Abstract
The knit on demand supply chain As customers’ tastes become more differentiated, so must companies’ offerings evolve. The demand for variety may soon become unmanageable, and several companies are addressing this trend by adopting a system of mass customization. One project, Knit on Demand, has been conducted by the Swedish School of Textiles in close collaboration with a knitting company and a retailer of tailored fashion in Stockholm. Production and sales of customized products pose logistical challenges for the companies involved, including the one-piece flow through almost the entire supply chain and the demand for short lead times in an otherwise slow environment, adding to the cost of manufacturing mass customized garments. Customization has logistical benefits such as minimised inventory; hence, high inventory turnover and the possibility of fast response to meet customer demand. The Knit on Demand concept can be considered as leagile because it comprises both lean and agile components. It is lean in the manufacturing stage upstream and agile downstream to better respond to customer demand on the market.
Highlights
In Western society there is an abundance of choice
Cerruti and Harrison suggest that the reason for the overstocking in the market is the short lifecycle of fashion garments, and that fashion companies are trying to respond to the diverse customer demand by attempting to offer everything [2]
This paper presents the Knit on Demand concept from a supply chain perspective, with a focus on the customization and fit of the garment, manufacturing, and delivery logistics
Summary
In Western society there is an abundance of choice. As long as your body fits the standard sizes, you can find any shirt, pair of pants, sweater, or jacket you could wish for. Often the forecasts are wrong and there is no demand for the products, which have to be marked down at the end of the season [1]. This is good for customers, who will not have to pay full price, but bad for the fashion companies. It may be due to long lead times caused by outsourced production [1]. Another reason for overproduction could be that it is less expensive to have one extra product in stock than to lose a customer due to limited inventory. Given all the extra garments for which no one is willing to pay full price, unsold goods are a significant challenge
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