Stylish ... and intelligent

Fashion design company Perry Ellis is using business intelligence (BI) software from Business Objects to improve business performance and inventory management across its global enterprise.

With the BI solution, Perry Ellis pulls information from multiple systems, including its Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server databases, to gain a unified view of inventory levels and customer orders. By tracking and reporting on sales and merchandise availability, the company improves customer service and profitability, according to a press release from Business Objects.

"The solution eases the way our employees access and look at information, and we can make decisions more quickly to satisfy customer demand," says Luis Paez, Perry Ellis CIO. "In the retail industry, fashion trends change quickly. With the new system, management has the tools it needs to monitor the business at all times, stay closer to customer buying patterns and manage inventory accordingly."

With divisions located across the country, employees must know the location and availability of specific items in order to better serve customers. Perry Ellis builds reports nightly so hundreds of employees who access an intranet the next morning will have the latest information on top-selling items, open sales orders, order status and available inventory. Using the new solution, managers know, for example, the minute an order is placed and the second the requested item is shipped for delivery, the news release says.

"By managing inventory requirements on a daily basis, Perry Ellis reduces capital costs and achieves its objective of providing new fashions to the consumer with a speed-to-market approach," says Russ Hill, director of worldwide retail and CPG marketing at Business Objects. "Inventory is the largest financial asset in retailing, and having the right product in the right store at the right time is crucial to success."