Speaking at this year鈥檚 during a keynote with Sven Denecken, senior vice president and chief marketing and solutions officer for 麻豆原创 Industries and Customer Experience, Scheier modestly described her revolutionary strategy.

鈥淚 decided to have a small goal of changing the fashion industry to be inclusive of the 1.8 billion people on earth who are living with a disability,鈥� said Scheier. 鈥淗aving a partner like 麻豆原创 helps us navigate the world and understand that people with disabilities are living in a world that actually wasn鈥檛 made for them. Our equation is that fashion plus technology equals adaptive, and 麻豆原创 is the platform to help us expand and understand the power of inclusion, especially with the largest minority on our planet.鈥�

Building an Ecosystem of Changemakers

Runway of Dreams develops programs and events that celebrate people鈥檚 differences with fashion shows that exemplify the power of collaboration across industry ecosystems. Unlike typical runway events with one fashion designer, numerous world-renowned brands come together to sponsor Runway of Dreams fashion shows that debut clothing designed for people with disabilities. Scheier is also founder and CEO of GAMUT Management, the first-of-its-kind consulting company to work exclusively with and for people with disabilities.

鈥溌槎乖� has come in to help our shared clients understand the huge business opportunity around people with disabilities,鈥� said Scheier. 鈥淭he button was invented in the 13^th century, giving technology a huge opportunity to get involved in this space and be a changemaker. And GAMUT is a platform for that. Just because things have been done in a certain way for years, doesn鈥檛 mean that鈥檚 how they have to remain.鈥�

Future-Ready Mindset for Industry Differentiation

The fashion industry is just one example of how 麻豆原创 helps customers stay one step ahead of market dynamics where industries are converging, embedded artificial intelligence (AI) is an indispensable tool, and partner ecosystems are vital for business growth.

鈥淭o be future-proof, companies need to have a future-ready mindset,鈥� said Denecken. 鈥淚ndustries are the vertical edge that provides differentiation for the business鈥nd 麻豆原创 offers that deep industry knowledge to help organizations鈥avigate every emerging trend, turn the unexpected into opportunities, and differentiate to grow at that vertical edge backed by our . We are reshaping every industry.鈥�

Industry Convergence Transforms CX

Denecken used the central digital showcase at the event as an example of how convergence is rapidly reshaping industries, redefining boundaries between traditional value chains for sustainable, intelligent, and networked business. This improves the customer experience and helps build the circular economy.

鈥淐onvergence is happening in every sector. There are many scenarios such as energy where fuel stations are becoming retail stations, [straddling] the oil and gas, automotive, utilities, and retail industries,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o digitally transform鈥nabling people, partners, and the entire system to collaborate on product and service experiences, you need to think across industry boundaries to create added value that will differentiate your brand. 麻豆原创 has the digital industry solutions and business process understanding to help you deliver value that drives profitable growth.鈥�

Generative AI with a Business Purpose

Industry convergence is also behind 麻豆原创 industry networks, where organizations from industrial manufacturing, life sciences, consumer products, and high technology go beyond traditional partnerships to collaborate across boundaries, sharing data and tools for faster innovation, including embedded generative AI that has a business purpose and delivers results.

鈥淭urning AI technology advancements into business impact is a challenge for many companies, especially if they lack in-house expertise,鈥� said Denecken. 鈥淲e have built business AI capabilities directly into the 麻豆原创 portfolio, combining that with our industry knowledge to power critical functions that include transportation management with generative AI, predictive replenishment, intelligent product recommendations, and 麻豆原创 Digital Assistant, which can provide a unified natural language interface for all 麻豆原创 solutions.鈥�

Industry-Specific Data Fulfills Customer Promise

Denecken explained how 麻豆原创鈥檚 mission is to help industries become more customer-centric, linking data company wide. In a fascinating demonstration, Andre Bechtold, senior vice president and head of Solution and Innovation Experience at 麻豆原创, showed how the company鈥檚 on-site delve into real-world scenarios for industries, connecting data across business value chains between consumers and organizations to strengthen customer relationships and generate revenue from new cross-industry business models.

鈥淲e鈥檙e making the customer experience more industry tailored, starting with automotive, consumer products, retail, and utilities,鈥� said Denecken. 鈥淭his allows companies to meet individual customer needs at any touchpoint. Personalized experiences result in increased order sizes, return visits, customer loyalty, higher profit margins, and greater wallet share.鈥�

Driven by cloud-based technologies, industries are blazing new business trails with boundary-crossing innovations like inclusive fashion for consumers.

Susan Galer is a communications director at 麻豆原创.听Follow her @smgaler.

Over the past decades, the fashion industry underwent a technological revolution, reshaping the way retailers and brands engage with their customers. Personalization lies at the center of this transformation. By customizing the shopping experience for consumers, retailers stand out from their competition and foster greater customer loyalty. of consumers say personalization directly influences their decision to purchase from a brand, and 78% say it impacts their likelihood of making repeat purchases and referring the brand to friends and family.

Historically, fashion retailers relied primarily on traditional marketing techniques, such as print advertisements and in-store displays, to attract customers. However, with the rise of e-commerce and the Internet, customers now want and expect a personalized shopping experience that meets their individual needs and preferences. Customers are looking for seamless integration across multiple channels, including brick-and-mortar stores, online Web sites, mobile apps, and social media.

Omnichannel retail provides customers with the flexibility to shop whenever and wherever they want, and it provides businesses with in-depth data on customers’ shopping habits and preferences. With this information, fashion retailers can build a comprehensive profile of each customer, which can then be used to create targeted marketing campaigns, product recommendations, and personalized shopping experiences. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning also enhance the customer experience. By analyzing customer data, AI can predict the likelihood of a customer making a purchase, offer real-time suggestions, check in post-purchase, and follow up for customer feedback. Enhanced customer understanding leads to better marketing decisions and better business outcomes.

麻豆原创 solutions play a prominent role in the execution of timely and impactful personalization, connecting customer data from demand to delivery and bringing sustainable, intelligent enterprises to life 鈥� from the back office to the front office.

Dive deeper into five solutions shaping the future of customer experience 鈥� in fashion retail and beyond.

• 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Retail can store all the data needed to deliver exceptional customer experiences, providing the foundation for the rest of the solutions and bringing the overall experience to life. With real-time customer and sales information, businesses can connect and transform retail processes across the entire value chain.
• : This omnichannel customer engagement platform can empower marketers to build, launch, and scale personalized cross-channel campaigns that scale business outcomes. The platform helped scale its marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) operations to identify and target high-value segments and grow the CRM database. It also matches in-store and online data to enhance its customer identification capabilities.
• : This solution can provide businesses with a trusted e-commerce platform that unlocks innovation at scale. With access to enterprise-wide data, retailers can boost profits and customer satisfaction. With 麻豆原创 Commerce Cloud, created a unified e-commerce platform that connects customers to the right products faster than ever 鈥� reducing the loading time of pages from seconds to milliseconds, which results in fewer customers abandoning items in their shopping carts. It also provides data insights that help Carhartt鈥檚 merchandising team optimize its product placement strategy.
• : With enterprise-wide customer insights from 麻豆原创 Customer Data Platform, businesses can meet customer expectations by delivering personalized engagements while also increasing conversion and improving customer retention. Take millennials and Gen Z shoppers for example, which represent in purchasing power. These groups show growing interest in sustainable products. With the right technology, retailers can capture more detail around their sustainability preferences and shopping habits and then use the data to make sustainability transparent across their value chains and improve the customer experience in the process. Candy Company uses 麻豆原创 Customer Data Platform to dig deeper into its consumer base. With greater insights into consumer behavior, Ferrara discovered a strong link between its Trolli brand and gamers. Ferrara used this information to shape future promotions and sweepstakes. With deeper knowledge of its customers, Ferrara created a brand fan program and significantly increased earned media value.
• : Turn the challenge of returns into an opportunity with 麻豆原创 Intelligent Returns Management, an industry cloud solution from 麻豆原创. It can not only make the returns experience easy, flexible, and free for customers, it can also protect your business鈥� bottom line and improve customer retention. Gain insights around the kind of products that are selling and those that are not. With a more granular look into the colors, styles, and sizes of items that customers return, the business can make more sustainable decisions about design and production.

Curious how your business can leverage the full potential of these five solutions, and others, to improve your customers鈥� experiences and drive long-term business success?

On February 15th, during New York City鈥檚 Fashion Week, 麻豆原创 opened the doors of the redesigned 麻豆原创 Experience Center, home to the S.Fashion Experience Lab. During the opening event, Andre Bechtold, senior vice president and head of Solution and Innovation Experience at 麻豆原创, shared that, 鈥溌槎乖� Experience Centers offer visitors a visual and immersive experience that makes innovation tangible.鈥� From a personalized perfume machine and augmented reality (AR) 听displays to virtual fitting rooms and AI-powered personal shopping assistants and robotics, the retail store of tomorrow reimagines the future of fashion.

this permanent location year-round, physically or virtually, to discover how 麻豆原创 helps retailers optimize their businesses and connect with their customers in a digital-first world. into the solutions above, along with many others, to learn how you can offer unique and personalized customer experiences that reinforce long-lasting customer relationships and grow lifetime value for your business.

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Kelly Cannon is part of Content Creation and Strategy at 麻豆原创.

Images via Andreas de Groot, Purple

As a frontrunner in the sustainability movement, 麻豆原创 has a crucial role to play as an exemplar 鈥� such as committing to become carbon neutral by 2023 鈥� as well as in helping businesses unlock their potential growth. This is possible through optimizing circular business models with practical and scalable 麻豆原创 solutions such as , which enables companies to account for greenhouse gas emissions in their end-to-end business processes. While 麻豆原创鈥檚 focus is on innovations that help customers become more sustainable, we as individuals should lead by example by taking steps that lead to a more sustainable living, such as using alternative modes of transportation or reducing single-use plastics.

Following the vision of a , businesses and individuals are advised to set the focus on repurposing and reusing materials, following a cycle of make, use, return, and reuse.

Achieving circular business models requires completely rethinking supply and value chains across industries to create end-to-end transparency. In the quest to turn waste into value, 麻豆原创 developed , a solution that can improve visibility into resources across value chains, helping companies understand, control, and manage their impact on the environment. For example, it is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for , and, according to UNFCCC, the sector鈥檚 emissions are to if transformation towards a sustainable fashion industry fails to materialize soon.

A great use case where the 麻豆原创 Rural Sourcing Management solution helps streamline the journey to a circular economy is through a sustainable network of businesses, connecting plastic waste collectors in Ghana with recycling companies, manufacturers, brands, and consumers of fashion. In Africa less than 20% of plastic waste is being recycled, while the European Union sets a target of 50% by 2025. Ghana has committed to turn this issue into an opportunity by creating a domestic recycling industry that creates jobs as well as supports a clean environment. In urban areas of countries such as Ghana, waste collecting is a means of survival. However, many urban dwellers have poor visibility into the market price of the collected materials, leaving them vulnerable to imposed pricing.

Through the implementation of , waste collectors in Ghana can directly connect to waste aggregators to receive a fair and transparent wage. The plastic resources are then handed over to the recycling companies to transform it into reusable resources. Being transported to different factories and manufacturers, plastic can be used in the production of fashion items. Using , full traceability can be achieved along the entire supply chain to help ensure expectations and standards for sustainable production and fair conditions are met.

To connect and manage the business operations steps within any fashion business, 麻豆原创 supports brands and retailers that want to capture and control the value of products after sale with recommerce. The aim is to enable and connect recommerce-specific business processes that include buying back, managing, and reselling pre-owned inventory, as well as tracking key financial, customer, and sustainability performance indicators. Any fashion brand can maintain visibility and control re-commerce business to fully capture the opportunities at stake 鈥� a profitable reselling business, positive environmental impact, customer acquisition, and expansion of the customer lifetime value.

麻豆原创 technology provides solutions that can transform serious environmental challenges, such as plastic waste, into integral parts of the circular economy. It can bring people and businesses with shared values together to jointly create a more sustainable value chain, where products are used, returned, reused, and given a new purpose.

Katrin Lehmann is head of Customer Innovation and Maintenance at 麻豆原创.

鈥淲hen a celebrity wears our product, it certainly creates a buzz around the company,鈥� said Carhartt CIO John Hill. 鈥淚t raises brand awareness and exposes products that some consumers may not be aware of.鈥�

Behind the scenes, technology transformation became crucial for Carhartt to keep up with fast-paced growth. So, after more than 130 years in business and continued growth in popularity, it became imperative for U.S.-based company to transform both its apparel offerings and its business foundation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to realize that Carhartt was as far away from a virtual company as you could be,鈥� Hill said. 鈥淲e quickly realized that not only did we need to transform our technology, but also the processes that the technology was enabling. We identified hundreds of pain points that existed across that value chain. And if we can get rid of those pain points with 麻豆原创 technology, ultimately we were going to provide a better experience for our associates and our customers.鈥�

After thoroughly researching different options, Carhartt realized tapping the power of 麻豆原创’s intelligent enterprise was the best solution. Yet this hugely innovative upgrade coincided with one of the biggest challenges of our time; believe it or not, Carhartt went live during the worst of the pandemic.

Closing Shop Was Never an Option

It was a top priority for Carhartt to remain open and provide a frictionless shopping experience for customers, ensuring there was no downtime and no negative impacts on business. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the brand needs to be able to react to the demands of those customers. Ultimately the customer doesn’t care what it takes to deliver,鈥� said Hill.

With his office closed, Hill鈥檚 technology team prepared to go live while they worked from their homes.

鈥淵ou can’t underestimate the challenge of doing a large scale of digital transformation, while you’re growing the business at the pace we are, and still serving customers,鈥� said Hill.

Yet, he shares that bringing 麻豆原创 technology online proved easy.

鈥淔rankly, the harder thing in dealing with a pandemic has been there’s no blueprint of how to plan,鈥� Hill shared. 鈥淲e were taking down our revenue on a weekly basis, and then increasing it the next week. So it was a very difficult year from that perspective. The actual technology transformation felt like a more normal course of business during the year.鈥�

Strained Supply Chains

Businesses across the planet share Carhartt鈥檚 forecasting challenges.

鈥淧eople know what they want and they want it when they want it,鈥� said President of 麻豆原创 North America DJ Paoni. 鈥淎nd they know how they want it. Every customer in every industry has acknowledged that COVID-19 has put the maturing of the global economy on fast-forward. So those companies that have a more sophisticated digital technology are certainly able to pivot faster and connect with their customers on a whole new level.鈥�

Carhartt believes further investment in digital technologies is a winning strategy that will also provide a fantastic experience for customers.

鈥淪o far, we implemented 麻豆原创 solutions to support our retail businesses,鈥� said Hill. 鈥淭his year, we will be implementing solutions to support our wholesale and our direct-to-consumer e-commerce business. I believe that the marketplace has continued to reward those customers that deliver not only a great product, but also a digitally native experience.鈥�

Meet Carhartt CIO John Hill and hear the advice
he shares with his peers on .

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Synthetic fibers used in 72% of our clothing take 200 years to decompose. The apparel industry accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gases as it produces and transports millions of garments yearly. Garment workers toil 16 hours per day earning a fifth of the minimum wage required for living in dignity.

But there may be a silver lining. Thanks to COVID-19, the entire industry has been disrupted. Retailers closed their stores and the rise of online shopping has increased the . Meanwhile, people working at home, the absence of social life, and economic uncertainly mean clothing sales are plummeting. Production has stopped, supply chains have shut down. At the same time, more and more consumers are voicing their concerns about the industry鈥檚 impact on the planet.

The disruptions of 2020 have forced fashion retailers into a new era of reckoning. While the top and bottom lines have been the key markers all along, business are starting to realize that doing good and doing well can add up to doing better.

So yes, there is hope on the horizon. Fashion retailers are now beginning to focus on a new green line in accounting that can only be achieved by embracing the concept of circularity 鈥� making sure resources and products stay in use for as long as possible before being regenerated into new products.

Going Around and Around

What would a circular world of fashion look like? Imagine walking into your local retail space with a shopping bag full of old shoes and clothes to drop into a recycling bin provided by the retailer. You might stand next to a glass partition for a moment to watch a recycling machine as it disassembles, cleans, and shreds the old garments into fibers, spins them into yarn, and knits a completely new top that is whisked away on a hanger for display in the boutique.

You then stroll over to the digital wardrobe center to check out what鈥檚 new on the share and resale marketplace. You select a dress and jacket for the weekend, which you will trade in the following month. And before you leave the store, you stop at the click-and-collect center, where you can try on the new lingerie you ordered online to make sure it fits perfectly before you take it home.

Most importantly, you will feel good about yourself because you were one of the more than back in 2020 who said that environmental impact is an important factor in making purchasing decisions . You will experience the change that occurred driven by your power of choice–now your favorite brands are those that make sure resources and products stay in use for as long as possible before being recycled or regenerated again and again into new products.

Front-Runners

The scenario described above is not far-fetched. Many companies are already implementing innovative ways to engage customers on their journey to circularity.

Nike has introduced 鈥淩euse-A-Shoe鈥� collection points at , separating and turning the rubber, foam, leather, and textile components into granules used to create new footwear. If your old Apple device is still serviceable and can be refurbished, you could receive an Apple Store gift card to put toward a newer model. If not, . Hunkem枚ller, Europe鈥檚 No. 1 lingerie retailer, encourages customers to bring back disused textiles for recycling. And global clothing retailer H&M鈥檚 is an existing, container-sized recycling system where customers can watch old textiles take on a new life.

Sustainability Dividends

The fashion industry is waking up to the fact that decreasing its environmental impact will pay big dividends to both its constituent companies as well as society at large. In fact, the authors of the expect circularity to be the next big disruptor.

As highlighted in the report, the way value is created in circular systems is radically different to how it is created in linear ones. In a circular fashion retail model, a single garment creates value repeatedly–by being sold, returned, repaired, resold, rented, or eventually recycled in a continuous loop to achieve maximum use. This in turn creates a completely new range of experiences.

Three Steps to a Circular Retail Model

While there are no standard solutions, there are three steps recommended by McKinsey鈥檚 fashion industry experts: embrace circular design, ramp-up reverse logistics, and support customer adoption.

Step 1: Design for Zero Waste

Waste and pollution are the result of flaws in design. Ninety percent of environmental impact occurs at the design stage of a product, which is why the are the key to a more sustainable future. This requires product and materials innovation along with a shift in mindset.

One exemplar in this area is Subaru Indiana, the first U.S. auto plant to . Beginning in May 2002, the company decided to send nothing to landfills, in the belief that putting anything into the land, air, or water creates a risk. By being a good environmental steward, the company is saving between $1 to $2 million a year.

To go circular, companies can start by reskilling designers and stimulating circular design innovation. They should train their own people as well as their suppliers to reduce waste in production and supply chains as well as to reuse fibers, chemicals, and other resources to the maximum extent

Step 2: Manage Waste with Reverse Logistics

While the will to become more circular already exists in many enterprises and organizations, . Many places lack proper waste-management and recycling infrastructure, and recycling technology still is not good enough. According to a 2020 , 61% of people globally do not have access–or the know-how–to use recycling infrastructure.

Reverse logistics is about reselling or recovering items from disposal to continue deriving value from them. One exemplar in this area is , a committed to using plant-based or recycled plastic packaging. Their “Return.Recycle.Repeat” scheme encourages customers to return empty product containers to a store for refilling or repurposing.

Retailers can help remedy the waste situation by implementing in-store circularity hubs or creating non-store collection points. Most importantly, retailers can eliminate single-use packaging and work with partners to optimize sorting facilities and recycling technology.

Step 3: Create a Customer Experience

Retailers can take a big step toward circularity by educating and encouraging consumers to translate their sustainable values into concrete actions. Involving consumers in the entire process helps create the kind of experience that goes beyond simply buying a product.

The ultimate example of offering a retail experience beyond the product is outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia. The company has an for repairing, trading in, and reselling used Patagonia clothing, and not only educates consumers about the sustainability of its products, but committed individuals to organizations working on environmental issues in their own communities.

Values to Value

While the idea of circularity is still far from being a widespread reality, perhaps the most important takeaway for fashion retailers looking to succeed in 2021 is that doing good can certainly impact the top and bottom line. Any effort to become more sustainable and less wasteful will result in becoming a better company. But to generate value, companies need to find the right balance of people, planet, and profit.

Curious about turning your company values into business value? Check out the interactive to see how well you are able to maneuver your company through business challenges that can lead to a world of new possibilities.

Join the conversation at #NRF2021 and find out how @麻豆原创_Retail solutions can help drive efficiency and deliver relevant, personalized customer experiences anytime, anywhere.

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Unlike the surging demand experienced by food grocery chains and do-it-yourself markets, revenue for the fashion retail industry has drastically declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brick-and-mortar sales dropped to historical lows. Production and purchase orders had to be canceled. Goods were stored or redirected, and seasonal articles were moved to distribution centers, outlets, or entirely different store formats. Many retailers even had to make the tough choice to close 90% of their stores during the pandemic’s peak.

But on the other hand, online sales are rising for retailers that shifted their brick-and-mortar presence to an online commerce environment. Various brands have benefited from the already growing online sales, which picked up at an exponential pace since the beginning of the pandemic.

Learning this lesson was a pivotal moment for fashion retailers 鈥� inspiring a wide variety of online shopping experiences and business models. According to Martin Turner, global vice president and head of Consumer Industries Services at 麻豆原创, “While COVID-19 has radically changed demand patterns, fashion retail brands that approached the crisis with a high degree of digitalization are adapting much faster to new situations. For all other competitors, investing in digital capabilities is urgent right now.鈥�

Taking on Rising Online Sales Volumes

Digitalizing shopping activities across social networks brought consumers who may not have known each other before the pandemic together on a platform where “likes” on social media became the best form of grassroots marketing. This movement continues to attract more consumers, opening the door to innovative and profitable potential for any brand that further pursues this digital frontier.

For example, people who may not have been avid online shoppers before the pandemic are now following the brands they love more regularly. This new experience is exposing consumers to more enticing messages, compelling promotions, and productive conversations with fellow shoppers. And in return, consumers are more willing to spend time browsing through these Web shops and comparing prices and assortments while experiencing work-from-home and stay-at-home mandates.

With such exceptional convenience and access, consumers have more than doubled their online demand in various regions during the pandemic, requiring IT systems to adapt immediately to a sudden rise in e-commerce activities. Retailers using 麻豆原创 solutions can cope and profit from an abrupt surge in incoming online consumer orders with omnichannel services that deliver fully transparent order fulfillment and personalized consumer-specific content 鈥� all managed with real-time transparency.

The 麻豆原创 Customer Activity Repository application with the solution, the solution, and , as well as the omnichannel article availability (OAA) component, can help create a seamless shopping experience. This is the case whether a brand chooses to support in-person or online shopping with omnichannel processes, such as click and collect, split orders, and clienteling.

Fashion retailers can also manage the volumes of Big Data generated by every online transaction by running on the in-memory technology from . With this infrastructure in place, existing omnichannel architectures from 麻豆原创 can be scaled up with ease. For example, the 麻豆原创 Commerce Cloud solution is built on modern cloud architecture principles with technologies, such as Kubernetes, to support autoscaling and adjust dynamically to increasing workload requirements.

Access to new and innovative approaches for managing omnichannel architectures 鈥� many of which are multi-cloud solutions and available for any hyperscaler environment 鈥� presents a level of stability that is making a significant difference for our customers. Such an architecture has proven its value with exceptional performance during peak order events, including annual Black Fridays and Singles’ Days.

Allocating Stock Between Distribution Centers and Stores

Consumers expect products to be available wherever and whenever they want them. But when supply chain processes shut down unexpectedly due to pandemic-induced local, regional, and international lockdowns, order shipments cannot be completed and stock may end up in random locations because it cannot move across borders.

But when businesses run 麻豆原创 software, the entire online assortment can be marketed across all consumer-facing channels and checked 24/7 for confirmed availability with a promised and timely delivery. The solutions enable remaining stock from the former winter and spring seasons to be sold in the proper location. Simultaneously, the supply chain maintains the integrity and fluidity of its highly interconnected and interdependent processes.

and and the sourcing network enabled by the 麻豆原创 Customer Activity Repository application helps fashion retailers fulfill that promise. The software redirects orders to distribute stock from logistics hubs and warehouses to online warehouses and collects assortments that couldn’t be sold in stores to make them available for online sales.

Guiding the Way with a Strong Foundation of Expertise听

The importance of omnichannel has never been so fundamental to the success of the fashion industry as it has become now 鈥� and retailers are taking notice. Relying on the proven know-how and experience of 麻豆原创 service experts, our customers are delivering attractive,听strategically placed,听well-marketed, and easy-to-use听online shops that are accessible anytime, anywhere. But more importantly, they are setting the foundation for compelling consumers to spend today 鈥� and long after the pandemic that accelerated this trend is over.

Service offerings from 麻豆原创听can help your fashion retail business seize your edge in an always growing and dynamic omnichannel world. .

This is the final piece of the three-part series 鈥�.鈥� Check the landing page to read the entire series.

Dirk Dreisbach and Harald Ritter are chief business enterprise consultants for the Business Transformation Services group at 麻豆原创 Germany, focusing on consumer products and retail industries.

While most economies worldwide are slowly recovering, the overall fashion retail market remains fragile. Incident rates continue to grow, leading to the possibility of further nationwide lockdowns. Government strategies aim to identify COVID-19 hot spots and take local measures to prevent further spread of the virus. And with each new wave of infections, the risk of even stricter measures cannot be completely ruled out.

Such dynamic social changes present a diverse range of buying behaviors that are emerging across all consumers. Preference for fast fashion may decline due to economic uncertainty, while a growing movement toward work-from-home arrangements is increasing demand for less profitable leisure. But at the same time, high-end apparel is experiencing an exponential rise as shoppers find new ways to spend their discretionary funds typically reserved for travel. And once stores begin to reopen, a dramatic surge in larger-than-usual transactions and more frequent visits will likely emerge as pent-up desire for in-person shopping experiences grows.

But no matter if a consumer is eager or weary about resuming their pre-pandemic shopping habits, online commerce will likely remain a significant part of the consumer journey long after the pandemic is a distant memory. And fashion retailers must remain resilient enough to adapt their sales strategies to every twist and turn in global and regional market conditions.

Prepare for the Unexpected with Omnichannel Commerce

Think back during the first set of lockdowns. Initially, only China’s markets were impacted. Then, as agencies detected the presence of COVID-19 in Europe, the first regional lockdowns were mandated in Italy and Spain, and more nations were later impacted as case numbers continued to climb and spread across the continent. In short order, North American, Latin American, and African countries were affected just as China’s economy began to rebound due to a gradual relaxing of restrictions and closely monitored rollout of brick-and-mortar store reopenings.

Even today, as we continue to fight the pandemic, one store can open without any restrictions but another location offering the same brand in a nearby town or state may be limited in its foot traffic capacity. For some fashion retailers, the secret to recovering sales in such an uneven competitive landscape is the use of omnichannel touchpoints.

For example, brands may reorganize their store networks with flagship or pop-up stores to give customers a tactile shopping experience before ordering a new item while relying on online commerce channels to build revenue. Meanwhile, many retailers offset supply chain overages by selling excess inventory at full price when the related season comes again or through promotions or outlets.

No matter the economic condition, timely decisions are essential to run an omnichannel model without narrowing sale margins and impacting the bottom line. With the analytical capabilities of , fashion retailers get a real-time overview of their actual sales figures and all relevant finance key performance indicators. Sales executives can adjust promotions, change article pricing and discounts, and replan the required store personnel’s working hours.

Now suppose a fashion retailer needs to close stores due to a renovation or the launch of a new store format. The brand can use data to predict how its response will impact the business and its consumers. This exercise of considering immediate feedback from shoppers turns operational data into inspiration for further improvements.

Then, with the unified demand forecast component of 麻豆原创 Customer Activity Repository, retailers can analyze historical sales data to identify influencing demand factors, such as price changes, promotions, seasonality, public holidays, and trends. Based on these demand models, algorithms in the unified demand forecast component of 麻豆原创 Customer Activity Repository can predict the effects of similar occurrences in the future and use that intelligence to determine future demand and upselling potential.

Embrace the Fundamental Importance of Omnichannel Commerce

The importance of omnichannel has never been so fundamental to the fashion industry’s success as it has become now. Online and in-person commerce models must provide a consistent and seamless buying experience that allows consumers to buy a product in any omnichannel touchpoint and collect or return it in a selected storefront of their choice.

By rethinking their current strategy, fashion retailers can drive consumer demand with attractive, strategically placed, seamless, and easy-to-use experiences that are also accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any mobile device. And most importantly, they can set the foundation for offering products that are always available and delivering every order quickly and reliably.

Service offerings from 麻豆原创听can help your fashion retail business seize your edge in an always growing and dynamic omnichannel world. .

This is the second part of the three-part series 鈥�.鈥� Check the series landing page next week to find out how fashion retailers are testing the limits of their business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dirk Dreisbach and Harald Ritter are chief business enterprise consultants for the Business Transformation Services group at 麻豆原创 Germany, focusing on consumer products and retail industries.

Over the last two decades, very few industries have experienced the same level of success as fashion retail. As economic growth steadily increased, a natural rise in consumer demand emerged, and the industry caught the wave early enough worldwide to relish in growing sales volumes.

With trends popping up on a near-weekly basis and an exponential rise in the number of new collections each year, the industry was full of unlimited potential. Fast fashion became highly profitable. Leading brands opened stores all over the globe and dominated the streets of major capitals and megacities. Even designers of established labels have been anointed rock stars, endorsed by famous actors, celebrities, and many other influencers.

Since the beginning of this upswing, 麻豆原创 has been working closely with industry players. Together, we have developed enterprise resource planning (ERP) back-end systems and core solutions for areas such as supply chain management, warehouse management, , and promotion management. And all this innovation has been accomplished over the last 15 years while fashion retailers transitioned from a purely online sales channel to an omnichannel approach.

The Pandemic Shook Up Every Industry Norm

Before the pandemic took full impact, most projects were already running with our experts, who were working closely on-site at our fashion retail customers’ headquarters worldwide. Some of our customers were preparing to go live, while others were either planning their implementation or setting up their solution investment to address business requirements.

But we reached a point where customer safety regulations and travel restrictions tightened, and people were told to work from home. Such mandates are not complementary with a traditional brick-and-mortar store approach. Without an outlet to engage customers, transact their purchases, and fulfill their needs, many fashion retailers would have stayed in the red financially.

Such a new development only heightened our customers鈥� sense of urgency around their omnichannel projects. Instead of halting initiatives to conserve cash during a time of economic uncertainty, these fashion retailers chose to continue 鈥� if not accelerate 鈥� their projects, even as their business experts and our technology and process experts were working from home.

To ensure the continuity of our engagements, the reacted swiftly with clearly defined guidelines based on our 25-year experience with off-site work. This action allowed our team to deliver already started and planned services remotely. In cases where an on-site presence was essential, pragmatic turnarounds 鈥� such as switching from international to national teams 鈥� were considered, always adhering to the latest travel policies and legal requirements.

Our ability to continuously support our customers enables them to face every twist and turn of the pandemic with the assistance of 麻豆原创 service experts. We help retailers manage their end-to-end processes with on-premise and cloud solutions from our fashion retail solution portfolio to achieve sustainable efficiency across production, purchasing, logistics, sales, marketing, customer service, HR, and finance. Plus, others leverage omnichannel marketing strategies to maintain and accelerate consumer interest in fashion lines across various target groups.

But more importantly, all the efforts of our fashion retail customers are securing their place in an ever progressing omnichannel fashion world.

According to Guido Schlief, senior vice president and head of Services in Middle and Eastern Europe at 麻豆原创, the digital transformations that our customers are pursuing are essential to their success. “Services experts from 麻豆原创 have the skills our fashion retail customers need to flexibly react to challenges and enable business continuity in an always-growing and dynamic omnichannel world.”

Service offerings from 麻豆原创听can help your fashion retail business seize your edge in an always growing and dynamic omnichannel world. .

This is the first part of a three-part series 鈥�.鈥� Next week, explore how COVID-19 is changing the future of fashion retail.

Dirk Dreisbach and Harald Ritter are chief business enterprise consultants for the Business Transformation Services group at 麻豆原创 Germany, focusing on consumer products and retail industries.

is already impacting our daily lives, but we keep burning fossil fuels, cutting forests, depleting nature鈥檚 stocks, and polluting our land and water. The , yet according to a recent the to stop the destruction of nature.

But there are signs of progress and elements of hope in the world of fashion retail world, which happens to be the on the planet. Gary Thatcher, CEO and co-founder of , recently hosted more than 100 research calls with the retail community and reports that there was hardly a conversation where sustainability was not a top priority.

During a sponsored by 麻豆原创 as part of the summit, top executives shared insights and exciting new developments. Sammar Farooqi, industries leader for Retail and Consumer at 麻豆原创, chaired the webinar.

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Environmental Profit and Loss at Kering

is head of Sustainable Innovation at Kering, a company that , including Gucci and Saint Laurent. She put a pause to the conversation while everyone pondered her question about the amount we would owe Mother Nature for the environmental impact caused by business.

Goulay considers Kering lucky that its chairman and CEO, Fran莽ois-Henri Pinault, believes that it is not only the moral responsibility of a company to behave responsibly when doing business, but it is also important for long-term sustainability.

鈥淚n the world of luxury, we source high-quality raw materials like cashmere, wool, and leather from natural ecosystems, so we have strong ties to those ecosystems,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to preserve that biodiversity for听the long term.鈥�

Goulay went on to explain that Kering developed a capital accounting methodology called (EP&L), which measures carbon emissions, water consumption, air and water pollution, land use, and waste production along the entire supply chain. This makes the various environmental impacts of the group鈥檚 activities visible, comparable, and quantifiable, and enables a conversion into monetary values reflecting the use of natural resources.

“It’s a great tool because it allows us to speak about our environmental impact in financial terms,鈥� she shared. 鈥淏y converting into monetary figures, we better understand the link between impact and nature. That鈥檚 still the language businesspeople are using. Only when we convert our impact into monetary figures can we understand the true impact on nature.鈥�

Kering uses the EP&L methodology to guide its sustainability strategy, improve its processes and supply sources, and choose the best technologies. Of great importance to Goulay is the connection between employee performance and key performance indicators (KPIs).

At Kering, a portion of the bonus of top management is based on their sustainability achievements. It is important for people to understand that profitability is connected to sustainability.

For EcoAlf, There Is No Planet B

was created 10 years ago when avant-garde Spanish entrepreneur Javier Goyeneche decided to create a truly sustainable fashion brand. He chose to stop using natural resources in order to preserve them for the next generation and instead produce recycled products with the same quality and design as a high-end fashion brand.

Today EcoAlf specializes in lifestyle outerwear, footwear, and accessories made from recycled materials. EcoAlf collaborates with partners around the world to reuse plastic waste from the oceans and close the circular loop by reinserting it into the production cycle.

鈥淲e do what we do because there is no planet B,鈥� said Carolina 脕lvarez-Ossorio,听marketing director听at EcoAlf.听 鈥淔ashion is more than just looking good; it’s about doing what is right. We also educate consumers to help them understand what sustainability means across the entire supply chain.鈥�

EcoAlf is keenly aware that an enterprise is not completely circular until you close the loop, so the company is constantly trying to measure and improve its use of materials and the energy in the production cycle. It is also piloting a program to collect clothing听in stores for recycling so it does not end up in landfill.

鈥淲e know that 90 percent of the impact occurs at the design stage of a product, so we strive to use low-impact materials and the least amount of processes,鈥� 脕lvarez-Ossorio shared. 鈥淲e invest in high-quality and innovation to ensure a long life cycle for our garments, and we help our suppliers to become more energy efficient.鈥�

One example of EcoAlf鈥檚 ingenious projects is the use of photocatalytic treatment. Alvarez-Ossorio explains this technology as basically a coating that kills 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria while helping to eliminate 40 percent of air pollution around the person wearing the item.

鈥淭he use of photocatalysis is prevalent in other industries such as hospitality or architecture but hasn鈥檛 been applied to textiles yet鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to this project, which is part of , the European Union initiative to combat air pollution in European cities.鈥�

Tendam’s Long-Term Commitments

Fashion is an industry where commercial and critical success can be short-lived. Longevity is the result of much hard work, such as attracting new customers while keeping old ones and managing highly complex supply chains.

Ignacio Sierra Armas is听corporate general manager at , a global fashion retailer established in Spain in 1888.

鈥淎s a company that has been around for 140 years, we realize that our continuity depends on our relevance,鈥� said Sierra Armas, who is also the president of the European Branded Clothing Alliance (EBCA). 鈥淭his means doing what鈥檚 right for the customer day in and day out, year after year.鈥�

Sierra Armas also believes in doing what鈥檚 right for the planet: 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a big industry that has a global impact. We鈥檙e creating jobs; we鈥檙e creating wealth. But as a European company, we also act as a change agent for less developed countries. We understand that long-term commitments and partnerships are essential.鈥�

He went on to cite the example of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Tendam鈥檚 priority was to work closely with suppliers and demonstrate commitment to future projects.

鈥淲e strive to prepare our suppliers for future demand, so they can prepare themselves to meet it,鈥� Sierra Armas said. 鈥淚n spite of the crisis, we need to think long-term. It鈥檚 not about replacing products with low cost and low quality, but about demonstrating the worth of fashion that lasts. We have to find a balance between long-lasting quality and the excitement of new fashion.鈥�

For Tendam, this is a time to refocus on supply chain excellence. Sustainable practices are top of mind. The company was able to reduce 30 percent of its CO2 emissions in just one year, while deriving 80 percent of its energy from renewable sources. And water usage decreased dramatically by 90 percent when the company started treating denim with laser technology rather than washing the fabric in the traditional way.

According to Sierra Armas, 鈥淲e can only be profitable if we are sustainable.鈥�

A healthy, circular way of living requires a shift in mindset. As Kering, EcoAlf, and Tendam demonstrate, it requires continuous effort, a cultural effort, and a massive effort to reduce waste and change our perception of consumption. But every step we take now will be worth one less dollar we owe Mother Nature tomorrow.

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The founders of PVH Corp., formerly the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, had been selling shirts to miners since 1881 and revolutionized shirt-making in 1919 when they patented a soft, folding collar that fused cloth on a curve, introducing a new concept of comfortable clothing.

Today, PVH is one of the largest apparel companies in the world, with close to 40,000 associates operating in over 40 countries and nearly $10 billion in annual revenues in 2019. PVH manages a diversified portfolio of well-known brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod, and others such as True & Company Intimates.

An Ongoing Journey

Companies that have been around for more than a century have their own secrets to success, but they all have a few things in common: they are focused on customers, they create flexible organizations, and they have the right systems in place to accomplish their business objectives. PVH is a prime example.

It begins with purpose and commitment. According to , chairman and CEO of the company, the apparel industry will be massively transformed post-pandemic. PVH sees an opportunity and a responsibility to help shape the new normal for the benefit of all stakeholders. The company鈥檚 reiterates its steadfast commitments to prioritize climate action, to build tighter and more resilient supply chains, to fight for social justice, to create an inclusive workforce, and to deliver more sustainable products to consumers.

Achieving these goals requires a strong digital foundation that enables intelligent decision-making. The company was looking for software designed specifically for the fashion industry with a unique platform capable of harmonizing diverse structures while optimizing manufacturing and wholesale operations. It found that in the 麻豆原创 S/4HANA solution for fashion and vertical business with premium-level support from 麻豆原创 MaxAttention services.

Why It Makes Sense

Fashion companies have been under constant pressure to release new collections, so they are nimble in that respect. But when it comes to digital transformation, few have been able to completely digitize from planning to store shelf.

Industry experts, including those at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), agree that . They argue that the most effective way to address key priorities is to have an end-to-end solution that allows designers to gain data-based insights into trends and consumer behavior. This helps eliminate guesswork and enables anticipating trends and increasing volume of goods sold at full price. It also decreases time to market and increases long-term efficiency, helping to shrink the industry鈥檚 environmental footprint.

PVH鈥檚 work with 麻豆原创 lays the foundation for the company to become an intelligent enterprise using .

Making the Move

Because 麻豆原创 S/4HANA supports a bimodal approach to running daily operations while enabling growth through the development of new business models, PVH will reap multiple benefits. Consolidating processes has already led to greater efficiency and data transparency. A transparent supply and demand overview enables greater responsiveness, while improved reporting and visibility allow better decision-making.

The enhanced platform for innovation uses new functionality in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, which helps eliminate the need for building custom solutions. And finally, the implementation project went smoothly thanks to the extra support available using 麻豆原创 MaxAttention services.

鈥淥ur IT platform is key to driving our strategy by supporting innovation, modernization, digitalization, and scalability,鈥� says Eileen Mahoney, executive vice president and global CIO of PVH. 鈥淢oving to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA for fashion and vertical business with support from 麻豆原创 MaxAttention services has given us the transparency and flexibility we need to continue to grow.鈥�

Tom Janoshalmi, global head of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Movement, says that customer momentum for 麻豆原创 S/4HANA continues to be strong despite the pandemic. More than 14,500 customers have chosen 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, including big brands, and have already gone live.

鈥淭he initiative continues to help customers improve in the new COVID-19 reality,鈥� Janoshalmi shares. 鈥淭he PVH story is inspirational, and sets a new benchmark in terms of being able to run smart and fast with 麻豆原创.鈥�

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Most executives are aware that generic business software creates a foundation that tackles the basics of running a business during constant business change, economic uncertainty, and market volatility. But 麻豆原创 customers also understand the value of extending their digital strategies with听. They are tailoring processes and codifying reporting and analytics to become more efficient, cost-effective, and compliant in terms of employee and customer expectations.

Below is a snapshot of how 麻豆原创 Solution Extensions cater to the unique needs of specific industries and subindustries.

Wholesale Distribution: Unleashing the Potential of Negotiations

Negotiating better agreements is critical for wholesale distributors when driving savings, increasing profitability and margins, and fostering customer and supplier relationships. But it’s still an intricate function of various partners, extensive information, and complex calculations.

With a comprehensive solution such as the听, distributors can increase control of the negotiation lifecycle, simplify processes, and gain insights into possible enhancements for profitability. Real-time simulation and analysis of the impact of any actively negotiated deal give distributors the visibility to strike an agreement that protects their profitability, lowering the cost of goods sold through a streamlined, closed-loop process.

Fashion Retail: Redefining the Purpose of Brick-and-Mortar Stores

For fashion retailers, the new norm of mask wearing, social distancing, and controlling the number of employees and consumers in one location is particularly challenging, considering their high-touch nature. However, with the right business model, they may create a mobile-responsive, integrated service that delivers a consistent, reliable, and safe digital experience across all devices and channels.

For instance, available on premise or through the cloud, the听听allows retailers to support an authentically omnichannel consumer experience. The solution extension enables our customers to control their worldwide outlets centrally. With scanners, scales, kiosks, vending machines, and other peripherals and storefronts, fashion retailers can acquire the real-time visibility and transactional capabilities to provide a seamless and personalized shopping experience.

To succeed with this omnichannel retail model, fashion brands deliver a diverse, dynamic array of products that consumers want through听. It replaces spreadsheets and e-mails to deliver a single version of correct and complete master data to all users 鈥� leading to lower costs, informed decision-making, and timely response to market change.

Furthermore, no matter how sophisticated the brick-and-mortar model for retail becomes, fashion brands still need to mitigate an ever-present risk: revenue loss. The听听facilitates an advanced approach to distinguishing potentially fraudulent activities from irregularities, such as business process issues, gaps in employee training, or cases of deception. In return, our customers are eliminating time-consuming and error-prone manual reporting methods and empowering their stakeholders to understand anomalous data better to control and prevent loss on their own.

Agribusiness: Widening Slim Margins with Insight and Efficiency

Agriculture’s economic fragility is a concern across the industry. For years, weather disasters, a trade war, and commodity pricing below production costs have placed tremendous stress across the value chain. And with today’s fluctuating demand across all forms of grocery and food services, agricultural futures are becoming more uncertain.

Although the same stress is felt across the entire industry, virtually every category of farming is governed by distinct regulations and best practices when responding to dynamic market shifts. The needs and requirements of running a dairy farm, for example, are vastly different from those of a grower running an orchard.

麻豆原创 understands that reality and offers four unique solution extensions to aid customers as they address issues that are vital to their long-term continuity:

: Designed for farm management operations, the application facilitates everything from planning and planting to growing and harvesting. It addresses the daily need for information and visibility among field managers, supervisors, and workers while delivering crucial analytics to senior executives.

: This integrated solution helps manage complex processes and relationships between buyers and growers of perishable products, such as fruits and vegetables. 麻豆原创 Grower Management for Perishables establishes a contract setup and a wide array of farming, logistics, and accounting services that assist all players in efficiently and profitably fulfilling commitments.

: The application streamlines and optimizes processes, from raw milk reception to processing finished products. Dairy farmers can use the technology to streamline operations, turn real-time data into revealing insights, and improve performance and competitiveness.

: With data-driven technology embedded, this application enables meat, poultry, or fish businesses to simplify the storage, processing, and flow of information and insight across the organization. The entire meat or fish value chain can oversee food-processing functions in ways that help ensure quality products are delivered to store shelves to meet the needs of every consumer that wants them.

Capital-Intensive Industries: Creating Lasting Value for Customers and the World

Capital-intensive industry segments 鈥� such as utilities, oil and gas, manufacturing, mill products, mining, transportation, chemicals, engineering, and construction 鈥� are taking on a new life of their own as they help create livable homes, towns, and cities running on sustainable energy. Delivering on this promise requires intelligent solutions for energy generation; storage, water, and waste management; and energy grids efficient enough to keep up with fluctuating demand and inspire consumers to generate their own power.

麻豆原创 customers are realizing this goal by tapping into accurate, up-to-the-minute transactional data to manage complex assets, maximize uptime, and improve responsiveness to changing circumstances. The听听unifies and streamlines data governance to improve maintenance planning, reduce asset downtime, increase productivity and profits, and support compliance and safety. A smooth exchange of trusted master data is also facilitated with business partners through mobile apps and devices, across cloud and on-premise applications and services.

To keep consumers engaged in this vision of a more sustainable world, utilities are no longer merely providing an online presence with basic account functions and a call center. They are interacting with consumers on the Web and through mobile apps by using the听. The tool provides a user-friendly engagement platform with self-service capabilities that serve as a starting template for intuitive, multichannel experiences.

Meanwhile, from an operational perspective, connecting asset lifecycle management with digital technology fosters enterprise collaboration and data-driven decision-making. Controlling engineering information, work processes, and risk allows firms to improve efficiency and time to production for their capital projects and operations.

础听听opens the door to a more intelligent approach to capital projects and operations. The add-on integrates structured engineering data with unstructured information, including computer-aided design drawings, models, technical specifications, user manuals, maintenance records, and service contracts. Plus, it gives businesses the control they need to handle engineering documents, work processes, and risk across the distributed enterprise, which enhances decision-making and agility while reducing costs.

The solution extension add-on for 麻豆原创 Extended ECM also supports role-specific workspaces to increase operational efficiency with aggregated content, data, people, and tasks related to a common business function, project, or use case. Content is seamlessly available to employees who need it, when they need it and governed automatically and transparently according to current policies.

Media and Entertainment: Unifying Rights and Royalties with Intelligence and Clarity

The use of disconnected spreadsheets, generic applications, and bolt-on technologies can create a dangerous landscape when competing against massive global players and emerging competitors 鈥� most of whom are offering content. Content distributors need a single point of truth to control their rights and royalties while gaining the trust of their consumers and network of creators, licensors, and publishers.

Consider the occasion when distributors negotiate their right to exploit new content. A core of听rights and royalty intelligence and clarity, supported by听, enables distributors to听prove their financial viability, platform strength, and audience growth. The solution extension consolidates multiple sources of truth to just one enterprise system to create legal-approved contracts, acquire rights, move content to production, and trigger royalty payments based on a schedule.

Impactful Digital Transformation Is Within Reach for Your Business

This series has covered how听听can help companies address unique needs across functional areas and distinct industry requirements. 麻豆原创 customers embrace our portfolio of solution extensions to simplify IT complexities while reducing their risk, accelerating business change, and futureproofing their digital investments.

Learn more about 麻豆原创 Solution Extensions at .