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Levi's revolutionises denim production with new digital operating model

Lauretta Roberts
28 February 2018

Levi's has unveiled Project F.L.X., a new operating model that digitises the design and development of denim finishing and enables "a responsive and sustainable supply chain at an unparalleled scale".

By removing manual processes and automating the jeans finishing process the brand, which lays claim to being the inventor of jeans, claims it is able to "radically reduce time to market and eliminate thousands of chemical formulations" from jeans finishing.

“Our goal was to tackle two predominant industry challenges — being able to respond quickly to changing consumer trends while making the manufacturing process more sustainable,” said Chip Bergh, president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co.

“We are addressing both agility and sustainability without compromising the authenticity our consumers expect from us. This is the future of jeans manufacturing, and LS&Co. is well-positioned to lead the way.” Berg added.

Levi's

Levi's cutting lead times and chemicals

Advancements include the use of lasering to create worn, faded designs, as opposed to hand finishing, cutting finishing time dramatically from two to three pairs per hour to 90 seconds per garment, plus a final wash cycle.

It also enables Levi's to move to a just-in-time production model or even move to a hyper-local production model, which is made possible by staging garments that await their on-demand finish order closer to the market. This could radically reduce its lead times from more than six months to as fast as weeks or days in some cases.

Also the digital process has significant environmental benefits enabling Levi's to eliminate thousands of chemicals from its supply chain, which it says is a major step forward in the company’s commitment to achieving zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020.

Levi's is piloting the operating system with strategic vendors and is briefing some of its key customers. Some of the benefits it is highlighting to retailers include managing core replenishment more effectively, responding to seasonal trends with greater agility and creating greater opportunities for customer exclusives.

“One of the biggest challenges we face as an industry is ensuring we have the right products at the right time, as well as the ability to respond to our customers’ evolving needs with speed,” said Paige Thomas, executive vice president and general merchandise manager for men’s and kids at Nordstrom Inc.

“The team at Levi’s is working toward this challenge by contributing to the future of the apparel industry as one that’s both agile and uncompromising on quality, while improving sustainability. We’re excited to be part of it,” Thomas added.

Project F.L.X. will be phased over time, with a goal of being fully scaled in 2020. The system was built in-house at Levi’s Eureka Innovation Lab by a team of designers, developers, chemists and engineers. It also partnered with its long-standing partner Jeanologia, a leader in eco-efficient solutions for fabric and garment finishing.

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