With the new year arriving in a couple of weeks, a sense of opportunity and new beginnings has been felt as businesses look back on the progress made and lessons learned during 2021. Entering 2022, the apparel industry is looking toward a fresh start. To support this optimism that has been cultivated through overcoming challenges and applying hard work, businesses will need to continue to invest in technologies that allow them to remain agile, ready to shift direction with solutions when an obstacle lands in their path.
Whether solving issues within the supply chain, advancing retail strategy or approaching production from a different perspective, fashion businesses must invest in technologies to support their work when a problem strikes in order to avoid disastrous outcomes. California Apparel News asked apparel-technology experts: As 2021 draws to a close, what types of technology should apparel businesses consider investing in to successfully navigate 2022? Shahrooz Kohan, Chief Executive Officer, AIMS360
The market is changing fast because of supply changes and buying patterns. The whole supply-to-delivery process is now omni-channel as it is impossible to know what will happen next. Costs and selling prices are constantly a moving target for each channel. One day goods are stuck in the port and brands require domestic production and the next day it changes again. We have had to upgrade our omni-channel automation software to accommodate the day-to-day changes in production, order taking and delivery. Our client brands are staying in business by being able to quickly adapt to changes. Jason Wang, Chief Operations Officer, Alvanon
When it comes to samples, imagery and production, physical textiles have been the standard in fashion. One of the solutions to combat this waste is digital technology, with digital sampling and 3D digitized models that can not only help within the supply chain but also solve customers’ fit issues by creating realistic virtual body models to make clothes that fit every body.
Today, we’re using digital to help us get a more efficient supply chain by making 3D models streamlined across digital and physical forms. Alvanon enables companies to generate and leverage their authentic 3D digital assets across multiple platforms and applications. We have seen how 3D avatars can change the way we design, produce, merchandise and sell fashion. 3D digitized models will change the fashion production game in 2022. Mark Kwong, Head of Business Development, Brandboom
As we’ve seen over the last couple of years with the pandemic, everything can change very quickly. Many countries still have heavy restrictions in place—and those restrictions change frequently. As the pandemic continues to create challenges, buyers often can’t, or don’t want to, travel. As a result, the ability to do everything online is not only expected—it’s demanded.
The name of the game is flexibility. Brands that have always used the standard seasonal approach to their lines now need to be more agile with planning and inventory. We’ve also seen brands benefit from expanding their product lines; for example, incorporating a new casual line or focusing on regional markets to accommodate the ever-changing “new normal.”
So, apparel businesses should be investing first and foremost in flexible technologies that are immediately fully functional while being able to accommodate frequent and unanticipated changes at super-fast speed. Dan O’Connell, Co-founder, BrandLab360
Our unique technology is at the forefront of the rapidly building trend of using gamification to elevate e-commerce inside the metaverse. To successfully navigate 2022, it’s essential that apparel businesses consider investing in technology where people can meet, transact, work and play online. We believe this will be the catalyst for a cascading cultural shift in the future of e-commerce supported by the metaverse and Web 3.0. Michele Salerno, Director of Marketing and Assistant Vice President, Celerant Technology Corp. & CAM Commerce
Apparel retailers have learned over the past 21 months how vital technology is for their businesses. Retailers who were still using inadequate and/or aging software to run their business definitely had a disadvantage versus retailers who were already using an innovative and more modern software solution.
Implementing new fulfillment methods such as buy online, pick up same day—whether it be in-store or curbside—was virtually impossible if you didn’t have the right technology foundation to support these initiatives. Flipping your entire store’s available inventory to an instant virtual store online to continue serving your local customers when perhaps they couldn’t come into your store—and doing this quickly across the many local communities you may serve with 100 different store locations—is virtually impossible without the right software as your business’s backbone.
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