Whether it’s fluctuating raw material costs, unexpected disruptions or changing consumer demands, unpredictability can significantly impact efficiency and profitability. To navigate these challenges, manufacturers must find ways to reduce costs and improve resilience.

One effective strategy: modernize operations with technology solutions to enable better visibility, automate processes and improve operational agility. Read on for suggested solutions for manufacturers to tackle supply chain volatility.

Minimize the impact of fluctuating raw material costs

Raw materials costs can be affected by environmental factors, regulatory demands and potential or escalating tariffs. Key strategies to offset rising costs include:

Improve planning accuracy

Effective demand planning is crucial for anticipating changes in raw material costs and avoiding stockouts or overstocks. By accurately forecasting demand, manufacturers can make informed decisions about production schedules, procurement and inventory management. To improve accuracy, manufacturers can look to tools such as predictive analytics and machine learning to analyze historical data, market trends and other relevant factors. Being proactive enables you to adjust procurement strategies, negotiate better contracts with suppliers and optimize production schedules based on anticipated demand.

Enhance inventory visibility

Another critical strategy for managing supply chain volatility is real-time inventory tracking. RFID tags, IoT sensors and cloud-based inventory management systems provide real-time data on inventory status. Enhanced inventory visibility can give insights into stock levels, production rates and supply chain movements, enabling more timely adjustments of inventory levels to reduce the risk of stockouts or excess inventory.

Reduce errors, streamline collaboration with EDI

To take full advantage of modern technology, savvy manufacturers integrate their operations technology with solutions enabling real-time data exchange and automation.

Fewer errors

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) automates the exchange of business documents with trading partners, such as purchase orders, shipping notices and invoices. By replacing manual data entry with automated processes, EDI not only standardizes processes but also minimizes the risk of human errors.

Speedier processing

In addition to reducing errors, EDI speeds up order processing. Automated data exchange enables faster order creation, approval and fulfillment, which in turn encourages shorter lead times, improved customer satisfaction and increased order accuracy.

Better collaboration

The automated exchange of information possible through EDI enhances communication and coordination between manufacturers and suppliers. This closer collaboration also allows better alignment on production schedules, inventory levels and delivery timelines, and ultimately helps manufacturers build stronger trading partner relationships.

Maintain an agile supply chain

Operational agility is the ability to quickly and efficiently respond to market changes and disruptions.

In a volatile market, agility is essential to staying competitive and meeting customer demands. But manual processes are often slow, error-prone and inflexible, making it difficult to adapt to changing conditions.

Automating data exchange not only improves operational agility, but also enables manufacturers to:

• Quickly process and analyze large volumes of data, providing real-time insights and enabling rapid decision-making.
• Streamline workflows to respond more quickly to changes in demand, reducing the risk of stockouts or excess inventory.

Build a more stable path to success

While supply chain volatility may be inevitable, manufacturers who embrace technology and automation will be better equipped to navigate supply chain volatility, reduce costs and achieve long-term success.

SPS Commerce is ready to be your partner in building a stronger, more adaptable supply chain. Our experts bring the people, processes and technology to streamline operations, future-proof your supply chain and maximize your success.

Today’s customers are conscientious and want to know more about the products they purchase, especially for health and personal care items.

According to a Forbes article, a recent report by Label Insight found that 94 percent of consumers would be more loyal to brands that practice transparency, while 56 percent claim that brand transparency would make them “loyal for life.”

Read on to learn more about the importance of transparency for building brand trust.

Keep it clean: ethical sourcing and sustainable practices

When consumers demand “clean” products, they’re not just talking about product ingredients. They want to see transparency in the supply chain—from the origins of ingredients to the ethical practices behind them. Key issues include:

• Clean beauty movement: There’s a growing desire to see transparent ingredient lists and “clean” formulations.
• Ethical practices: The conditions under which items are produced matter, including Information about labor practices, animal testing and sourcing.
• Sustainability: Green initiatives are driving demand for eco-friendly products and sustainable practices, including packaging, sourcing and production.

Companies who offer transparency in their sourcing practices boost consumer trust. When brands openly share where and how they source their ingredients, they also demonstrate a commitment to ethical practices.

Brands who can share information about sustainable practices throughout the supply chain also elevate their credibility as conscientious, trustworthy companies.

Provide clear information: safety through traceability

Health and personal care suppliers rely on traceability to ensure product safety and quality, but the complexity of global supply chains makes it challenging to keep track.

To modernize, suppliers are replacing manual processes with digital solutions for everything from tracking raw materials to fulfillment and transportation logistics.

Innovations such as blockchain technology and the Internet of Things provide real-time, end-to-end tracking, allowing every step of the supply chain to be recorded and monitored.

These digital solutions can not only enhance efficiency, visibility and accountability, but also ensure the safety and quality of products and improve the ability to manage recalls.

Be proactive: effective recall management

The way a company manages a recall can make or break consumer trust in their brand.

While a poorly managed recall can damage a reputation, a well-managed recall not only demonstrates a commitment to safety and transparency but also encourages loyalty.

Key strategies for a proactive recall include:

• Develop a process: Plan a clear and efficient recall process to ensure that any issues can be addressed swiftly and effectively.
• Communicate openly: Provide all necessary information and updates openly and honestly, including detailed information about the recall process and what consumers need to do.
• Be visible: Use multiple channels to reach consumers, including social media, email and company websites.

Being proactive not only mitigates the risks of immediate harm to your reputation but also reinforces consumer confidence that they can trust your products in the future.

Authentic transparency builds success

In an era where consumers demand access to complete product information, transparency in the supply chain is not just a nice-to-have; it’s essential. Brands that can provide clear, detailed and honest information will be the ones that thrive.

By prioritizing ethical sourcing, embracing digital traceability and implementing proactive recall management strategies, you can build and maintain consumer trust.

SPS Commerce is ready to be your partner in building a more robust and transparent supply chain, with our team of experts offering the people, processes and technology to not only make you more efficient, but support trust in your brand to maximize your success.

Fashion suppliers are dealing with the complexity of global supply chains, rapidly evolving regulations, economic uncertainty and consumer shifts in behavior and preferences.

Building supply chain resilience requires tackling these challenges to mitigate disruptions, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction.

Challenges to building a resilient fashion supply chain

Suppliers in the fashion industry need strategies to deal with several key challenges.

Global supply chain complexity: Many fashion and apparel manufacturers’ supply chains are global—where materials might be sourced from one country, manufactured in another and distributed worldwide. By its nature, a global supply chain adds layers of complexity and vulnerability to disruptions, including:

• Geography-specific issues – Natural disasters can impact the availability and costs of key materials, while environmental concerns may affect how goods are sourced.
• Geopolitical tensions or events – Issues in one region can have world-wide effects, from disruptions in key trade routes to global pandemics.
• Transportation issues – Port congestion, accidents or labor disputes can result in shipping delays, putting brands in danger of missing critical sales seasons.

Regulatory compliance: Global brands may need to follow both US laws and EU regulations that protect workers and consumers and ensure environmental sustainability.

• Industry regulations – Suppliers need to keep up with and meet ever-changing standards—from product safety, to labeling, environmental and import/export regulations.
• ESG – Retail trading partners may have required standards for company practices that impact the environment, society and corporate governance (ESG).

Economic uncertainty: Suppliers are being pressured to adapt their operations to the economic downturn realities of reduced demand and price sensitivity. After years of high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, the threat of proposed tariffs and how to handle their impact is a particularly tricky issue to navigate.

• Likely tariffs – Because countries like China are a major source for textiles, fabrics and clothing, and Mexico and Canada may provide raw materials like cotton and leather, proposed tariffs could hike productions costs for many brands.
• Antiquated supply chains – Suppliers need to look at not just the immediate cost impact of tariffs, but how they can restructure inefficient supply chains to be more agile and able to pivot quickly when costs rise.
• Sourcing challenges – For sustainable fashion brands and retailers with higher ethical standards, switching to new suppliers that meet strict standards can take time and effort.

Shifting consumer demands: Suppliers need to adapt to changing consumer behaviors to continue to inspire and meet demand.

• Omnichannel availability – Post-pandemic, consumers continue to prefer online shopping as a sales channel, expecting both e-commerce and brick and mortar options for both sales and returns.
• Demand for sustainability – Consumers increasingly demand transparency and ethical behavior from brands, including wanting to know clothing sources, requiring sustainability and a reassessment of fast fashion practices and the resulting waste.

Digital transformation obstacles: A critical roadblock to improved supply chain agility is difficulty managing and analyzing data. Suppliers need actionable data, but often struggle with:

• Siloed or disparate systems with unclear data
• Difficulty gaining insight into retailers’ sales and inventory data
• Demand forecasting accuracy

Best practices to build a better supply chain

Solutions for building a more agile and responsive supply chain in the fashion and apparel industry focus on technology adoption and integration, sourcing strategies and strategic collaborations.

Technology integration: Modern supply chains rely on the integration of technology into not only order-to-cash processes, but data analytics for demand forecasting and future planning. Ideally, all seamlessly integrated into your existing ERP, WMS, TMS and eCommerce tech stack.

• Process automation – Update manual processes for routine tasks such as order processing and inventory management with an automated fulfillment solution to ensure faster response times to changing conditions, reduced disruptions and improved supply chain resilience.
• Data analytics – Gain access to more complete and accurate supply chain data to enable more informed decision-making, efficient inventory management and accurate demand forecasting for a more transparent and responsible supply chain.
• Demand forecasting – Predictive analytics and data-driven tools can better align production schedules and inventory with consumer demand, mitigating risks of stockouts or overstocks, forecasting trends and potential disruptions.

Sourcing strategies: To build a resilient supply chain, suppliers need to think about how they can navigate risks to maintain agility when necessary.

• Localize sustainability – For sustainable fashion brands, work with local suppliers to reduce your reliance on global shipping and minimize environmental impact.
• Supplier diversification – Diversify suppliers and manufacturing locations to reduce dependency on a single region and mitigate the impact of regional disruptions while balancing the strengths of various sourcing regions.
• Nearshoring Strategies – Reshore production and source materials domestically if it cuts costs and the supply chain risks of the import tariffs.  Regionalizing production also reduces transportation times and costs while addressing sustainability goals.

Strategic partnerships and collaborations: Establishing strong, collaborative relationships is an essential strategy for successful management in times of disruption.

• Stronger collaboration – Close collaboration with suppliers ensures a seamless flow of information, enabling rapid adjustments in production schedules. When you prioritize building long-term partnerships, suppliers are more likely to offer flexibility in times of crisis, whether by providing alternative materials or adjusting production timelines. SPS solutions enable suppliers to stay up to date on trading partner requirements with real-time communication about order and ship updates, while analytics strengthens partnerships by providing data-driven recommendations.
• Collaborative initiatives – Opportunities to collaborate across the industry are available in various forms, such as sustainability alliances to share best practices, advocacy and standards, and communication platforms such as the Conscious Fashion Collective.
• Collaboration tools – If your trading partners require you to share emissions data or you’re looking for insights to improve your sustainability performance, the partnership between Optera and SPS Commerce helps you demonstrate your commitment to sustainability.

Successful navigation of challenging times

While it’s never been more challenging to build a resilient supply chain in the fashion and apparel industry, you can take proactive steps to address issues and mitigate risks.

SPS Commerce is ready to be your partner in building a more robust and adaptable supply chain, with our team of experts offering the people, processes and technology to streamline your processes to future-proof your supply chain and not only survive rough times, but maximize your success.

For suppliers, it can be challenging to meet the omnichannel supply chain requirements set by retailers who expect them to support various management models and sales channels. Even though it’s challenging, it can also be very rewarding—when suppliers say “Yes,” to omnichannel fulfillment, they win more business.

While we can be sure that the rise of online sales and eCommerce platforms is not going away anytime soon, it’s important to understand exactly what that means for you as a supplier—especially if eCommerce is only one of many sales channels you use.

Defining “omnichannel”

You may have heard the terms “omnichannel fulfillment” or “omnichannel inventory management” thrown around, but it can be a tricky concept to conceptualize if you’re newer to the business or only sell your products through one channel.

An omnichannel retail strategy is a seamless approach to providing consistent consumer experiences across multiple sales channels, regardless of how the customer purchases and receives an order. It’s simply the reality of shopping in 2024.

These sales channels can include:

• Brick-and-mortar stores
• Catalogs
• Marketplaces
• eCommerce
• Purchases made across different platforms, like mobile devices, desktop computers and tablets

You may have also heard about the distribution side of things. Omnichannel retail distribution is the way that the end-customer receives their product. While this is often invisible to the customer, it’s extremely important that they receive the order in the timeframe that it was promised.

Methods of fulfillment can include:

• Delivery to the consumer’s home or direct-to-consumer (DTC)
• Shipment to a physical storefront or ship-to-store
• “Buy online, pick up in store” (BOPIS)
• Drop shipments

Today’s consumer knows what they want

In 2024, consumers want to purchase items the way that’s most convenient for them. This means they decide when, where and how they make a purchase, and when, where and how they’ll make a return if needed. If a supplier wants to sell to today’s consumers, they need to meet demand by providing different options for purchases and returns, or else the consumer can go elsewhere to find a similar product from a company that meets their needs.

Plus, with the rise of additional direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales channels, like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Shop, it’s now easier than ever for consumers to dictate the terms under which they make a purchase.

How do suppliers meet omnichannel fulfillment demands?

Most suppliers separate how they run their business into two categories: direct-to-consumer (DTC) and wholesale. This is mainly due to the variation in how they need to operate. It’s important to note that not all items are sold across all channels consistently, and DTC buyers will be different than wholesale buyers.

However, there are steps that suppliers can take to optimize this process and avoid managing many disparate systems.

Complete inventory visibility

Insight into inventory across all channels can provide suppliers with an edge over the competition. If you can provide accurate data about what you have in stock (and where it can be purchased from with the least amount of effort), consumers will be more inclined to purchase your products. Plus, timely and accurate product data can be make or break for many customers.

A single, unified system for dropship, warehouse and marketplace orders

With one system to manage different channels, you’ll never miss an order or a message from a trading partner. When you have the correct technology infrastructure in place, your omnichannel supply chain flows seamlessly.

Cost-effective shipping options

It’s possible to spend less on shipping when you have a product in place that automatically finds the cheapest carrier and service type for fulfillment. Plus, the right product allows suppliers to cut back on manual data entry and spend less time communicating with carrier partners.

Boost your business and get a head start on the supply chain trends of the future by optimizing your omnichannel supply chain today. Reach out to SPS Commerce to begin the conversation about how your organization can thrive.

Returns may be inevitable, but unnecessary return costs are not. So, how do retail leaders make returns less expensive for themselves, their trading partners and consumers?

Clearer item data can prevent returns

To reduce return costs, it’s essential to understand the reasons customers return online purchases.

Common reasons include:

• Product dissatisfaction
• Incorrect sizing
• Discrepancies between the product and its online description

With mismatched product details being a big driver of returns, getting more detailed with item data can be a big help. This involves collecting and sharing strong product attributes, complete details and pictures. For example, apparel retailers include attributes about fit, showing if an item is true to size or runs big/small to help consumers make a more informed decision.

What you can do to stay ahead

To avoid returns, experts at SPS Commerce have put together some best practices to help your business handle the item data that’s at the core of the challenge.

To start, begin with item quality. Source high-quality ingredients, components and raw materials to ensure high-quality finished products that customers are less likely to return.

When products are ready for sale, ensure your item data is accurate and complete so customers know exactly what they’re buying. Clarity before the sale minimizes the chance that the product won’t meet the customer’s expectations and can reduce returns.

To get that clarity, it’s critical to employ technology to make storing and sharing item data across teams less of a lift. If your brand sells eCommerce products through your own website, ensure that complete and consistent item data is presented across all your products. If you sell through an online retailer or marketplace, ensure all item data requirements are met. It’s best to automate these processes with trusted partners to prevent oversight.

When everything’s running, updating your return management policy and automating the exchange of information about your returns process can also remove some of the headaches. Once implemented, you can create a cohesive global strategy that allows customers to return through their preferred channels and handles the process efficiently to minimize costs.

Seamless data exchanges between buying organizations and their suppliers can streamline the process. Reducing the need for returns by providing clear and accurate item data, automated data sharing and a streamlined returns process not only saves time and money but also improves the consumer experience.

Looking for expert advice on managing the cost of returns? Talk to one of our supply chain experts.

But the giant upswing in eCommerce has generated new challenges as brands acclimate to the shift, from decreased operational efficiency to unoptimized item data. So, how can you optimize your business process with an expanded focus on eCommerce?

Increase sales by expanding eCommerce, growing profits

An omnichannel approach that includes a robust eCommerce presence is a sales driver for retail leaders, but for brands on a growth track, the challenge becomes finding a way to manage more channels with your current bandwidth.

Evolving operations for the future of retail

As eCommerce becomes even more prevalent, brands need to think about how their business will operate efficiently with the added focus on online sales. Managing all your channels manually becomes a heavy time cost without a solution that can help you do more with the time you have.

Solutions from SPS Commerce can elevate your efficiency with automation that handles tasks for you, order management for every channel in one place and visibility that helps you see it all in real time. Plus, with centralized data, you can easily track your sales performance across channels and get the inventory flexibility that’s driving the retail experiences of tomorrow.

Win back your day!

Stop struggling with manual processes. Let SPS help you keep your business growing and your partners happy.

Talk to Team SPS

Those future retail experiences are personalized, fast and right the first time—but that can’t happen without optimized item data. Minimize returns and get your products to the right customer at the right time with solutions from SPS that ensure customers know what they’re buying and get it into their hands faster than ever.

There’s growth and profitability in the current eCommerce landscape—if you can stay ahead of the curve. As your business adapts, consider how your process can evolve to accommodate these changes without sacrificing your productivity.

Get products into consumers hands

Automate processes, integrate systems, manage item info, gain data insights and more with SPS solutions.

Take a look at our eCommerce solution for more information, or contact one of our experts who can answer all your questions.

A cloud-based ERP system with unmatched industry-specific capabilities, Infor is a great choice for medium-to-large global manufacturers, distributors and after-sales service providers. But with so much flexibility and power built in, knowing how to get what you need out of your ERP software can be a challenge. That’s why SPS Commerce has created teams, integrations and strategies that you can use to increase the effectiveness of your ERP system and give your business an advantage.

Advantage #1: Close Partnership with Infor

When the Infor team needed a standard EDI mapping solution for consultants and customers, they came directly to SPS Commerce. We partnered with them to extend what our systems can do together, working with Infor’s best practices and ION Bods technology to bring new efficiencies to their powerful software suite. The relationship between Infor and SPS Commerce continues to expand capabilities across our solutions and makes it easier for businesses like yours to take full advantage of your cloud ERP solution.

Advantage #2: A Dedicated Integration Team

Our commitment to partnership goes beyond our connection to Infor—it’s a vital part of our integration strategy. Our customer success team makes it easier for you to implement new solutions by guiding you through each step as you move towards your goal, whether you’re introducing a new ERP system or making adjustments to the one you’re using. With an experienced group of team members in your corner, you can confidently take on transformational changes.

Advantage #3: Faster Certification

Shifting requirements and big deadlines can make it tough to keep up with compliance and certification on your own. SPS Commerce manages all EDI testing and mapping for our customers, ensuring that orders are accurate and compliant. When your data is in order and you have better oversight, certification and compliance processes become faster and easier to manage.

Advantage #4: Centralized Order Management

As your business grows, you’ll need an easier way to automate your order fulfillment process and get away from tedious manual entry. By integrating your Infor system with SPS Commerce solutions, you can take care of all your order management in one place and reduce manual data entry in the process. We offer a full-service solution for Infor ERP users that makes it possible to manage orders across wholesale, retail, eCommerce and marketplace channels in a single, convenient location.

Advantage #5: Smoother Scalability

Rapid growth can present exciting new opportunities for your business, but it can also introduce new challenges. Replacing or upgrading core systems can slow you down as you reallocate resources to integrate another solution. But with SPS Commerce, you’ll be equipped with the scalability you need to meet spikes in demand without having to choose, add and learn a new set of tools.

Advantage #6: Access to the SPS Network

Beyond the experience and technology SPS Commerce offers, our customers get access to the trading partners in the SPS Network. The SPS Network makes it easy to evolve your business and stay compliant by keeping you connected to the companies that can help you accelerate your growth. With instant connections to 350,0000 retailers, grocers, distributors, brands, 3PLs, carriers and more, partnering with SPS Commerce is a simple way to increase the reach of your business.

To get started, learn more about Infor EDI and reach out today.