Supply chain efficiency is not just fashionable

… it’s fashion-driven
JOY ORLEK
THE FICKLE fashion industry leaves no margin for error – missed deadlines mean missed sales and loss of competitive advantage. One of South Africa’s major players in the field, Edcon, appears to have its supply chain working like a finely-oiled sewing machine, thanks largely to a collaborative approach that even sees its two forwarding agents sitting down at the same table to find ways of process optimisation. Imports and sourcing manager Anthony Fletorides is clearly chuffed with the well-greased efficiency of the import process. “Most of our imports come from China,” says Fletorides. “The majority are discharged in Durban and all are deconsolidated at the point of entry. “To ensure that the goods arrive on time, the merchants need visibility from the country of origin to the final destination and this has been made possible through integration of the Edcon systems with those of the logistics providers,” says Fletorides. Monthly strategic meetings are part of the optimisation process, says Fletorides. “Preclearance, which was introduced 18 months ago, has enabled us to reduce our port to distribution centre process to just three days from vessel discharge.” Direct dialogue with the lines also plays a crucial role in terms of container management and space and TEU availability. And this is important not only when capacity is stretched. “We’ve seen a 60% reduction in freight rates since October last year, but the market is beginning to turn and we expect to see rates rising.” Contrary to general market sentiment, Fletorides has no complaints about delays or customs stops. “We’ve had a very good first four months of 2006 which has been well managed by the lines. We only had three containers rolled over for the whole period.” But complacency does not feature in the Edcon lexicon. “The challenge for all retailers is cutting time out of the logistics pipeline. Every month we look at how to reduce lead times - port to port, supplier’s warehouse to forwarder’s warehouse and port of discharge to DC. There’s always room for improvement.”