Building and marketing a fashion assortment involves piecing together different steps of the business, each with its own challenges and limitations. For every business, the goal every season is to maximise profit and anything that deters that goal should be kept to a minimum. With this goal in mind, Omnilytics has developed a methodology that eliminates risk at each step and increases the value of an assortment.
We’re proud to introduce the Unified Fashion Journey solution to the market. Essentially, it is an overview of the processes brands currently take from creating a fashion item through launching, merchandising and analysing its success. What sets the Unified Fashion Journey apart is the inclusion of how Omnilytics supports current retail processes and integrates with your existing ERP or POS system.
The Unified Fashion Journey covers the flow from product development to operations and highlights where Omnilytics fits into the different steps to enhance and improve each task. With accessible data and actionable insights, greater accuracy can be achieved in every step of the fashion journey. Relevant use cases for each step can be found on the page, creating a one-stop-solution for our customers to guide them through the process.
Research & Strategy
From fast fashion giants to small independent brands, the fashion journey nearly always starts with research. This is the time to reflect on the previous season’s performance to understand what worked, what did not and where brands can improve before tying everything into their strategy for the next season.
At the same time, buyers and designers will start their research for the creative process. For some, this means building mood boards and going on inspiration trips to gather influences and ideas. Retailers also pore over trend forecasting reports for predictions on the styles, materials and colours that are likely to sell in the coming season. Comp shopping is another huge part of the research process. Merchandisers typically analyse their competitors’ collections and monitor in-store sales to gain insights on what consumers are buying from the competition.
While they’re not without merit, these processes largely lack in data-backed validation. When performing research on the market and competition, comp shopping and forecasting yield incomplete information. The Unified Fashion Journey was developed with these concerns in mind
Dive into how Omnilytics fills the void with accurate insights on consumer demand based on what is selling for key retailers in any market. Concurrently, understanding the best-performing brands and categories on major marketplaces help brands to plan their distribution strategy. With data validation in every step of research and strategy, brands can accurately forecast sales and optimise OTB to maximise margins.
Assortment Planning & Strategy
Even for small-scale businesses, assortment planning is a complex task with numerous moving parts working together in pursuit of one goal.
Traditionally, the assortment planning process begins with a concept that creatives build a product mix upon. But creativity without a thorough assessment of consumer demand in different markets is liable to overstock issues. Prices are typically approached in a similar manner, with many brands opting for fixed markups to maximise margins. Without careful analysis of different price ranges and how they relate to consumers’ perceived value, brands risk falling into a markdown mania.
A data-backed market analysis plays an integral role at this point in the journey. Before heading to the drawing boards and planning buys, brands must factor in trends, prices and the local consumer demographics. The most proficient merchandisers, buyers and designers combine their creativity with insightful data, so each idea is backed by commercial viability. Know exactly what to produce, in the right quantities and prices to match consumer demand with the right merchandise.
Learn how to articulate data-driven research into an assortment strategy, build assortment range within OTB, set pricing architecture and plan product launches on the Unified Fashion Journey. Each step is designed to spot opportunities and gaps to improve speed-to-market and help you chart an easy path towards the annual sales target.
Manufacturing & Shipping
Manufacturing and shipping pose major challenges for fashion businesses. Already ripping at the seams due to overreliance on a single source, the global supply chain erupted into chaos when China went into lockdown at the height of Covid-19 and ceased all non-essential operations. The supply chain crisis revealed the need for a sourcing reform in fashion and wary retailers have doubled down on preventing a repeat. More retailers are diversifying their supply chain and opting for nearshoring to reduce risks.
However, a diversified supply chain means more work to ensure everything runs smoothly. Retailers have to communicate consistently with suppliers, check in on manufacturing lead times and arrange for shipment among others. One of the aspects of manufacturing and shipping that Omnilytics supports is product allocation and distribution. Nailing this part of the journey is essential as it defines what comes after. Assortments funnelled through the wrong channel could spell inventory crisis and a glut of markdowns.
On the Unified Fashion Journey, we’ll walk you through the entire manufacturing process, including how to evaluate distribution channels’ performance and choose the right retail platform for your product mix.
Operations & Analysis
Luxury fashion houses are lauded for the best designs in the industry, but one thing that fast fashion brands do better is operations management. Take Zara for example, the fast fashion giant built its success on an agile supply chain, omnichannel capabilities and tactical promotions.
Operations and analysis is a continuous undertaking to optimise the current season’s assortment to the ever-changing market situation. Brands that can react to market changes quickest have the most to gain. The race for first involves closely monitoring trade to spot sales opportunities and act on slow-movers. Brands can gain an edge with an integrated operations system and visibility on the competitive landscape. Access to both internal and external data is better than just one of the two.
Key operations management tasks include new product launches, promotions, seasonal sale activation, price or assortment optimisation and replenishment. Explore how Omnilytics supports operations management with complete visibility on brands and retailers’ sell-out performance, product ageing, discounts, distribution and new launches on the Unified Fashion Journey.
Incorporate Insightful Data from Start to Finish
With the Unified Fashion Journey, we strive to empower brands with insights to back creative ideas with data validation. At the same time, Omnilytics is able to fill the gaps in the existing fashion journey widely adopted throughout the industry. With all the puzzle pieces, you can edge out your competitors and take your business to new horizons.
Check out the Unified Fashion Journey to take your brand to the next level.
About the Author
Aqilah Zailan
Before her current fashion content writer role at Omnilytics, Aqilah Zailan was already decoding trends in the retail space. She now produces articles for Omnilytics’ blog and continues to keep a keen eye on shifting trends in the fashion industry.
