Our journey began with a prominent fashion house in 2004, which expanded from 10 stores to 100 stores in 3-4 years. It then added many international brands to its retail portfolio and was eventually acquired by one of the largest business houses in India. We encountered a mix of creativity, energy, and challenges brought about by rapid growth and inherent complexity in that fashion house. In the fashion sector, there is randomness and variance in the production process.
We assisted this organization in redefining and streamlining its business processes. We reduced the Order to Cash cycle from 18 months to 3-6 months, depending on the category. During the growth years when the company expanded from 10 to 100 stores, the production and procurement capacity caught up while the retail stores were consistently growing. This resulted in an inter-departmental process gap, eventually leading to raw materials arriving late, production needing to be delivered, and sales missing categories at a seasonal level. From this state of creative chaos, the organization swiftly transitioned to a more efficient way of operating, where the Order to Cash Cycle concept was reduced to 3-6 months. The experiences gained in this transformation gave us deep insight into the nuances and peculiarities of the fashion, garment, retail, and lifestyle industries.
Another peculiarity of this industry is that the manufacturing side is either skill-based or contractual, and the manufacturing process is more labor- and skill-dependent rather than machine-dependent. Therefore, there is a planning challenge, a per-piece layout model, and a skill-based incentive model for production payout. In this industry, we see a combination of in-house manufacturing and job work for dyeing, weaving, and knitting processes.
Below is a snapshot of the Retail & Skill Manufacturing industry landscape, integrated through ERP, CRM, Supply chain, Mobility tools, and external-facing systems for Vendors and Customers. This is the industry’s typical ‘To Be‘ state, making the organization efficient and agile.
At one point, we were helping an e-commerce company transition from a stock-and-sell model to pure marketplaces while our retail customers began their e-commerce journey. This journey has now evolved into an omnichannel model. Looking ahead, we envision a seamless integration between marketplaces and brand retailers, similar to how brick-and-mortar malls and retail outlets operate. Marketplaces will serve as eyeball aggregators, while brands will handle transactions through retail and distribution channels. Omnichannel and e-commerce processes are still developing, and with the increasing efficiency and capability of last-mile logistics, the model is evolving.
In the next 5-10 years, we anticipate a complete convergence of brick-and-mortar retail, brands, e-commerce, and distribution channels within the omnichannel framework.
The jewelry industry is one of the most complex segments in Lifestyle, Retail, and Fashion. It does not fit into standard ERP systems like SAP, Microsoft, and Oracle and requires around 30-70% customization. What makes the Jewelry Industry unique is the Dual Unit of Measurement and the concept of Tags used in job work production for retail and E-commerce sales. Indian Jewelry stores offer infinite Schemes and Yojanas to clients.
Using Microsoft and SAP, we have developed a comprehensive end-to-end Jewelry Management Solution for mid-to-large Jewelers. This solution covers everything from job work and production to retail and E-commerce.