How Cloud-Based ERP Systems Solve Inventory and Operational Challenges in the Footwear Industry

The footwear industry is a trend-driven, fast-paced consumer market with rapidly evolving consumer preferences, seasonal products, and a multi-tiered supply chain. For footwear manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, managing inventory, operations, and manufacturing effectively is a key factor in remaining competitive. Yet many companies are working off legacy systems or disparate tools that cause bottlenecks and inhibit visibility into other departments.

Cloud ERP for the footwear industry is revolutionizing, because of its data centralization capabilities that keep all the departments connected while automating and providing real-time access to important information throughout the entire operation, from sourcing and production to inventory and sales.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at how cloud based ERP systems are addressing some of the major inventory and operational challenges of footwear companies. Read more below.

1. Improved Inventory Visibility Across Multiple Channels and Warehouse

The footwear sector is a tough one – one of the biggest challenges is to keep their stock under control when selling through brick-and-mortar stores, their websites, their distributors, and so on… Handling stocks across multiple warehouses or regional centers could be a real mess without centralized control.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Enables real-time inventory monitoring at all stores.
• Automatically adjust stock quantities for sales and returns.
• Provides demand forecasting with historical as well as seasonal information.
• Enable handling of omni-channel sales through synchronized inventory.

With a cloud footwear ERP system, companies can erase stock discrepancies, prevent overstocking or stockouts, and ensure the availability of products when customers want them.

2. Accelerating Time-to-Market for New Products

Footwear companies work in short cycles with new collections being introduced continuously to meet customers’ changing demands. Hang-ups in product development, sourcing, or production can lead to missed opportunities and out-of-fashion looks.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Encourages faster collaboration between design, production, and sourcing teams.
• System Integration with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools.
• Automated approvals, BOM (Bill of Materials), and vendor communication.
• Automation speeds up the procurement and production process.

Cloud ERP solutions allow brands to fast-track go-to-market times, streamline the sample iteration process, and reduce lead times.

3. Handling Complex SKUs and Product Variants

Footwear products tend to come in many different sizes, colors, and styles, resulting in a large number of SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). For such variants, manual management is time-consuming and error-prone.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Can deal with multi-dimensional product structures.
• Connects every product variant to its own attributes, such as size, color, or material.
• Facilitates purchase planning and production scheduling as per demand by variant.
• Enhances traceability from raw material to finished product.

Efficient footwear ERP software systems provide an efficient method to manage detailed footwear catalogs, which in turn can cut down on stock errors and increase order accuracy.

4. Minimizing Overstock and Deadstock

Footwear inventory gets out of fashion rather than being used for worn out. Unsold inventory becomes deadstock, tying down capital and warehouse capacity.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Utilize predictive analytics to predict demand more accurately.
• Allows a “just in time” (JIT) stock policy to reduce the overstock.
• Recognizes slow performers sooner for markdown or promotion.
• Integrates sales data from all channels to polish replenishment.

Real-time visibility into stock levels enables footwear companies to take proactive measures and prevent overstock situations that can lead to loss of revenue.

5. Integrating Order Management And Execution

Footwear companies have to handle B2B wholesale orders, drop shipping, direct-to-consumer online orders, and in-store sales. Processing orders from different sources without a centralized system can lead to inefficiency and confusion.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Consolidates orders from all sources at a place.
• Automates order confirmation, invoicing, and shipping notifications.
• Directs your orders to the closest fulfillment center and guarantees faster delivery.
• Encourages integration with logistics partners and third-party warehouses.

This ultimately results in faster, more accurate order processing, fewer returned products, and greater general satisfaction.

6. Enhancing Supplier Collaboration and Procurement

There is increased complexity, delays, and risks in the footwear companies as they source raw materials, components, or finished shoes from suppliers around the world.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Establishes a common supplier portal for improved communication and monitoring.
• Automates ordering, bill paying, and tracking shipments.
• Monitors suppliers for on-time delivery and quality performance.
• Assists in securing more favorable contracts with reputable vendors.

Globally, modern ERP cloud applications have also provided transparency for global sourcing, reducing procurement lead times and enhancing product quality.

7. Scalable During Seasonal Peaks

Footwear companies frequently have season-based periods of high demand (that require a scaling footwear ERP system. It also provides multiple location support, allowing for expansion in new regions or markets.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Provides cloud infrastructure that can be scaled up or down on demand.
• Supports multiple currency, language, and location operations.
• Allows you to onboard new stores, partners, or warehouses.
• No need for on-premise hardware or IT teams to grow infrastructure.

This scalability makes cloud ERP particularly suitable for small-to-mid-sized footwear companies interested in expanding regionally or internationally.

8. Real-Time Meta-Data Business Intelligence and Reporting

For footwear businesses, data-driven insights are essential to make strategic decision-making related to pricing marketing, sales, and operations.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Offers real-time dashboards for KPIs such as inventory turnover, sell-through rate, and gross margins.
• Provides in-depth reporting on product performance by style, region, or channel.
• Provides custom analytics and alerts to measure anomalies.
• Connects to BI tools to further analyze and forecast.

Having access to real-time data makes it easier for footwear companies to react to changes in the market, and become better decision-makers.

9. Compliance and Traceability requirements

Footwear manufacturing companies need to adhere to industry regulations, safety standards, and environmental laws. Moreover, with rising consumer demand for sustainability, traceability right from the raw material to the final product becomes more important.

How cloud ERP helps:

• Monitors compliance from the beginning to the end of manufacturing.
• Produces audit-ready reports and other documentation.
• Captures supplier certifications and test results.
• Supports traceability through the entire supply chain.

By baking compliance into their footwear ERP software, businesses are able to minimize the risk of breaking a regulation and increase consumer confidence.

Providing Industry-Specific Footwear ERP Software

At Autus Cyber Tech, we understand that no two industries are the same. This is why our cloud-based footwear ERP systems come with in-built modules and tools that allow businesses to streamline their operations. Book a free consultation or demo with us today.