Fashion
The UK has a rich heritage in fashion and has been known for its brands and high-quality craftsmanship. Several factors are influencing the sector currently:
— Outsourcing to countries with lower labor costs, leading to a decline in domestic production. Many UK fashion brands opt to manufacture abroad to reduce costs and remain competitive in the global market.
— Brexit has posed many uncertainties, with the need for trade agreements and regulations to be renegotiated.
— The Covid-19 pandemic brought attention to the vulnerabilities of global supply chains, prompting some fashion companies to reconsider their reliance on overseas manufacturing and explore opportunities for reshoring production. The pandemic highlighted the need for shorter lead times, flexible production, and closer collaboration between designers and manufacturers.
Despite these challenges, there have been efforts to revive and promote local fashion manufacturing in the UK. Some designers and brands have emphasised the importance of sustainability and ethical practices, leading to a growing demand for locally made, environmentally friendly fashion.
HOW CAN MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 HELP?
REDUCE SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS
Identify bottlenecks, track inventory, and monitor supplier performance in real-time. Be responsive to changes in supply and demand.
ENHANCED PLANNING & FORECASTING
In a volatile and unpredictable market, use AI and machine learning to analyse historical data, identify trends and make accurate demand forecasts, making your business more agile.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Adapt to changing consumer behavior and preferences. E-commerce, social media, and technology-driven experiences have reshaped the retail landscape.
MANAGE YOUR SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
Get transparency on the social and environmental production of your products enabling you to reduce waste, improve working conditions and use more sustainable processes.
MANAGE FAST FASHION & TRENDS
Quickly produce and deliver new styles to meet rapidly changing consumer trends. Improve your speed-to-market, production planning, and manage inventory levels.
SKILLS SHORTAGE
The fashion industry faces a shortage of skilled workers, particularly in areas such as design, craftsmanship, and garment production. Address skills shortages by allocating equipment, materials and people to the most efficient tasks at the most beneficial time.
FASHION MANUFACTURER & RETAILER
This outdoor fashion manufacturer & retailer is UK-based and a Global brand. They sell their products through retail chains, their own stores, concessions and e-commerce. They manufacture their own products that are exported to 55 countries worldwide.
CHALLENGE
After facing issues with their current system, they wanted a group-wide finance system that would integrate with the rest of their in-house developed systems.
Key to the decision-making process was a system based on a modern technology platform that could flexibly grow with them.
They required a simple user interface and integration capabilities that supported the outlined strategy. One of the problems with the existing system was the lack of key information available to the management team when they needed it.
A major influence on the selected system, Microsoft Dynamics 365 was the Power Platform toolset that would work alongside the rest of the system to provide specific functionality that wasn’t available as standard.
SOLUTION
Microsoft Dynamics 365 was the selected platform. We planned to implement a group-wide solution that supported all the brands within the organisation.
In parallel to the main project, a separate reporting and analysis project was also undertaken. This would ensure relevant management information was available in a format that could easily provide the decision makers with the metrics to enable informed decision making.
The Microsoft Power Platform was chosen as it was easy to use. It provided a very quick way of providing ad hoc functionality outside the core finance system was required, such as an electronic purchase order approval system.
RESULTS
— Trebling of the transaction volume.
— A single source of truth for transactional and master data.
— Improved efficiencies through standardising and streamlining business processes.
— Increased real-time visibility of stock availability.
— Foundation for business growth built.
Increased data knowledge to support sustainability.

WHY WORK WITH NEXER?
Nexer can offer over 30 years of heritage and knowledge. With over 2,500 experts globally, and having delivered projects to over 39 countries to 100s of organisations, we have the expertise to complete successful digital transformations.
We are specialists across the Microsoft technology stack – including Microsoft Dynamics 365, PowerPlatform, Large Data, BI, Cloud, IoT, AI, Mixed Reality, Machine Learning, Digital UX & Cyber Security. Our family-owned, friendly and customer-first culture, ensures we build long-term relationships with our customers.