Deep Dive: An Overview of the Digitalization of the Apparel Supply Chain

Executive Summary

Digital technologies are transforming the apparel supply chain by challenging old operating models and unleashing new opportunities. This is the first in a series of reports that will investigate the different aspects of the digitalization of the supply chain. As the introduction to the series, this report:

• Provides an overview of how the apparel supply chain can be transformed digitally and the advantages that digitalization brings to the value chain.
• Looks at the various stages of the apparel supply chain—design, manufacturing, distribution and sales—and illustrates how digital technology can be applied to each stage.
• Highlights the importance of a holistic approach to digitalization, which should increase the synergies and interaction between the different stakeholders along the supply chain, so that the efficiencies reached at each stage will be reflected positively on the supply chain as a whole.