Inventory management research for the fashion industry

Abstract

Fashion products have a short-life-cycle with highly volatile demand uncertainty. This uncertainty leads to challenges in managing inventory, as matching supply and demand is always difficult in the fashion industry. In this paper, we review the recent literature on fashion industry inventory management. We classify the extant literature by four widely-used research methodologies, including analytical, empirical, case study and simulation approaches. We identify that inventory ownership, information technology, and incentive schemes for increasing inventory efficiency are the key factors to enhance inventory management in the fashion industry. We propose that inventory management of luxury fashion, sustainability in inventory, and empirical and case study approaches are the most important directions for future research.