“Fashion does not have transparency in its supply chain, making it very difficult to track and trace its products,” says Moon. “As a result, retailers suffer massive inefficiencies of working capital, which is too often tied up in inventory that may be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
This lack of transparency makes it difficult for brands to adapt to change, be it shifts in demand or unexpected market conditions — and works against brands’ ability to adjust plans if a certain product takes off on social media.
The trend cycle supply chain: Digitisation, agility
Urban Sophistication is engineered around trendspotting, designing items meant to get noticed on social media. Founded by siblings Neta and Elad Yam in 2016, the brand hit the internet jackpot with its “Social Media Seriously Harms Your Mental Health” and puffer-coat iPhone cases. Time between product ideation and distribution clocks in at around eight months, so it works ahead of the curve, with three potential capsules designed for each of its “drop slots” on the calendar. The brand then finalises which of the three will move into production just three months before launch, based on consumer and market demand.
Alongside, the brand takes a user-generated approach, running a private Instagram account where an intimate community of fans give their opinions on future designs. “This feedback helps us keep samples to a minimum, therefore minimising waste during the sampling process, but more importantly, during production, as we have a better idea in advance as to which design will perform better,” says Elad.
Transportation times and costs have impacted the brand the most, which the team addresses with frequent communication across its social platforms and newsletter. Elad aims to further reduce supply chain friction by improving upon what he and Neta can control, such as opening new warehouses to offer faster fulfilment once products are in stock. And, although virality exists in some capacity with the majority of products they make, it doesn’t always equate to commerciality.
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“We’re selective in the trends we participate in, and are very attentive to drawing a clear line between the temporary nature of the trend and the timelessness of our product,” says Elad.
What if brands didn’t have to make this delineation? What if they could pursue viral trends sustainably, without the concern of burdening supply chains? Digimarc’s Moon believes one solution is product digitisation, which makes the supply chain more efficient and consumer-focused and is already being used to manage and predict demands on the supply chain.
