First, the characteristics of the apparel industry and apparel logistics
China is the world’s largest apparel consumption, but also the world’s clothing exports to the big country. The apparel industry has become an important part of our national economy, people’s production and living, is closely related to consumption, is an important manifestation of the level of economic and social development. China’s accession to the WTO, China quickly became the world’s most active economic development center, the economy has been rapid development, people’s living standards improve, the apparel industry has also been rapid development of information management paper about the main features are the following:
(A) labor-intensive industries, products with high added value, high-profit
The apparel industry is labor-intensive industries, with less investment and quick, low technical content, features clothing styles change frequently. And apparel products compared with other products, with higher profits and added value. In particular, is well-known brand clothing, and its new product, gross profit margin of up to several hundred percent.
(B) consumer demand for personalized, but the information is passed slowly
At present, the apparel consumer demand more and more personalized. Greater opportunities both to the apparel industry, apparel industry has been more room for development, but also a challenge to the apparel industry, the clothing industry to speed up the construction of information technology. In the clothing industry, the product is relatively homogeneous, simple business, but the heavy task of day statistics documents is very large, so slow in terms of information transfer, business and financial accounting can not be synchronized, it is difficult to be consistent.
(C) of the product life cycles are getting shorter, the complexity of the operation and management
With the improvement of living standards, apparel, more fashion. Apparel product life cycles are getting shorter, not sell outdated products in the price will be greatly reduced. This requires garment manufacturers to track customers’ needs in a timely manner, timely adjust production plans to meet the needs of customers. Because each piece of clothing is defined by style, color, size, clothing management is very complex.
(Iv) weak capacity of the market response, branding efforts, product development, with a certain blindness
Compared with similar foreign companies, the speed of the reaction force of the Chinese garment industry in the market and new product design, innovation, circulation, especially in the brand’s promotional influence a certain distance. Product development for the apparel industry is an important aspect of its excellent design depends on the designer’s market analysis, forecasting, but the names of some garment enterprises only accounted for goods and number, not goods of colors, styles, specifications , the version. In this way, the product development there is a certain blindness.
(5) production, sales management automation low level of raw materials management difficult
According to the statistics of the China Industry Development Report 2005, China’s textile and garment industry, although in 2004 the overall growth momentum was maintained in the long run, the effectiveness of the condition is difficult to improve. One reason is that China’s apparel industry is still labor-intensive industries, the majority of SMEs, own brand production, sales management, degree of automation is low, management is not high enough sharing of information between manufacturers and vendors. Continuity of the characteristics of information management and paper industry in the production process, the process is more complex, low unit value, and therefore, it is difficult to manage its raw materials.
(F) international trade continues to grow
The apparel industry has been China’s large export, and to maintain sustained growth. Developed business management automation and warehousing logistics, information technology, the standardization of information construction of China’s apparel industry has an important impact on China’s clothing exports to a certain extent caused by the IT barriers poses a severe challenge to China’s apparel industry.
In recent years, the Chinese apparel industry is developing rapidly and has made progress astonished the world, but with less investment, quick, and other characteristics of this industry, the number of clothing stores soared. Garment production enterprises are facing fierce competition, they must reduce costs while improving service levels in order to achieve the purpose of raising interest rates. Therefore, the information management paper for many garment enterprises in the demand for new ways to reduce costs. At this point, we can not fail to mention the clothing logistics.
Second, the clothing logistics
The apparel logistics of modern logistics discipline specific applications in the textile and garment industry. Is an emerging cross-disciplinary. In our country hundreds of thousands of garment processing enterprises, people tend to attach importance to the design and production, as a garment production system, to support the logistics system, it is essential there is no attention. With the progress and wide application of modern logistics management concepts, methods, technology, apparel production and processing enterprises concerned about the logistics the management thldl.org.cn system. Common clothing logistics information management thesis can be summarized as follows:
(A) market rapid response mechanism
Clothing itself has a strong seasonal and short fashion cycles, if the enterprise market reaction was slow, in the fierce market competition, it will pay a heavy price. The products of many companies merely in the circulation of the intermediate links, and did not reach the reality of sales, inventory and cash flow has seriously hampered the development of enterprises.
(B) a single product management issues
The management of a single product is the refinement of the clothing supply chain management of goods. A single product management thinking throughout the production, marketing, logistics chain, each item down to the species, models, color, code, price, fabric texture. Product management, can increase the turnover rate of goods, an increase of goods
Allocate the number of significantly reducing the inventory of unsalable goods, to speed up the best sellers chase a single reaction.
(C) multi-species, small quantities trends
The evolution of the apparel market, more and show more variety, small batch trend, and this trend will also affect all aspects of the apparel supply chain management. How to meet the many varieties of apparel products, the development trend of small quantities, you need to garment enterprises, logistics companies to work together, building a common distribution system set up storage and distribution centers, and other modern logistics facilities to achieve.
(D) a reasonable stock
A fundamental concept of modern logistics is to minimize inventory, until the zero inventory. However, there is no inventory for the normal operation of garment enterprises is simply impossible. Clothing enterprises, inventory control goal is not to eliminate inventory, but how to control inventory. A basic principle of reasonable stocks of inventory as much as possible concentrated in the best-selling products. According to 20/80 rule, sales of apparel products, 20% of the products contributed 80% of the profits, inventory of apparel products should first guarantee of which about 20% of the products, is the business sales, profits 20% of the styles, the inventory of these products is necessary and indispensable inventory. Even if it is ranked 20% of apparel products, enterprises should also be proper control of inventory, or the promotion of sales department, promotional events, deployed in a timely manner between the different stores, warehouses, inventory will focus on the radiation zone of the promotional activities.
Third, the clothing logistics information
For garment enterprises, each enterprise logistics solutions have their own characteristics, not the same. Therefore, the requirements for the logistics system is not the same, but the solution is never far from the point: logistics management information. All solutions are around the information technology development, but the logistics of information technology must be to build an effective, high-speed operation of the logistics system.
Garment enterprises of logistics information and garment enterprises supply logistics, production logistics, distribution logistics integration and unification, which runs through all aspects of the enterprise logistics. It is because of logistics information technology, modern logistics have a life. The performance of the logistics information technology for the commercialization of logistics information, logistics information collection database and code of the electronic logistics information processing and computerized logistics network in the field of the foundation is also information technology. These require the support of high-tech IT, such as: bar code technology, electronic data interchange (EDI), point of sale system (POS).
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a concentrated expression of logistics information. ERP in a foreign country has made brilliant achievements, proves that this is an advanced management mode, can provide a huge economic benefits. In recent years, the business community in China set off an ERP craze. ERP system is the focus of Chinese enterprises in the future of the apparel industry application of ERP systems is the development trend.
(A) Clothing companies need ERP
Research found that a large number of garment enterprises, the enterprises of primitive accumulation has been completed, the internal and external environment has changed, companies are at the turning point of enterprises to further expand will face many problems. In the following aspects: the company’s business information manually is difficult to handle; product delivery requirements should be short, but also in a timely manner; customers require high-quality, low price products; order, many styles, product diversification, batch size -; a wide range of face, accessories, warehouse management task is arduous; clothing business management is not up to standard, the level needs to be improved.
China’s accession to the WTO, provides the opportunity to participate in international competition in the market for the domestic garment enterprises, but enterprises are faced with the challenge to improve the management level. ERP as the core of the enterprise information construction of part of its advantage lies not only help enterprises to establish an information management system, but more importantly it is one of the world’s most advanced modern management ideas and methods. It can be changed as soon as possible the extensive management of China’s clothing enterprises, backwardness, thereby establishing the modern enterprise management mode set to conform to the requirements of market economy system. Garment enterprises in the information technology transformation, the implementation of ERP is also the international competition.
(2) ERP to improve business logistics
ERP is a global manufacturing, management standards, respected by the sales enterprise after decades of development, has been very mature, successful control of the overall business activities, reduce operating costs and manufacturing costs, and improve the competitiveness of enterprises. Analysis and restructuring of business processes, combined with the ISO9000 series, standardize enterprise management and information flow to achieve the smooth flow of logistics, information flow, capital flow. While at the same time solve the Enterprise traditional hand can not solve the problem.
IV Conclusion
Described in the information management highlighted the plight of the Chinese logistics market, there are still some inefficient situation, partly because of inadequate inventory system cost in storage costs are also higher than in developed countries. Logistics costs in China will account for 20% of the cost is much higher than 10% of the U.S. and Japan (12%). The logistics of the apparel industry are often not enough leaving part of the value of the clothing because the degree of specialization of the logistics conditions loss in the transportation process. Therefore, we must attach importance since the role of the garment logistics, logistics information to resolve the contradictions encountered by enterprises in the product operation between sales and inventory, and logistics system more efficient operation of services for enterprises, so that corporate resources can be most effective use of the principles and objectives of the Logistics Development. The progressive development of the logistics industry in China in the ascendant, while the garment industry is facing a major opportunity for development, so the clothing logistics will become an important force to promote the development of the industry and corporate profitability.