In order to expedite its fabric procurement procedures, Levi Strauss & Co. has disclosed that it is collaborating with o9 Solutions, an AI-powered supply chain planning tool.
The global supply chain planning team of Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co) collaborated with vendor o9 Solutions to design a new enterprise planning system for fabric procurement. Additionally, the LS&Co IT team worked with the vendor to create a new data architecture that facilitates real-time data visibility.
The new system, which is essentially an open marketplace, provides LS&Co with a real-time view of its supply chain, enabling it to swiftly and simply determine who possesses the fabric required to produce its garments. The team at LS&Co is able to view all of the suppliers that are available as well as the supplies that they have on hand. This facilitates virtual real-time collaboration on the most recent raw material requirements.
According to the organisation, in the past, it was necessary to get in touch with several suppliers in order to determine which one had the appropriate cloth for a certain order. The teams would choose which supplier to send the fabric order to only after receiving individual responses from each source.
With the help of the new system, LS&Co can assign orders more quickly and with greater efficiency, cutting lead times. Additionally, it enables real-time supply and demand matching right down to the component level.
After collaborating with o9 Solutions to produce three system modules already, LS&Co has five more scheduled for 2024 and early 2025: Tops/Bottoms Agility Modelling, Raw Materials Planning, and Material Requirement Planning (MRP)-driven Agility.
According to LS&Co, as part of its ambitions to develop the platform until 2024, it will extend the system’s capabilities throughout the supply chain and include additional vendors.
