CUSTOMER CASE STUD Y
“We look for lasting relationships—with our
customers and with our vendors. The first
implementation was a great success and we
consider Manhattan Associates a trusted partner
that will grow with us as we continue to expand
our global operations.”
Mike Sparks, Director of supply chain Systems
Urban Outfitters
Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Facilities: Four distribution centers
in North America and two in Europe,
totaling one million square feet
Manhattan Associates solutions:
Warehouse Management for IBM i,
Transportation Execution,
Supply Chain Intelligence
Challenge:
Existing systems were taxed by
the company’s rapid growth and
increasing volume.
Solution:
Manhattan’s Warehouse Management
and other Supply Chain Process
Platform solutions offered the
functionality and scalability to support
Urban Outfitters’ multi-channel
operations and growth.
Results:
35% reduction in total headcount;
80% reduction in manifesting and
invoicing processes; 66% reduction in
turn time through receiving and 60%
rise in put-away efficiency.
The Term Paper on Supply Chain Management 12
Supply chain management Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of organizing, operating, and controlling supply chains. The concept of supply chain management began in the early sixties; however, it has changed greatly since that time. The first stage in the development of supply chain management was called physical distribution management. (Handfield 47) This process integrated the ...
Urban Outfitters
optimizes its supply chain
using Manhattan’s Supply
chain process Platform
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Manhattan Associates Help Urban Outfitters Gear Up for Growth
F
rom vintage and bohemian apparel to accessories, furniture, luxury brands
and hip designer labels, Urban Outfitters is a trend setter. The company
sells its wares around the world through multiple channels: specialty retail stores,
websites and catalogs. Urban Outfitters retail stores attract the “mating and
dating” age group, while Anthropologie serves the “nesting” female set. Besides
global retail and direct-to-consumer channels, Urban Outfitters has a wholesale
division, which distributes Free People, Leifsdoittir and BDG labels to more than
1,000 stores in the U.S. and Europe.
Urban Outfitters plans to expand its customer base in North America and Europe
through additional locations and direct-to-consumer offerings. In preparation for
this growth, it needed a warehouse management solution that could grow with it.
“Overtaxed systems and labor intensive processes made it difficult to keep
pace with our growth rate,” said Mike Sparks, director of Supply Chain Systems.
“We needed a warehouse management solution that addressed these issues
and allowed us to develop a common supply chain process platform across our
operations.”
With growth straining existing systems, Urban Outfitters decided to transform
its processes onto a common supply chain process platform that could tie its
operations together in the U.S. and Europe. The solution needed the capacity to
handle high volumes involved with multiple warehouses across multiple channels.
Urban Outfitters also wanted to increase process efficiency, improve supply chain
visibility and pump up performance measures.
The Essay on Supply chain process map
The company is a Government agency responsible for regulating the Oil and Gas industry. Our actual supply chain is very variable. As we are a service oriented agency, we are not involved in a continuous stream of goods or services and are not a producer of any kind of products. Instead, our organization’s procurement is demand driven by internal customers needing tools to do their job or the need ...
U RBA n OUt FItt ERS SU P P LY C H A In C A S E StU D Y | Manhattan SCOPE®
“Manhattan Associates understood our business,
and its expertise in the direct-to-consumer, retail
and wholesale industries made it the low-risk
choice. We felt we had a long-term partner for our
long-term strategy.”
Mike Sparks, Director of Supply Chain Systems
“One of the reasons we chose Manhattan’s solution was because
it integrated with the material handling equipment that we
inherited in South Carolina,” said Sparks. “This allowed us to
leverage the equipment that was already in place.”
Urban Outfitters had the South Carolina facility up and running
on schedule within a year. As it expands and becomes more
adept with the Warehouse Management, the company
expects to roll out future facilities in just six months—cutting
implementation time in half. This goal will be tested when Urban
Outfitters opens a new West Coast facility in 2012.
Labor Expenses Drop and Productivity Rises
Manhattan’s Expertise and Warehouse Management’s
Scalability were the Perfect Fit
Urban Outfitters undertook an extensive search for a company
that could become a long-term partner and support its business
strategies. It also needed a superior supply chain process
platform solution to replace its multiple systems and laborintensive processes. Urban Outfitters selected Manhattan
Associates to transform its operations.
“We wanted to work with the best supply chain experts and
solutions to achieve our objectives and take our distribution
processes to the next level,” said Sparks. “Manhattan Associates’
Supply Chain Process Platform and Warehouse Management had
the scalability and depth of functionality to support multi-channel
operations and growth.”
Blending Multiple Solutions with “Inherited” Equipment
Urban Outfitters launched the new warehouse management
project with its direct channel division and an additional DC
that it had acquired in South Carolina. The solutions improved
The Term Paper on Supply Chain
H2>Introduction We have identified that any initiative aimed at improving the customer/ supplier relationship supports SCM this is true from an internal, individual organization perspective through to complex supply chain structures. Identify at least 1 initiative being implemented (or has been implemented) by your business that supports SCM thinking. For each initiative: Describe the aims ( ...
distribution processes, integrated with existing technologies, and
supported the direct channel’s high volumes of small orders. With
the acquisition of the new DC, Urban Outfitters used Warehouse
Management’s integration capabilities to incorporate the tilt tray
sorter and other material handling equipment already in place.
Urban Outfitters obtained a significant return on its investment
with Manhattan’s Warehouse Management and other supply
chain solutions. It increased productivity and supply chain
visibility while improving collaboration with trading partners
and product flow. Since implementation, Urban Outfitters has
experienced a:
• 35% reduction in total headcount
• 80% reduction in manifest and invoicing processes
• 66% reduction in receiving turn time, from 3 days to less
than one
• 60% rise in put-away efficiency
Warehouse Management helps the company plan distribution of
incoming shipments better, and fulfills orders more quickly and
accurately. Handling time and inventory levels have decreased
and stores receive more accurate information on shipments.
Manhattan’s Transportation Execution measures shipping
characteristics to the ounce, allowing Urban Outfitters to analyze
freight costs and select the best shipping rates. Supply Chain
Intelligence provides benefits as well—the dashboard view and
detailed reports allow the company to measure and analyze
supply chain performance. “We had no idea how valuable the
solution would be to our business,” said Sparks. “Its analysis and
reporting capabilities were a nice surprise.”
Learn more about Manhattan Associates and our solutions:
North & South America + 1 877.596.9208 • Global + 44 (0)1344 318000 • www.manh.com
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2010 Manhattan Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
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