Case Study: Patagonia

Today Patagonia manufactures outdoor apparel working with 45 suppliers and factories. It sources from 14 countries including Vietnam, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh. The brand runs a complex supply chain. But in 2005 the brand’s supply chain was overwhelmed.

The Challenge
In 2005 Patagonia was relying on paper, excel spreadsheets and manual processes to execute transactions. Frustration existed at Patagonia and its suppliers. The problem? An inefficient way of managing data and business. Patagonia was working with 108 different suppliers at the time. Documents and processes were quickly getting out of control. Purchase orders, invoices, amendments and other trade documents were piling up.

A strategic decision was made to consolidate and standardize the supply chain to better focus and enrich the business. Accomplishing this goal required developing a supply chain that is simple, flexible and agile. Centralizing all sourcing and production decisions to its headquarters in California was part of this strategy.