Deckers selects new supply chain platform

Global footwear company will deploy a cloud platform to manage processes from order through delivery and settlement

Deckers Outdoor Corporation recently announced that it had selected the GT Nexus platform to enhance supplier collaboration.

The supply chain platform will give the footwear manufacturer visibility into the movement of products and payments from order through delivery and settlement. And its cloud-based delivery will eliminate manual processes, paper and spreadsheets to streamline supply management access and processes.

Deckers is a global footwear provider, whose brand stable includes UGG Australia, Teva, Sanuk, Tsubo, Ahnu, Mozo, and Hoka One One brands. In 2012, the company reported $1.414 billion in net sales, driven by a 30.6% increase in e-commerce sales and 15.6% increase in international sales.

Point supply chain system consolidation

GT Nexus will replace existing point and electronic data interchange (EDI) systems with its multi-enterprise cloud platform that it said would connect external parties and tie back into Deckers’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for real-time updates into performance across the physical and financial supply chains. Deckers anticipates benefits will include clear visibility into inventory, including more accurate dates for goods available to promise.

“Our main objective is improving visibility across our extended supply chain,” said Mark Fegley, senior vice president of supply chain at Deckers. “GT Nexus will replace a number of disparate systems to help us closely track the flow of orders throughout the supply chain, from purchase order through settlement. We’ll have consistent visibility into what is really occurring in the factory, at the packing station and in transit.”

Deckers is among a number of companies adopting cloud-based supply chain technology to better compete. Analyst firm Gartner recently reported a 40% increase in cloud adoption for supply chain management in 2012 compared to 2011.

Global supplier collaboration ability

The shoe manufacturer is deploying the enhanced, cloud-based business capabilities of this new supply chain platform to better collaborate and transact with suppliers across China, Vietnam and the Americas, many of which are already working with other customers on the GT Nexus network.

Sean Feeney, GT Nexus chief executive, commented: “This is a huge opportunity for Deckers to connect all trading partners in its global supply chain to a single version-of-truth information model to execute programmes like early payments, deductions management and direct shipments.”