AIMS 360 continues their celebration of remote technology and automation through the month of July. "In the past couple months we have been gearing our marketing and sales efforts towards our one-of-a-kind native iPad app, AIMS RemoteLink. This tool will definitely make order taking much more efficient for clothing manufacturing companies while exhibiting at MAGIC, PROJECT and its affiliated shows in August" says Chris Walia, Marketing Director of AIMS360.
The remote order taking solution was first introduced in 2011 and has since generated a great popularity amongst salespeople that are on the go. This app is one of many features that complement the AIMS ERP Software Inventory Management system and offers salespeople an innovative tool to be more productive and increase sales at trade shows, client sites or anywhere globally.
Enhancing the use of technology and automating processes is one of AIMS core competencies and have come a long way with new, innovative and resourceful products. Apparel companies should also embrace technology and increase productivity and efficiencies.
The popular 80's cartoon television show, the Jetsons, depicted a futuristic utopia with flying cars, smart homes, intricate robotics and automated computer systems that did everything for a person at home or in the office. One may feel that all this automation would make us lazy and obsolete. Is this really true or are we really making ourselves more productive and creating efficiencies to streamline our daily life and business?
What is this scary term automation all about? In a nutshell, "automation" is the use of a control system or information technology that reduces the need of human overhead for the production or manufacturing of goods and services. Automation excludes the need of constant physical human involvement. This frees up a person from the more tedious administrative or more manual intensive types of work and permits them to contribute more time to other areas of the business.
The Fashion Industry sees many struggles of its own. From supply chain challenges, inventory management, accounting, order taking, shipping and receiving, apparel businesses find themselves being that chicken running around with no head. Much of this is due to current manual processes and not enough manpower. Of course, many companies have limited budgets which makes a business automation solution more difficult to evaluate and implement.
Without automation the time to process each item increases, resulting in higher distribution costs. In the warehouse, manual invoicing and packing slow down the staff, while the lack of visibility makes it difficult to manage inventory and control shrink. At trade shows or offsite locations with potential buyers, not having inventory information, carrying samples, color swatches and an order sales book can bog one down. This makes it more difficult to close deals with customers.
Clothing manufacturing businesses are starting to understand the absolute importance of embracing automation. To figure out what parts of their business need automation, one should evaluate cost effective solutions that will create operational efficiencies, free up their time, give leverage, and most importantly allow to grow their business. Businesses don't need to spend much on building an IT infrastructure when there are solutions offered on the cloud (hosted through a software provider).
One solution to increasing profits for a fashion business is to implement an all-in-one apparel ERP software that will manage inventory, order taking, create pick tickets, calculate costing, integrate accounting, etc. For AIMS customers, the AIMS 360 ERP system has helped automate the entire manufacturing to end-user cycle with one integrated software and minimal labor.
Once an ERP system is setup, additional features can be turned on depending on business needs. Many of AIMS customers have increased company revenue by implementing an integrated E-commerce solution. This automation allows qualified visitors to the company website, and has created multiple touch points to extend the conversation/interaction, convert them into customers and create a purchasing point for products and services.
For those apparel businesses that attend numerous trade shows throughout the year, an efficient automated solution would be one that integrates into the ERP system and helps increase order taking, eliminates order entry mistakes and allows a salesperson to look up inventory remotely.
The AIMS 360 product suite integrates the AIMS RemoteLink app, which is a great example of the latest technology fused with business resourcefulness. Time is extremely valuable on a trade show floor such as MAGIC, Project, ENK and more so valuable once back from the show. This is why AIMS created an automated solution that takes the iPad and turns it into a one-stop order entry system. Simply showcase collections to a buyer, select the color, sizes, quantities, etc., swipe a credit card, have them sign for it and the order is complete. There is no need for an internet connection and this solution eliminates paper work. Once, back in the office, simply export all orders into the AIMS apparel ERP software and the process is done! No more data entry mistakes and no more manual double entry!
With the sophistication of technology, computers have changed the way that one functions each minute of the day. More and more people, day-by-day are adapting to new waves of innovation such as mobile phones and tablets to increase their business sales reach. At AIMS 360, we are also creating that cutting-edge wave. AIMS is guiding apparel businesses to become more automated, run more efficiently, grow and become more profitable.
Though we may not quite be there yet with flying cars and robotic housemaids, we are definitely in a time where automation has become much easier, affordable and necessary for the fashion industry. Now is the time to build for the future.
