Allbirds integrated planning software Anaplan into its warehouse operations to provide real-time supply and demand visibility to keep pace with the shoemaker’s business growth, the companies announced in November.
As the shoe company looks to optimize its supply chain to keep pace with its business evolution, Anaplan ensures that its supply chain operations remain connected and efficient even as Allbirds adds new channels, COO Joe Vernachio told Supply Chain Dive in an email. The COO added that Anaplan’s primary benefit is that it allows for advanced data connectivity and creates process efficiency across Allbirds’ teams.
“Anaplan integrates data at the lowest level of detail and encompasses planning capabilities across demand and supply planning, PO submission, and retail allocation,” Vernachio said. “This seamlessly provides planners with the necessary information and logic to build forecasts efficiently, and to review plans at various levels of detail to allow for quick decision-making and more efficient forecast and buy reviews.”
The tech platform will also enable Allbirds to optimize its inventory and spend management processes, including allocations and replenishment across distribution centers and stores, to reduce costs and increase forecast accuracy, according to a November press release from Anaplan.
“Anaplan will help streamline our planning capabilities across demand and supply planning, PO submission, and retail allocation; and allow for better data connectivity, down to the lowest level of detail,” the COO said. “That visibility and connectivity frees up time and resources for more strategic work, and better equips us for the next phase of Allbirds' growth.”
Previously, Allbirds managed its demand and inventory planning with company-made spreadsheets, which “stifled quick collaboration and created more risk among the many moving pieces of the business,” per the release. As the company introduced new channels, including wholesale and international distributors, the company’s supply chain gained additional complexities, Vernachio said.
“With the Anaplan platform, Allbirds will have a single source of truth for all relevant supply chain data — from historical trends to real-time market signals,” Anaplan said in its announcement. “Instead of spending days parsing through multiple spreadsheets, supply chain planners will be able to act decisively to ensure the right products are in the right place, at the right time and price.”
Retailers have been implementing various technology platforms to create greater visibility into their supply chains recently. Fellow shoe company Brooks Running began using traceability and compliance platform TrusTrace earlier this year to help accomplish its responsible sourcing targets.
Meanwhile in September, Party City opted to implement TradeBeyond’s platform to better leverage in-house data as the retailer battled years of supply chain challenges and increased costs.
This story was first published in our Operations Weekly newsletter. Sign up here.
