New Look manages 185% order growth without increasing back-office staff
The supply chain management solution developed by ediTRACK has enabled New Look to process 185% more purchase orders than it could five years ago.
This has been achieved without the need to significantly increase its back-office staffing levels to process the additional business.
Lighthouse, the ediTRACK software that New Look is using, provides an accessible platform for all its trading partners to share information on product development and delivery. It has allowed the company to grow without having to constantly invest in larger in-house IT capability. In addition to dramatically increasing the numbers of purchase orders it handles each week, New Look has used Lighthouse to increase the number of stores it services and the number of distribution hubs that it can manage.
ediTRACK’s service allows buyers in the UK and producers in the Far East to share information about designs, fabrics and delivery schedules electronically in real time, and ensures that the latest information is always available to everyone involved. Having ‘one version of the truth’ has led to a significant reduction in errors.
Maxine Walter, supply chain coordination manager, New Look, commented, “Now our buyers can exchange photographs with suppliers and have a real-time dialogue as they develop styles, while buyers out in the Far East can send detailed and accurate information back to their teams in the UK. It has certainly cut lead times and reduced errors.
Dan Monaghan, head of supply chain operations, New Look, added, “If in future we need more distribution hubs to handle additional franchises, then the system can scale up to meet demand.”
