Yamamay deploys Oracle Analytics Cloud to improve sustainability

The fashion industry is grappling with a conundrum: The market demands new styles, which drive sales, but clothing overproduction can create waste and harm the environment. Balancing supply and demand can help reduce the environmental impact of fashion—but it can be tricky work.

Analytics can make it possible to strike that balance.

Yamamay is an Italy-based producer and distributor of underwear, lingerie, sleepwear, and beachwear. The company’s mission is to create beautiful, sustainably produced apparel.

“We create and design in compliance with the principles of eco design, thinking about how important it is for people to use beautiful, functional products with reduced impacts on the environment,” says Michele di Nuzzo, business intelligence manager at Pianoforte Group, Yamamay’s parent company.

Quality data is a prerequisite for effectively accounting for the sourcing and supply chain complexity behind a sustainability effort. And preventing overproduction means having accurate sales data that can help anticipate demand based on real consumer activity.

Yamamay wanted advanced technology to deliver on its mission. But to do so, the company first needed a modern approach to analytics that could both help anticipate demand and track sustainability metrics associated with production and distribution.

Building a new foundation

Yamamay previously relied on a legacy, on-premises data warehouse and an outdated business intelligence solution. Neither system was flexible or scalable enough to keep up with the needs of the young, fast-growing business. As a result, the company’s data was inconsistent and often inaccurate, which prevented management from capitalizing on shifts in sales trends. The company also wanted to improve both in-store and centralized decision-making. For that, Yamamay needed accurate data available in real time so anyone could analyze sales trends, stock management, and marketing promotion performance.

With 1,300 shops located in 12 countries and a supply chain that spans multiple time zones, the company needed a modern, cloud-based system that would deliver flexibility and scalability 24/7. To improve its internal sustainability efforts, Yamamay also wanted to eliminate the need to replace expensive, energy-draining, on-premises hardware.

“Thanks to Oracle Analytics Cloud, we are moving toward our goal of eventually producing our entire collection with completely sustainable materials,” says Michele di Nuzzo, business intelligence manager for Yamamay.

To address these goals and issues, Yamamay selected Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse.  The company then analyzed several analytics solutions, including QlikView and Microsoft Power BI, but selected Oracle Analytics Cloud because of its capabilities, including data preparation and enrichment, visualization, natural language processing and generation, and machine learning.

Sustainable sourcing

Easy access to reliable analytics means Yamamay is now better prepared to meet its sustainability goals.

“Sustainability is at the center of our business plan for 2023,” says di Nuzzo. “Thanks to Oracle Analytics Cloud, we are moving toward our goal of eventually producing our entire collection with completely sustainable materials. Oracle Analytics will track all that, and we’ll be able to produce an annual sustainability report using the OAC solution.”

The company also plans to use blockchain technology on OCI to track its entire supply chain to ensure every supplier it uses is certified for sustainability. Eventually, customers will be able to scan a QR code on each product to review the sustainability efforts involved in each step of the supply chain.

Moving to OAC on OCI will also help the company improve its internal sustainability. Yamamay plans to lean on OAC to optimize its transportation and production processes to ensure its products take the most sustainable route to its customers.

Anticipating demand

With Oracle Analytics, Yamamay’s corporate departments also now have rapid access to analytics to aid decision-making at all levels. “This has greatly enhanced internal efficiency and business agility, which is exactly what we need in the fast-paced fashion industry,” says di Nuzzo.

Analytics that can help predict supply and demand will also help improve sustainability efforts, especially for on-demand production and order fulfillment. Yamamay relies on machine learning to improve forecasting based on historical and new data to quickly respond to surges or slowdowns in demand and make fast adjustments to reduce overproduction.

The company’s analysts can now assess the performance of various sales drives and in-store promotions, which has led to improved decision-making and faster responsiveness. “We can monitor the success of a certain promotion, and then intervene instantly if that promotion isn’t working, or if we want to shift gears,” says di Nuzzo.

OAC also helps marketers better target specific customers with personalized promotions to boost sales. “The personalized promotions have generated much higher average receipts, in many cases almost double,” says di Nuzzo. “They have also led to improved customer loyalty.”

Because they now have access to fresh, accurate, real-time analytics, Yamamay leaders can focus on the future of the business instead of just getting through each day.

“Thanks to Oracle Analytics Cloud, we now have the data we need to create projections for each country and for each shop; we can generate better promotions to satisfy customer expectations; and we can make quick changes when we see something isn’t working,” says di Nuzzo. “But perhaps most critically, we can create a more sustainable fashion business.”

Learn more about Oracle Analytics Cloud.