A question of style
Individual and tailor-made, yet off the rack: this may be a challenge for fashion designers, but it doesn’t need to be a contradiction in logistics. International fashion brand Digel is experiencing this firsthand with the DACHSER Fashion Logistics industry solution.
For many years now, trend cycles in fashion have been getting shorter and shorter. Customers who focus on quality might soon get what they’re looking for even faster. In early 2024, the US National Retail Federation’s fashion and retail trade fair in New York explored the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on the fashion industry. AI could one day calculate what fashions will be popular in the coming weeks and set the necessary processes in motion straightaway.
High-quality fashion by modular design
Manufacturers of high-quality apparel have recognized the signs of the times and the potential on offer. One such manufacturer is Digel from the German town of Nagold, some 50 kilometers southwest of Stuttgart. Founded in 1939, today the international fashion company has more than 1,000 employees. Since its earliest days, Digel has been a complete outfitter producing high-quality menswear collections. Its focus is on a wide range of suits, jackets, shirts, and accessories for men. With a strong emphasis on fit, material quality, and design, Digel has carved out a solid niche in the international fashion world over the course of its 85-year history.
“An extensive and well-functioning network not only ensures speed, but also provides safety and security for deliveries", says Jochen Digel, CEO and managing director of Digel AG.
Digel CEO and managing director Jochen Digel, who’s the third generation to run the family business, aims to have Digel keep scoring points with quality as the market leader for “modular suits.” He’s also expecting the recent strong growth in exports to neighboring European markets to continue.
The logistics of high-quality fashion come with special and demanding requirements, in warehousing as well as in transportation. A properly tailored logistics solution must help ensure that the textile items arrive in the stores on time, crease-free, and as efficiently as possible. And that’s precisely why Digel has been relying on the DACHSER Fashion Logistics industry solution since summer 2021. Jochen Digel sees this as a significant advantage for his international fashion brand: “Dachser’s extensive and well-functioning network is highly impressive. It not only ensures speed, but also provides safety and security for deliveries.”
“Logistics for the fashion industry is complex,” explains Uwe Riechel, Department Head DACHSER Fashion Logistics. “For example, companies require that their products arrive free of wrinkles and creases, and they want the fastest possible collection of returns and faulty goods. In addition, the industry requires the rapid exchange of products between individual stores through shop-to-shop services.”
Reaching stores crease- and wrinkle-free
According to Riechel, hanging shipments have been in decline in recent years, especially because consumers were demanding more casual and sporty fashion instead of luxury. Yet all signs now point to a renaissance in style and elegance—and with it, the need for crease-free hanging shipments, especially for high-quality apparel.
A core element in the careful handling of high-quality fashion is Dachser’s own Roll&GOH rolling container, which has been in use since 2019. “GOH” stands for “garment on hanger.” In this container, hanging goods can be transported throughout Europe and brought directly from the truck to the clothing racks in the store.
The major advantage of the rolling containers is that they have the same dimensions as a standard euro pallet—an important detail for Riechel. “This enables us to handle the containers just as we would regular euro pallets,” he explains. Roll&GOHs are ideally suited to Dachser’s close-knit groupage network, he continues: “We don’t have to set up a separate network to offer fashion logistics, but instead can leverage our large and established network.”
Focus on sustainability
Sustainability also plays a key role for fashion customers. “We’re aiming for zero emissions in local transport as well,” says Kerrin Bertram- Fahrholz, Business Development Manager at DACHSER Fashion Logistics. This will be made possible by the increased use of battery- and hydrogen-powered trucks and delivery vehicles, particularly for deliveries in city centers.
Digel designers are constantly thinking about the latest fashion trends—and Dachser is working on new models, too. “We saw that we needed to optimize the previous Roll&GOH system,” Riechel says. The first version, developed in 2019, was still a typical rolling container with side walls that needed to be slotted into a base. A high-quality hood provided protection from rain and dust, “but that was time-consuming to set up and dismantle,” Riechel explains. Especially at the point of sale, meaning stores in shopping malls and outlets, there was a need to improve on the previous solution, as its many individual components made it tricky to handle.
A customized container
The new version of the containers is more elegant and practical. “They’re easier to handle, more durable, and of higher quality,” Riechel says. Now the rolling container is a completely closed unit made of metal, and its parts are firmly connected to each other. The boxes can be folded and unfolded in just a few intuitive steps. “This makes for easier handling and saves space when dealing with empties,” he adds. A lock on the new container helps protect high-value goods from unauthorized access or soiling. Dachser has also developed a special model half the size of a pallet for smaller delivery quantities.
To make optimum use of the space in the container, cases and boxes containing textiles or shoes can also be stowed in the Roll&GOH on an intermediate shelf and on the floor of the container. Once in the store, the suits need only be taken out of the container; they can then be presented to customers immediately without any further preparation. “In addition to optimum handling and fast delivery times, the Roll&GOH system also improves the carbon footprint by using less packaging material,” Bertram-Fahrholz says.
Digel has been working with the Roll&GOH system since 2021. A large proportion of the suits, shirts, and shoes that leave its warehouse in Nagold do so in this special transport carrier. In total, this comes to around 6,000 hanging garments per day. “Depending on the season, we handle 40 to 120 containers per month for our customer,” says Daniel Kramp, Sales Executive at Dachser Rottenburg. Jochen Digel says, “Roll&GOH is popular with our customers because the goods are delivered quickly and in good quality. The rolling container offers a real alternative to previous options.”
Digel sends out a total of some 1,200 parcels every day, and considerably more at peak times. A good 35,000 items are delivered to retail partners every week. Dachser transports a large proportion of these garments to Digel sales outlets throughout Europe via its Road Logistics network. Just as many items come into the warehouse from Digel’s own state-of-the-art production facility in Izmir, Turkey, and from manufacturers throughout Europe. Jochen Digel sees good prospects for both sides in the collaboration: “We’ll continue to strengthen the partnership between Dachser and Digel, and we’re constantly examining further possible applications for the Roll&GOH.”
