Carhartt Boosts Alignment Across Operations

Workwear manufacturer Carhartt has selected Infor to help streamline operations and develop a reliable retail and wholesale planning solution.

The company will implement Infor Retail Demand Management, a solutions suite that helps enable an omnichannel approach that is cloud-native, predictive and prescriptive so that retailers can build assortments that their shoppers want and shape demand on a global scale.

"Infor and Carhartt have been partners for years," said John Hill, Carhartt's chief information office. "The company's pulse on the retail industry, coupled with the continued advancements in its applications, prompted us to deepen our demand management capabilities into the intersection of machine learning and the supply chain network. Our business is constantly growing and evolving, which is why we appreciate our partnership with Infor as we propel into the next era of retail and beyond."

More specifically, Carhartt will use Infor Retail Merchandise Financial Planning to align sales plans with inventory investments and make sure that executives and buyers align on sales, margin, and inventory expectations. The application will also help Carhartt ensure that retail decisions are made in alignment with corporate strategies, reduce markdowns or reactive promotions due to excess inventory, and evolve planning to support new strategies.

Meanwhile, suite's retail assortment planning capabilities will provide tools to create an assortment strategy, forecast all demand drivers (not just base-line demand) and achieve a better return on space and return on inventory, ultimately improving overall sales and margins.

Carhartt has also decided to implement modules for item planning. The solution is powered by machine learning and helps users ensure that each item contributes to sales and margin targets — without creating inventory hangovers requiring huge markdowns.