A Stitch in Time presents a more nuanced view. Yes, there is increasing value in the creation, distribution, and manipulation of information but this does not occur in a vacuum. In this study the goods are clothes. As these propositions suggest, the avatars of the New Economy information and information systems are finding their value in producing one of the Old Economy s first products, textiles and apparel. The authors of this book are quite clear about the costs and benefits of the application of new economic propositions to the apparel channel.
Demand forecasting remains an inexact science.
Beyond the clear and accessible discussions of the new management technologies of inventory control, production engineering, demand forecasting, and distribution logistics, I found the shop floor-level descriptions of the apparel channel fascinating. At the retail store, far less time, space, and money is tied up in onsite inventory, but floor staff must now do much of the materials-movement tasks involved in getting goods from the truck to the shelf overnight. I was astonished by even the outline of the processes involved in making a generic white dress shirt, and nearly awed when I realized that this complex industrial engineering is needed for each of the more than 6,000 items that are carried by the average retail business unit. A Stitch in Time succeeds as a case study of the evolution of lean retailing and rapid replenishment logistics in the garment trade. More broadly, it is a work that demystifies the impact of the Information Age economy on real production processes.