ecological implications. With a fuller, bird’s eye view of your manufacturing, you’ll have the potential to improve your triple bottom line.

What’s more is that this information doesn’t have to be used only internally. In today’s market, this kind of data is what we’re all beginning to search for when we make our purchases.

Customers are demanding fuller transparency on the clothes they wear, and with ApparelMagic, documentation doesn’t have to be more work on your end. Detailed product descriptions and qualities are never stuck on your system.

When you sync your products with eCommerce, they can take their information with them, giving customers a more complete picture of the impact of their purchases.

It’s a new world, and consumers are calling on you to help them make more informed decisions.

Meanwhile, the combined weight of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic has shifted even the wholesale side of the industry. For the foreseeable future, your team is going to need to be just as effective working remotely.

Flying across the country for fashion weeks and markets might soon be a thing of the past. And your carbon footprint will be all the smaller for it. Samples, sales teams, and small talk may stay in the office but you can still reach the rest of the globe.

Make sales remotely with full wholesale support from ApparelMagic’s B2B eCommerce. Customize your customers’ experience with personalized assortments, beautiful layouts, and advanced pricing tools.

There’s no crystal ball for what’s next in fashion, but what we do know is that for any brand, no matter its size, product assortment, or customer profile, the trend towards sustainable systems is more than a fad: it’s a requirement for doing business in the twenty-first century.