**London**: A report by Avery Dennison reveals that fashion retailers are facing significant supply chain visibility challenges, leading to inefficiencies and customer dissatisfaction. Smaller companies report higher visibility compared to larger firms, highlighting a crucial need for improved data sharing and advanced tracking technologies.
A report by Avery Dennison highlights significant challenges facing the fashion retail supply chain in 2025, stemming from a lack of visibility, which has contributed to inefficiencies and customer dissatisfaction. As reported by CXM Today, many retailers are grappling with increasing operational disruptions, leading to a decline in warehouse efficiency and overall performance.
The report titled “Boosting Margins – The Power of Enhanced Fashion Supply Chain Visibility” is based on a survey conducted with 250 senior supply chain leaders from fashion retail in the UK and the US. The findings reveal a stark contrast in perceptions of supply chain visibility, particularly between smaller and larger companies. While 61% of smaller firms, with annual revenues between $1 million and $9.99 million, claim to have full visibility, only 44% of larger companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion report the same level of clarity. Notably, medium-sized retailers, those generating between $250 million and $499 million, find visibility particularly elusive, with only 11% stating they have achieved it.
Delia Glover, Vice President of Product, Innovation, and Solutions Development at Avery Dennison, remarked on the detrimental effects of operating without adequate visibility. “Trying to operate without clear visibility into your supply chain — essentially operating in a supply chain fog — makes it impossible to track the movement of inventory and deploy data analytics to reduce waste,” she said. Glover emphasised the potential of technologies such as RFID for item tracking as critical tools for enhancing operational efficiency and adhering to evolving sustainability regulations.
The research underscores severe issues attributed to the lack of item-level visibility. A notable finding indicates that nearly one-third of respondents, or 30%, face significant obstacles from last-minute changes in garment labelling, a challenge that escalates to 42% among those in the $500 to $999 million revenue bracket. Other reported challenges included difficulty identifying supply chain disruptions in real time (26%), reduced agility in diverting orders to alternative suppliers (25%), and the inability to meet compliance requirements regarding material traceability (25%).
A large consensus among industry leaders indicates that improving supply chain visibility could yield substantial benefits. Approximately two-thirds (65%) of the surveyed leaders advocate for increased collaboration with suppliers, which is seen as crucial for enhancing data sharing and visibility throughout sourcing and production processes. Furthermore, the same percentage agree on the importance of investing in advanced visibility technologies, such as RFID tagging.
The implications of this research suggest that enhancing supply chain transparency is not merely about minimising losses but also about fostering stronger partnerships and gaining consumer trust, as articulated by Glover: “The report makes clear that improving supply chain transparency and visibility isn’t just about reducing waste or minimising profit loss, it’s also about building stronger relationships with partners and earning the trust of consumers.”
Source: Noah Wire Services
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