How accessory brands can add the finishing touch to their business

If you’re running an accessory brand today, chances are you’re working with an ERP system that doesn’t actually understand the problems you deal with on a daily basis.

Our latest industry research paints a concerning picture of the struggles many brands face.

The reality is that most accessory companies are trying to make do with systems that simply weren’t built for their sector.

When the majority of fashion and retail decision makers tell us they’re patching up their systems with third-party add-ons, we know something needs to change.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel – there’s a better way to manage your accessory business. Here’s how the right fashion ERP can add the finishing touch to your business.

Generic ERPs don’t work for accessory brands

To start with, we’ll recap some of our key findings in the accessory ERP market to highlight why the industry needs better systems.

Less than half (47%) of accessory decision makers said their ERPs could handle the detailed product data they need to track. Take a moment to think about the implications here:

The majority of accessories companies are trying to run their business with systems that can’t properly manage their product details.

They’re basically operating with one hand tied behind their backs.

The situation gets even more perplexing when we look at seasonal management capabilities. Only 29% of accessories companies give their ERP top credits here.

With seasonal collections being the lifeblood of any fashion business, this is a serious shortcoming that needs addressing. These limitations aren’t just inconvenient – they’re potentially damaging to your bottom line.

The product complexity challenge

Like most niches in the fashion industry, accessories have unique inventory challenges with their diverse categories and intricate details.

A single handbag style, for example, might come in multiple sizes, materials, and hardware options, creating dozens of SKUs for a single design.

Traditional ERPs typically struggle with this complexity, but ERPs tailored to fashion and accessories, like K3’s, are built specifically to handle these challenges.

Our solutions allow brands to create and manage their products and associated variants with intuitive matrix grids that make handling variations feel like a breeze.

Rather than dealing with frustrating spreadsheets or switching between multiple systems, you can manage your entire product range from a single, user-friendly interface.

This labour-saving approach means your team can get back to focusing on creative and strategic elements rather than getting tied up in cumbersome data entry.

Smart inventory distribution that works

The broader fashion industry found itself stuck with 2.5 to 5 billion excess items in 2023, worth approximately $140 billion.

This stat underscores the need for brands, like accessories, to strike the product mix which is another area where tailored ERPs like K3’s come into their own.

Our systems help brands track performance by product category, material, and price point, adjust inventory levels based on local market preferences, and manage store-specific assortments effectively.

These metrics are vital for understanding how best to get the right products, to the right stores, at the right time to maximise sales and minimise markdowns.

When certain styles or materials start trending in specific locations, you’ll be in the know and can react accordingly.

Leverage AI for increased efficiency

This final point is true for any business. Success today requires collaboration between departments, but this is extremely difficult to achieve without an ERP system.

With an ERP, the boundaries that separate teams are removed. Each department works from the same system and data, meaning they all use the same playbook.

It’s for this reason our solutions are embedded in Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 ERPs.

Why Microsoft? Because we’re experts in fashion and accessories, not ERP.

We chose Microsoft’s platforms because they’re the best – so you can be sure you’re using the best ERP tailored to accessories through us.

Microsoft’s also a leader in AI, and its flagship companion tool, Copilot, integrates perfectly into D365 (and, by extension, our solutions), so your data analysis is also levelled up.

Instead of spending hours digging through reports, your team can just ask questions and get data-back answers within moments. Want to know which handbag styles are trending in your flagship stores? Just ask. Curious about the optimal product mix for your holiday collection? Copilot analyses your historical data and tells you in seconds.

Tailored ERPs are an investment, not a cost

The biggest challenges accessory brands face, according to our research, are fashion-specific processes (or, rather, lack thereof) and change management.

While implementing a new system is indeed a daunting task, brands shouldn’t be dissuaded from making the change – especially when it’s so obvious that they need a solution that eliminates their core challenges.

By resolving these issues, brands gain immeasurable time and money back in the long run. Investments in tailored ERPs shouldn’t be considered a cost but rather an investment.

Our solutions are also implemented by our global network of Microsoft partners, meaning you’ll receive all the support needed to navigate the change and can be rest assured that, in the long run, you’ll have solutions and partners that work for you.

We have so much more to offer accessory brands than what’s outlined in this article. If you’d like to learn more about how we can support you, feel free to drop us a line today.