Fashion logistics: Time is of the essence

With the frequently changing taste of the consumer, the fashion industry has become much more competitive and demanding, and to hit the spot, efficient logistics and supply chain management is crucial. CARGOTALK brings to you the intricacies that go into

It is always captivating to see the amazing collection of brands like Zara, H&M, Marks & Spencers et al. Nowday’s people want to be fashion savvy and ahead of the pack. Consumer knows no limits and expecting to shop for products at any time of the day and in any location around the world. But who made the latest trends and fashion on shelves on time? Fashion is a fast business and highly globalised with raw material sourced from one place, manufactured in another and despatched to customers in any number of countries. Supply chain management and logistics is a critical success factor in the fashion business. Not only do supply chains play a crucial role but also need to be flexible and responsive to adapt to the fluctuations in demand. Lead times, accuracy, reliability and availability are all of significant importance. Let’s hear from the forwarders what tailor made solutions they are offering to trade.

Mansingh Jaswal, Director, Genex Logistics, points, “Trenddriven makes the fashion industry

According to Ravinder Katyal, Director Air Freight & Co-Load ISC, DSV Air & Sea and India Cargo Awards, 2015 Winner, “Reliable carrier solutions with competitive edge on pricing along with door deliveries are the essentials to maintain accuracy, reliability and availability of the trend-driven fashion industry. The supply chain management of fashion industry starts from vendor management to smooth transportation along with documentation along with distribution by the IT platform.”

With similar views, Vaibhav Vohra, Director, Continental Carriers and India Cargo Awards, 2016 Winner, says, “Within our process flow, we have gone one step ahead and distinguished between fashion & fast-fashion. Having a background where we ourselves have set up manufacturing units in the past, often assist our patrons by allowing slight flexibilities on cut-off times (wherever possible), prior follow up and updates from our end as opposed to them having to chase us for details, and quick responses for queries, are some of the measures we take to ensure a good service standard is maintained.”

R.S. Subramanian, SVP & Country Manager, DHL, shares, “Tailor-made express solutions address the latest trends in the fashion world and meet the specific needs of individual customers. We offer the entire logistics value chain of the fashion industry, from material purchasing, quick movement of samples and quality control of production to the direct delivery of finished products to boutiques.”

“DHL works partnership with regulatory authorities and negotiates complex international shipping regulations at every major port, airport and border crossing point. Our portfolio of solutions extends to customised tracking services, customs clearance support and extra distribution routes to handle increased volume and those critical last minute deliveries. Based on the demands and trends, the merchandise needs to reach the market on time as well,” he adds. & in the Ajay Khosla, DGM Uttrakhand), Jaipur close world’s (Delhi Golden Transport, states, “Fashion market in present scenario is highly competitive; the internet and mobile phone technology had raised the gamble exponentially. This also brings apparel manufacturer closure to end consumer with a need to cater individual choice in shortest possible time. Fashion retailers and manufacturers are being urged to rethink their supply chains to adequately respond to the unpredictable 24x7 nature of consumer shopping.”

Fashion brands need to partner with reliable logistics companies that offer technology embedded solutions to help tackle the complex environment

“When we talk about apparels and their movements from one point to another, often at times we see that customers might have unrealistic demands about the standard of service vs. the price they desire. Expectations must be competitive; however, driving commercials so low does not seem justified since services have categories. Moreover, another issue we face is when improper packaging and in cases of unfavourable weather conditions, we face certain difficulties,” feels Vohra.

“The understanding of fashion logistics by the players in the industry is not uniform. Many of them are not well versed with the new and emerging trends. Very few of them are timesensitive. And this poses a challenge in enhancing the overall speed of logistics. They are in awe of technology and data and often hide that