Urban Outfitters improves supply chain management

Fashion retailer implements Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management System

Urban Outfitters has implemented a solution for better supply chain management

Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters has seen a 35 per cent reduction in total labour costs and an 80 per cent reduction in invoice processes per year as a result of implementing Manhattan Associates’ Warehouse Management System.

The system was introduced in the US in 2005 and in the UK last year.

The retailer also claims that it has seen a 66 per cent reduction in the time it takes to receive stock – from three days to less than 24 hours.

The technology was introduced to improve supply chain visibility and the retailer says it hopes the system will help the company grow in Europe.

“With our continued growth and increasing sales straining our network, we decided to transform our supply chain processes with a long-term solution that could support operations across all of Urban Outfitters’ multiple channels,” said Ken McKinney, executive director of logistics at Urban Outfitters.

“We needed the capacity to handle high volumes, increase process efficiency, improve supply chain visibility and obtain meaningful performance measures.”

The company said it has also benefited from the supply chain intelligence solution, using the dashboard view and detailed reports to measure and analyse supply chain performance.

“We had no idea how valuable the supply chain intelligence solution would be to our business,” said McKinney. “Its analysis capabilities and detailed reports were a nice surprise.”