EUREKA! A Breakthrough Time/Action Calendar

I love finding solutions, especially solutions to long-standing problems that have stubbornly eluded a fix.? The problem I refer to can be described in several ways, but in simple terms, it’s “over buying”. This is a result of:

·??????? Continually over estimating demand and ending the season with too much unsold residue inventory that is then sold at painful margins; or

·??????? Not being able to react in-season to best sellers; or

·??????? Designing into a vacuum.? You think you have a promising idea, but can’t design, sample, test and bulk buy new ideas in-season; or

·??????? Not being able to buy close enough to need/demand by region to be able to execute seasonal conversion in an efficient manner across a range of North/South weather dynamics; or

·??????? Working with a Time/Action calendar that makes it impossible for large segments of fashion apparel to be more data-driven.

You get the picture.

Fashion’s traditional, long-standing Time/Action calendar for most apparel makes it impossible for many brands and retailers to say they are truly data driven, or that the design process is even data informed.? The whole process is more driven by pure guesswork than anybody would like to acknowledge.? And no, I am not slamming the creative process in any way or suggesting that designers need to be part time data analysts.? There are Left Brain and Right Brain approaches to the business and at some point, they need to fuse, and pressure test one another for BOTH great storytelling AND target profitability.? For this to happen in an optimal manner, the Time/Action calendar simply must compress.

This is easier said than done.? The amount of time it takes to knit or weave fabrics, sew, wash or dye is not very compressible. Machines and humans can only work so fast.? What is compressible is the entire design calendar and the whole raw material acquisition schedule.?

Compression begins by putting raw materials at the front of the line.? I’ll say that again…put raw materials, not design, at the front of the line.? Identify KNOWN yarns, fabrics, and bodies that can be tapped on a continuous, predictable basis.? Not everything needs to be new, new, new every season (at least for a portion of mall apparel retail). ?If the designer and factory can agree to utilize KNOWN base yarns and fabrics on a continuous basis, they can be staged and replenished with some predictability.? They can be in stock at the factory waiting for the next new design iteration.? Under this kind of set up, design does have some boundaries, but there is an enormous amount of creativity that designers can accomplish with known, best-selling yarns and fabrics.? And of course, design still has the option of exploring everything the market has to offer, and as soon as these new options demonstrate market acceptance, the designers and the factory can modify what they agree to as future base yarns and fabrics.

When I lived and worked in China several years ago, I referred to this thought process as “Platform Merchandising”, the platform being the fabric.? The retailer I was working with was aimed at the opening price point tier, i.e., everyday essential products with just enough fashion to provide the necessary flow and storytelling.? Focusing on core fabrics made abundant sense.? ?I now believe, and know I am not alone in believing, that platforming in this way makes abundant sense for many brands and retailers - especially when it can execute levels of design above the everyday essential level, and even more so when it can SIGNIFICANTLY COMPRESS THE TIME/ACTION CALENDAR.

And here is where I have had a EUREKA! moment.? I recently spoke with Dorothy Pun , Founder at Knitup , and discovered a completely new and innovative approach to the Time/Action calendar.? Knitup is a full-service digital design platform that brings the creative capabilities of a high fashion design house to brand-builders and creators for all knitted constructions.

Knitup ?offers an agile manufacturing process for creators, designers, and brands and retailers of all sizes?to get?knit?products to market within?3 weeks, and they can start with an MOQ of?one piece. Current categories are womenswear, menswear, gender neutral,?kidswear and?pet wear, but if a client comes with an MOQ of 100+ per style, the Knitup team will collaborate with them to develop the designs, blocks and even categories (think toys, home goods).?Fibers are all sustainable?and their factories are compliant.?

After speaking with Dorothy, my mind is blown.? Forget my previous thinking about core products and everyday essentials.? Knitup has built a process for knitwear that can deliver, in THREE WEEKS, an incredible range of design and knit execution starting with an MOQ of one piece and going up to tens of thousands. Given the?3-week?production timeline, you can see the potential for drops?and?collabs,?options to test a few different directions or categories,?do?pre-order, capsules,?or?replenishment -?without loading up on inventory.??This kind of fast turn-around calendar creates a whole new range of possibilities for being data-driven at a scale never before possible.?

And, oh by the way…Knitup is run as a lean, agile tech venture, but it’s also a part of the Fung Group .? And we all know the heritage there: a depth of expertise and institutional knowledge built over decades.

Every apparel brand and retailer looking to compress their Time/Action calendar and be market responsive without sacrificing their design integrity should immediately click over to check out Knitup’s site here https://knitup.io/ and you can contact Dorothy Pun directly. ?Tell her Jeff sent you.

Like I said, I love finding solutions.? And Knitup is a very real solution to our very real, planet damaging problems.? Design. ?Antiquated Time/Action calendars. ?Inventory flow and management.? Sustainability.

EUREKA for all of us!

#TRE #supplychain #merchandising #design #timeactioncalendar