From economic downturn to disruption: 5 best practices for fashion CFOs to build resilience via the cutting room
During this recession, fashion manufacturing CFOs need to look beyond cost cutting and invest in upgrading and improving their most valuable fixed asset: the cutting room.
Financial leadership: The pivotal role of fashion CFOs
Global economic growth is predicted be sluggish this year and CFOs have a difficult task of helping their companies rise above this crisis and stay competitive.
While change management is nothing new to CFOs, striking the right balance between cutting costs and creating growth is always challenging, especially in a saturated marketplace such as fashion.
By taking smart and calculated investment risks, CFOs have the power to turn challenges into opportunities, even during a crisis.
Going beyond cost cutting: Upgrading fixed assets to create long-term value
The cutting room is the backbone of fashion production and an engine of revenue growth.
While it is intuitive to cut down on spending for CFOs, now is the time for them to focus on improving the current conditions of their fixed assets and invest in their people.
Improving their production environment with the right technology will lead higher productivity, and in turn, increase cost savings, as they will manufacture larger quantities of garments using the same amount of resources as before.
5 best practices for CFOs to implement in the cutting room during a slowdown
Here at Lectra, we have the solutions, tools, and services to help you implement these best practices and thrive during this recession.
01. Gain full visibility into your cutting room performance to evaluate your fixed assets
The first and most vital step is to create a checklist of fixed assets with detailed information about their current conditions. This will help CFOs assess the health of their cutting rooms.
02. Identify and minimize your hidden costs for better working capital management
Your company’s profit margin heavily depends on your cutting room staff’s ability to meet their production KPIs. Identify and eliminate hidden costs to avoid going over-budget and improve your standard costing.
03. Upgrade your fixed assets for long-term cost savings and higher profitability
Focusing on investing in technology that can provide long-term value instead of short-term gains is a way to rise above the crisis. Your sound investment may yield higher productivity and more revenue, and be financed entirely or partially by it.
04. Get up to speed with your digital transformation
Haven’t had the time to migrate your systems to the cloud yet? You can do so now! Allocate some finances and resources to acquiring advanced cloud technology, so that your IT systems can become more compatible with those of your customers.
05. Sharpen your focus on CSR initiatives as growth drivers
CSR is now a non-negotiable in the fashion business. The earlier you adopt CSR as one of the pillars of your investment strategy, the more prepared your company will be for the future. Purchasing CSR-compliant equipment is the only next logical step.