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The burden of fashion retailers has been never been greater. Malls, retails stores, digital experiences and organizations are continuously being reimagined. Shopper behavior and consumer sentiments add a layer of complexity, as they keep rapidly changing across countries and demographics. How can companies keep pace in this ever-shifting landscape?

Until recently, technology barriers were the main problem, yet those barriers are starting to fall.  As they do, more and more companies have an opportunity to develop a coherent, comprehensive profile of their customers and effectively engage them across multiple touch points through the growing use of data-driven insights.

We have arrived in the age of digital transformation where everything is connected as witnessed at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017, where the hype around SAP S/4HANA Fashion continued to dominate in the Apparel, Footwear, and Fashion (AFF) circles.

Since the announcement of SAP Fashion Management on S/4HANA (termed as SAP S/4HANA for Fashion and Vertical Businesses) - many CIOs are at a crossroads. The news of S/4 Fashion has caused uncertainty in their existing ERP environments - despite the effort of setting up their companies’ future technology direction and developing a comprehensive digital strategy.

As the co-innovators of SAP Fashion Management, the presentation we showcased at SAPPHIRE NOW helped resolve these issues and clarify product maturity as fashion CIOs determine how and when to adopt S/4 Fashion. Here are some of the key topics discussed at our booth:

In the Fashion Retail world, every instance of a stockout represents a failure to fulfill consumer demand. The ramifications of out-of-stock  situations do not end at the initial sale; it extends to loss of companion sales, inability to salvage future shopping trips and potentially, the loss of loyal consumers. How can companies combat this challenge which has plagued the industry for decades? The answer may lie with your operational backbone - your ERP system.

Ever since SAP announced SAP S/4 HANA, there have been many questions about the future and roadmap for industry specific solutions such as SAP Fashion Management Solution. During a recent webinar, we discussed some of the most frequent questions we get from customers regarding the roadmap and migration to SAP S/4 HANA.

Here are some of the main points that we addressed during the webinar:

Over the years we’ve talked a lot about what it takes to craft the ideal omni-channel experience, and the importance of going beyond the cursory approach of simply ticking the correct boxes of online, in-store and mobile commerce platforms. While it is vital to be able to sell to customers in all channels, it is not enough to simply be present. Omni-channel fashion is only good when it genuinely engages consumers in a meaningful way, as borne out most recently in a research published by L2.

Our industry is often described as one in which change is the only constant. As attune crosses a decade of developing, implementing and fine-tuning enterprise solutions custom-designed for the fashion and lifestyle industry, this milestone serves as a valuable opportunity to look back on the remarkable legacy of innovation established by attune, in order to gain a better understanding of where we came from and where the next decade will take us.

It’s a new world for fashion retailers. Giants in the online retail space, like Amazon who last year achieved sales in excess of US$ 107 billion, is now moving into the brick-and-mortar retail format. Meanwhile, traditional brick-and-mortar retail companies like Burberry have made exponential leaps ahead of the competition through a concerted effort to develop its online and in-store retail experience into a single, seamless offering. The trend is towards omni-channel retail and it is a trend that is quickly becoming the norm for fashion retailers.

This is the third and final part of a recently done interview by the Apparel Magazine where we answered several questions by sharing our view point on some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities that Fashion-Lifestyle Brands and Retailers face presently. In this article we discuss the obstacles that are currently being faced by existing systems and how fashion retailers can overcome this by turning data from multiple touch points into actionable insights.

The exponential growth of digital has created an environment that 20 years ago didn't exist, and even today retailers are still finding their way around it. As more consumers become connected to information than ever before, fashion businesses are compelled to understand and innovate their operations based on what their customers want, in real time.

– In recognition of implementation of SAP Fashion Management and SAP Hybris to unify channels.