An Efficient Supply Chain in Fast Fashion Through IoT
207
Objects and devices are more intelligent and they make themselves recognizable
and they obtain intelligence by making various decisions as per their configured
process and this is mainly due to the fact that they can communicate between them
with a common understanding protocol. These objects and devices can access information that has been aggregated by physical objects, devices and sensors, or they can
be components of an intricate network of services. This transformation is enabled
with the emergence of cloud computing capabilities and the transition of the internet
toward IPv6 protocol with an almost unlimited addressing capacity which was lacking
in IPv4.
The internet of things provides solutions based on the integration of various information technologies, which include hardware and software used to store, retrieve
and process information, and communications technology, which includes electronic
systems used for communication between individuals or groups of devices.
The fashion industry has been constantly evolving with respect to the distribution
channels, reducing the time from conceptualizing to manufacture to ultimate sales,
their communication with their customers and business models. Traditionally, fashion
apparel retailers used their capability of forecasting consumer demand and fashion
trends (known as ready-to-wear) long before the actual time of consumption in order
to compete in the market [7]. The fashion apparel industry developed an infrastructure
of outsourcing manufacturing and processes to offshore places with low labor costs,
thereby resulting in a substantial cost advantage [8]. However, recent years have
seen fashion retailers compete with others by ensuring speed to market with their
ability to provide rapidly the fashion trends revealed by fashion shows and runways.
According to Taplin (1999) [9], such retailers could be credited with the adoption of
‘quick fashion’ that is an outcome of an unplanned process on the reduced time gap
between designing and consumption on a seasonal basis. This ‘quick fashion’ is the
precursor of ‘fast fashion’ model.
The key defining feature of ‘fast fashion’ retail model lies in novel product development processes and supply chain architectures relying more heavily on local
cutting, dyeing and/or sewing, in contrast with the traditional outsourcing of these
activities from developing countries. While such local production obviously increases
labor costs, it also provides greater supply flexibility and market responsiveness.
Indeed, fast-fashion retailers offer in each season a larger number of references
produced in smaller series. The benefits of such a move is that products offered
by fast-fashion retailers during the selling season may result from design changes
decided after the season has started as a response to actual sales information, which
considerably eases the matching of supply with demand.
Today’s fashion market is highly competitive and the constant need to ‘refresh’
product ranges means that there is an inevitable move by many retailers to extend the
number of ‘seasons’, that is, the frequency with which the entire merchandise within
a store is changed. With the emergence of small collections of merchandise, fashion
retailers are encouraging consumers to visit their stores more frequently with the
idea of ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’. This indicates a shorter life-cycle and higher
profit margins from the sale of fast selling merchandise, skipping the markdown
207
Objects and devices are more intelligent and they make themselves recognizable
and they obtain intelligence by making various decisions as per their configured
process and this is mainly due to the fact that they can communicate between them
with a common understanding protocol. These objects and devices can access information that has been aggregated by physical objects, devices and sensors, or they can
be components of an intricate network of services. This transformation is enabled
with the emergence of cloud computing capabilities and the transition of the internet
toward IPv6 protocol with an almost unlimited addressing capacity which was lacking
in IPv4.
The internet of things provides solutions based on the integration of various information technologies, which include hardware and software used to store, retrieve
and process information, and communications technology, which includes electronic
systems used for communication between individuals or groups of devices.
The fashion industry has been constantly evolving with respect to the distribution
channels, reducing the time from conceptualizing to manufacture to ultimate sales,
their communication with their customers and business models. Traditionally, fashion
apparel retailers used their capability of forecasting consumer demand and fashion
trends (known as ready-to-wear) long before the actual time of consumption in order
to compete in the market [7]. The fashion apparel industry developed an infrastructure
of outsourcing manufacturing and processes to offshore places with low labor costs,
thereby resulting in a substantial cost advantage [8]. However, recent years have
seen fashion retailers compete with others by ensuring speed to market with their
ability to provide rapidly the fashion trends revealed by fashion shows and runways.
According to Taplin (1999) [9], such retailers could be credited with the adoption of
‘quick fashion’ that is an outcome of an unplanned process on the reduced time gap
between designing and consumption on a seasonal basis. This ‘quick fashion’ is the
precursor of ‘fast fashion’ model.
The key defining feature of ‘fast fashion’ retail model lies in novel product development processes and supply chain architectures relying more heavily on local
cutting, dyeing and/or sewing, in contrast with the traditional outsourcing of these
activities from developing countries. While such local production obviously increases
labor costs, it also provides greater supply flexibility and market responsiveness.
Indeed, fast-fashion retailers offer in each season a larger number of references
produced in smaller series. The benefits of such a move is that products offered
by fast-fashion retailers during the selling season may result from design changes
decided after the season has started as a response to actual sales information, which
considerably eases the matching of supply with demand.
Today’s fashion market is highly competitive and the constant need to ‘refresh’
product ranges means that there is an inevitable move by many retailers to extend the
number of ‘seasons’, that is, the frequency with which the entire merchandise within
a store is changed. With the emergence of small collections of merchandise, fashion
retailers are encouraging consumers to visit their stores more frequently with the
idea of ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’. This indicates a shorter life-cycle and higher
profit margins from the sale of fast selling merchandise, skipping the markdown