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With the release of S/4HANA Fashion, business and IT leaders may have several questions on the new solution as they consider switching to the new SAP S/4HANA business suite. 

In our conversations with global fashion brands, one of the most common questions asked is what happens to custom code when migrating to S/4HANA Fashion? In our latest video, Vinod Kumar, Solutions Director at attune who played an integral role in managing attune’s co-innovation partnership on the design, proof of concept and development of SAP Fashion Managment, delves deeper in how fashion companies can migrate their custom code to S/4HANA Fashion.

Fashion companies across the globe, regardless of size or geography are all facing the same economic headwinds - disruption in the form of competitive threats and new opportunities coming at an unprecedented pace. The answer for meeting these challenges is innovation - both in terms of business as well as the underlying technology that enables those processes.

Announced last week at ASUG Apparel Fashion and Footwear Fall meeting, SAP S/4HANA Fashion (SAP S/4HANA 1709) provides significant business innovation for fashion companies - merging wholesale and retail processes onto a real-time in-memory platform to drive retail opportunity in key areas such as omnichannel, merchandise management, in-store commerce and inventory visibility. S/4HANA Fashion simplifies the underlying architecture, modernizes the user interface, and sets the stage for new functionality and processes – in addition to being the launching point for new business opportunities.

We take a closer look at how the new solution and its functional innovations and enhancements help fashion brands transition to the digital age.

The speed at which fashion businesses do business has accelerated dramatically over the years. More so than ever, companies are relying on technology to aid in all aspects of running a smooth, efficient and successful operations - which is why it is crucial for fashion companies to have ERP health-check from time to time to ensure your ERP system is doing exactly what it is supposed to.

Every day is a juggling act for multichannel retailers who need to quickly fulfill customer orders for items purchased online, in-store, via supplier warehouses and through other channels. As sales channels increase and consumer expectations grow, retailers are quickly realizing the benefits of using a common inventory view for all channels. It is a more cost-effective way of approaching inventory management and allows retailers to track inventory on a continuous basis, to be able to spot trends and gain insights to help make better decisions around stock control.

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.