Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) is streamlining how it procures fabric.
The denim giant’s global supply chain planning teamed with o9 Solutions, an AI-powered supply chain planning and analytics solutions provider, to create an enterprise planning system that allows LS&Co. to assign orders quickly, significantly reducing lead times.
LS&Co.’s IT team worked with o9 Solutions to develop a new data infrastructure that supports real-time data visibility. Described as an open marketplace, the system shows a live look at LS&Co.’s supply chain so that it can quickly see which suppliers have the materials on hand that it needs to manufacture tops and bottoms. It allows all parties to communicate virtually in real time on up-to-date raw material needs.
The technology allows LS&Co. to match supply to demand in real time down to the component level. It also shows fabric purchased from past seasons, simplifying the reorder process. LS&Co. said this level of supply chain transparency optimizes its entire network, improving processes in ways that deliver significant cost and time benefits as well as the ability to protect margins.
Vishal Mankotia, LS&Co. VP of global supply planning, added that technology has helped the company “achieve significant reductions in liabilities of both fabric and sundries.”
Together, LS&Co. and o9 Solutions have created and launched three system modules—Tops/Bottoms Agility Modeling, Raw Materials Planning and Material Requirement Planning (MRP)-driven Agility. Five more are planned for later this year and early 2025.
“This project is a testament to our unwavering dedication to enhancing supply chain process capabilities and introducing real-time data visibility for our manufacturing base. By strengthening our supply chain and transforming into a DTC-first company, we bring ourselves closer to the market and our consumers,” Mankotia said.
LS&Co. said it plans to expand the platform by adding more suppliers and rolling out the system’s capabilities more widely throughout the supply chain.