Shoppers beware about holiday shopping for Christmas 2021.
Are we going to see out of stock notifications?
Are you getting nervous that the fashion you want to purchase for holiday gifts in 2021 will be in the store when you need it? Well, you are not alone. The unprecedented supply chain disruption that has been taking place this year has been causing havoc for many industries. The fashion industry is not excluded from the chaos.
Many months have passed by with long delays at the Los Angeles ports (and other ports around the country). This has created a backlog of containers filled with clothing sitting out at sea as freight captains wait their turn to dock.
In commerce, a supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in supplying a product or service to a consumer. In summary the supply chain refers to the way businesses get their products to customers. The clothing & shoes that you are wearing generally needs to travel great distances before reaching your closet. For example, clothes you purchase at retail first gets purchased from a clothing factory by a wholesaler or retailer. If outside the United States, it will most likely get transported by an ocean vessel to a port in the United States. It then needs to get offloaded and transit by truck to a warehouse. If not going directly by truck to a warehouse it also has the option of being sent by rail to another location and then trucked to a warehouse. From the warehouse or distribution center it may be consolidated and sent to another warehouse or possibly direct to a consumer. The supply chain has many links and each must be managed very carefully.
- Learn about apparel industry supply chain management.
If their is a disruption to the supply chain it may result in merchandise being later than originally intended.
If product is later than intended, it may result in "out of inventory" situations when consumers wish to make a purchase.
Freight being delayed at port of arrival, trucker shortages, and the covid-19 pandemic keeping workers at home have all helped cause a messy inventory availability situations. However, the fashion industry is very large & diverse. You may not find exactly what you are looking for in-stock at every moment, but you will most definitely find a rather similar substitute if you are will to compromise a bit. Have no fear, the clothing and footwear industry will not let you down for your 2021 holiday shopping. With that said, it is probably not a bad idea to shop early to be safe.
An out-of-stock (OOS) or stockout event is an event that causes inventory to be exhausted. While out-of-stocks can occur along the entire supply chain, the most visible kind are retail out-of-stocks in the fast-moving fashion industry. In our industry we can't go too heavy on inventory levels at our warehouses or in our stores. If we own too much inventory, it will be very troubling if consumer taste changes. The inventory needs to flow in & out so we can refresh based on most current fashion trends. Obviously we only want to hold inventory on the top fashion trends to avoid being stuck with outdated inventory.
Find clothing factories in America if you wish to shorten the lead time from the factory to a domestic warehouse or retailer in the United States.
Fortunately for the garment industry, the majority of our products (excluding wearable technology) does not need computer chips. If it did, we would be experiencing more troubles like the automotive & technology industry has been experiencing.
Don't forget to purchase clothing, shoes & fashion accessories for the holidays. People don't want new iPhones or Tesla's for Christmas. They want a new pair of socks or an ugly Christmas sweater.
Find clothing stores that have what you need in-stock.
Out of stock situations are very frustrating for consumers. As online shoppers, we don't want to put something in our cart and then find out that it is out-of-stock when we go to check out. Clothing retailers need to do their absolute to avoid customer disappointment and frustration. In additional to frustrating shoppers missed opportunities to properly support customers leads to lost sales & revenue. Not in stock situations also damages the retailer's brand.
Hopefully you will not find too many not in stock situations when you shop for clothes for holiday 2021. Good luck.
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