Today, the world revolves around fashion. Every individual, irrespective of age, gender, culture, community, social status, etc., seeks and pursues fine clothing that goes with the latest buzz. The apparel industry is one of the most booming and lucrative industries today. Consequently, this industry faces high and fluctuating demands and expectations with respect to quality, creative designs, fresh styles and quick turn-around rates. To gain a competitive edge, apparel businesses must combat unique challenges from design and manufacturing to distribution and retail. Inefficient manufacturing, static inventories, and long production cycles are some of the main challenges apparel manufacturing departments face worldwide.

Global supply chain leaders today are investing a great deal in sustainable technology solutions like ERP systems to optimize processes and create greater value. Apparel or textile manufacturing industries can dramatically transform by implementing a robust and dynamic ERP system like Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Manufacturing, which is tailor-made to address and mitigate manufacturing challenges. Supported by the right ERP system, apparel manufacturing sectors can seamlessly streamline, optimize, and unify all their core business operations to drive productivity and growth.

Apparel businesses often rely on disparate legacy systems to manage different departments. This is a massive risk. It creates an increased threat of data loss, slower response, and increased workload. Here are some more common challenges faced by the manufacturing sector.

Challenges Faced By Manufacturers

Inventory management
Legacy systems do not let their users track and trace live stocks and waste. The error so caused in inventory management cost businesses a lot of money. Manual and outdated methods slow down processes and create confusion.

Retarded Production
Human errors, lack of visibility, siloed data and communication, and outdated technology drastically slow down production and cause delays. Further, the processing requires prompt manual follow-ups and quality approvals which is prone to errors.

Product Defects
Without the proper technology, the defects in manufactured garments cannot be efficiently tracked and resolved in real-time. This severely damages the brand’s reputation over time.

The world is changing. Businesses are changing. Hence, we need a technology that can deal with these changes. Powerful ERPs like Dynamics 365 which are specifically curated for modern-day operations and challenges use AI and business analytics capabilities to build resilience and efficiency in manufacturing units.

Why Manufacturers Need An Erp

Unified Business Processes
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a unified software, infused with the capabilities to sync out all siloed data making it easily accessible in real time to all the departments of an organization. In an apparel business, it particularly benefits the manufacturing unit as it gives complete clarity and transparency of the number of orders, order processing, cancellations, stock-outs, etc. This results in minimum waste and less time consumption.

Multi-Channel Network
Advanced ERP systems allow manufacturers to seamlessly connect and maintain communication with retailers, wholesalers, and eCommerce from a single platform, keeping all data tightly integrated.

Real-time Supply Chain Visibility and Analytics
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for manufacturers is a game-changer solution as it leaves no room behind for oversights. The business intelligence tools like Power BI are integrated with the system to generate real-time data analytics and insights that let users foresee shifting customer demands. This allows organizations to prepare beforehand, avoiding loss and wastage of fabric. It also helps trace defects and resolve them immediately to avoid expenses.

Manufacturers deal with different kinds of clothing with different designs, sizes, colours and styles, all of which keep changing and evolving. The industry demands constant innovation, creativity, and efficiency. It is highly critical for manufacturing units across the world to dodge human errors and transform by using agile, flexible, and scalable technologies to drive continued growth.