“It’s more important to have 100 people who love your product than one million who just sort of like it.” – Reid Hoffman, co-founder, LinkedIn.
Too many companies fall into the trap of focusing on scale – burning through resources to chase more customers.
New Focus: Fewer customers who are raving fans are more profitable than thousands of customers who don’t care and will leave for a newer/cheaper option in a heartbeat.
New Rules: Profits are a priority. Those massive enterprises that are bleeding money are the new dinosaurs.
LOGISTICS
Asia – US West Coast rates are back to October levels, but are still 11% above 2019 levels as cargo shifts to the West Coast, per Freightos.
US West Coast services are seeing a high utilization rate due to a demand increase from China and Southeast Asia, per Flexport.
Space is tight on some key services to the US East Coast due to blank sailings, but differentiated services and carriers are available in the market to avoid delay, per Flexport.
Carriers have announced additional General Rate Increases (GRI) for December, but they are unlikely to be effective in raising rates given the amount of overcapacity in the market, per Freightos.
On Asia to N. Europe routes market capacity will still be down by at least 20% through November, but vessel utilization has improved, per Flexport. The situation is similar on Asia to Mediterranean routes.
Air freight rates showed sharp increases, with China-N. Europe rates up 25% this week, driven by e-commerce demand, per Freightos.
Month-on-Month ocean and air rate changes … new services … seasonal outlook. Read More
INSIDE SOURCING
With no way to boost order volumes, manufacturers are shifting tactics – and getting on the ‘fewer but better train’.
- In Bangladesh, Cambodia and other key apparel sourcing nations there’s a growing commitment to target higher end orders that have better margins.
- Manufacturers are calling on their governments to support initiatives to streamline processes and add services that will help meet the tighter lead times, which are critical for higher value garments.
- Key initiatives include upskilling workers and investing in automation, as well as pressing governments to reduce red tape around tax and customs procedures.
PODCAST
How Mfgs Can Gather Better Data & Analyze It Faster
In an increasingly complex environment, we need to be able to gather better data – and analyze it faster.
While most organisations acknowledge this – they also feel a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of adding a new massive undertaking like migrating to a new platform. Equally as daunting is the Capex commitment.
And then there’s all of the warnings that most digital transformations fail.
Fortunately one of the biggest, but least acknowledged changes in technology is that it is actually getting easier and less expensive for companies of all sizes to get onboard.
In this podcast Nick Foy, the Founder, CEO, and Chief Evangelist of Silverdale Technology, which helps companies access world-class processes, systems, and change management – regardless of their size or budget.
You’ll Learn:
- Why flexibility without structure is chaos
- How to perfect the four essential parts of any mechanism in your businesses
- The importance of choosing the right tech for your business vision
MATERIALS
Cotton prices remain close to their lowest in nearly two weeks, amid persistent concerns over sluggish demand in key markets.
Oil prices continue to slide after OPEC+ delayed a meeting scheduled for this weekend to Nov. 30
You can find the current Month-on-Month and Year-on-Year prices here.
MARKETS
Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, has insisted ‘it is far too early to be thinking about rate cuts’, per The Times.
France’s business climate indicator reached 97 in November, down one point from October, and reaching its lowest level since April 2021, per INSEE.
This week is a quiet week in markets thanks to the US Thanksgiving holidays, per ING Bank.
CURRENCIES
The US dollar weakened after the latest FOMC meeting minutes showed that the US Fed policymakers unanimously favored a cautious approach towards future interest rate adjustments and would base any future moves on progress toward their inflation goal.
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