Apple Bottoms, Levis, Lee, GAP. Yours may not be one of the aforementioned brands, but I\u2019d hedge all my bets that you own a pair of jeans. I do, and I love my all-year-round, many-occasion apparel. I am sure you have heard of Levis and Lee, but have you heard of MUD Jeans? No, not the dirty brown stuff, the brand.<\/p>\n
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MUD Jeans do things a little differently. They have a lease model for their organic cotton jeans, to ensure raw materials supply. Essentially, the customer becomes a supplier.\u00a0 So how does it work? You lease the jeans for a year. After a year you are notified that the lease is up. Upon returning the jeans, they provide various options. This can be in the form of discounts on a new pair, transforming your old pair into a stylish vintage pair, or breaking down the denim to blend with virgin cotton.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s CEO, Bert van Son, realized that cotton is a resource that is subject to price fluctuation and supply disruption.\u00a0 This vulnerability of their supply chain required more effective use of the material that had already been purchased. While you can\u2019t control your customer\u2019s behavior, you can encourage certain behaviors which will benefit both parties. In MUD Jeans\u2019 case, discounted items and free returns.<\/p>\n
So why have I decided to write about this particular business model? Well, currently in Cape Town we are experiencing water shortages and drought. Just this morning we were informed that our caterers cannot supply some of the vegetables on the menu as result of this drought. By rethinking your business models, you can potentially reduce reliance on raw or non-renewable material, build customer relationships and create a more sustainable business.<\/p>\n
Supporting your business models should be an ERP solution which caters for effective supply chain, contact and environmental management. It also needs to allow for flexibility in times when resources may be unavailable (in the case of the veggies) or are required from another source (calling on customers in the MUD jeans example). Perhaps it\u2019s time to start changing with the climate and using this to your advantage.<\/p>\n
If you can envisage the opportunities or if I just got you to think \u201cmaybe\u201d or \u201cwhat if\u201d, then my job here is done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"