Fashion retail leaders are sounding the alarm on a silent profit killer: bad shipping data.
Around 64% of 250 fashion retail leaders say inaccurate or incomplete shipping information is a common cause of order delays and inventory shrink, says a new report from Avery Dennison, titled, Boosting Margins – The Power of Enhanced Fashion Supply Chain Visibility.
The findings by Avery Dennison, a global leader in materials science and digital identification solutions, reveal that supply chain blind spots during packing and shipping — driven by a lack of integration between critical systems — are quietly eroding profitability for fashion retailers. Among those surveyed, the failure of packing, shipping, and order management systems to communicate was the most widely cited post-production concern, adding to the broader challenges retailers face alongside store theft, staff theft, and returns fraud.
Shrink is already at record levels, driven largely by a spike in theft. According to research from the National Retail Federation, shoplifting incidents rose by 93% in 2023 compared to 2019, while the average dollar loss per incident jumped by 90% over the same period.
To combat this, Avery Dennison has launched Optica™, a full-service portfolio of end-to-end supply chain solutions designed to deliver item-level data transparency from source to retail shelf. By bridging the gaps between critical systems, Optica™ aims to give brands the visibility they need to tackle shrink, improve order accuracy, and protect margins.
“As margins get tighter due to trade barriers, geopolitical tensions, and rising production costs, fashion brands can’t afford to let preventable inventory loss fly under the radar,” says Uwe Hennig, global segment senior director, General Retail, Avery Dennison. “If you don’t know what’s missing, you can’t restock it — and that’s a double loss.”
“In an industry where speed, trend responsiveness, and inventory precision are paramount, systems visibility is essential. Fashion brands that fail to bridge the digital gaps in their supply chain risk more than just stock loss — they risk missed profits and missed opportunities,” stated Uwe Hennig.
It has been demonstrated that RFID technology can overcome supply chain inaccuracy and opacity. Real-time tracking and smooth integration across formerly divided systems are made possible by item-level RFID tags that are implanted in clothing or labels during production.
According to a different Avery Dennison survey of 300 retail executives, 76% of them said they currently use RFID or intend to do so. This emphasises how urgent it is becoming to increase inventory visibility in order to protect profits and increase operational efficiency.
