Knowledge Management and its Function in the Fashion Industry
Knowledge Management and its function in The Fashion Industry | Louise Grant
What Is Knowledge Management?
Knowledge Management (KM) is a process that helps organisations find, select, organise and transfer important information and expertise necessary for activities such as problem solving, strategic planning and decision making (Gupta, Iyer and Aronson, 2000). KM is used to improve the business performance of an organisation and develop its competitive edge against other companies in the industry.
As business processes are becoming increasingly more dynamic, new technologies are contributing to a fast-changing environment. Knowledge is in two forms, (1) Tacit which is intangible and difficult to translate to others and (2) Explicit which is tangible and easier to articulate. These two forms have become one of the main factors for sustainable development and competitive advantage (Gourova, Antonova and Todorova, 2009).
How KM is used in the Fashion Industry
In the fashion industry, retailers can now collect data from their consumers including an entire purchase history, where they can be primarily identified through payment methods allowing the company to understand and analyse the characteristics of the shopper and predict consumer behavior (Guha and Kumar, 2018). Large fashion brands will use knowledge management to act quicker in the digital age, allowing these organisations to react to a market change on time.
At Group Fashion Agency, our main goal is to improve the company’s efficiency to make decisions accurately and save knowledge within the company. As the fashion industry is an increasingly competitive sector, it is important for Group Fashion Agency to spot issues that may arise and quickly react to new information and innovations. As our marketing agency works with various different companies in the fashion industry, it is our mission to carefully consider what the different factors are that will help increase our clients market share.
The issues concerning KM in the Fashion Industry
KM helps to identify the response of fast changes in the fashion industry. With the industry constantly changing such as the increase in seasonal fashion and fading of mass production, retailers have been forced to desire low cost and flexibility in design, quality, delivery and speed to market (Doyle, Moore and Morgan 2006). Group Fashion Agency focuses on helping our clients take action through the fast changes in season and competition to ensure that they are aware of the changes in consumer behavior. As the fashion industry is changing rapidly from a resource-based industry to a knowledge-based industry, it is important that there are Information Technology based platforms in place to manage organisational knowledge.
The benefits to consider of KM systems in place
KM solves problems that are related to the adaption of changes in the business environment which increases the survival of the organisation based on the transformation of human capital into intellectual capital creating business value. KM offers solutions to improve employee satisfaction and job completion results in order to improve the organisation's operational efficiency (Aymen, Alhamzah and Bilal, 2019).
Keywords: #FashionIndustry #KnowledgeManagement #KM #GroupFashionAgency
References
Albers J.A. (2003). Framework for Implementing Knowledge Management, Proceedings of the International Conference on Management of Engineering & Technology (PICMET 2003), Portland Oregon, July, Obtained at www.picmet.org/new/db/pub_order.aspx
Albers J.A. (2009). A Practical Approach To Implementing Knowledge Management, Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Vol. 10, No. 1. Available online: http://www.tlainc.com/articl174.htm
Aymen, R., Alhamzah, A. and Bilal, E., 2019. A Multi-Level Study of Influence Knowledge Management Small and Medium Enterprises. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 19(1), pp.21-31.
Doyle, S., Moore, C. and Morgan, L., 2006. Supplier management in fast moving fashion retailing. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 10(3), pp.272-281.
Eliyahu, S. (2021) “How to Choose a Knowledge Management Platform to help you Thrive in 2021”. Online Article,availableat:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/02/02/how-to-choose-a-knowledge-management-platform-to-help-you-thrive-in-2021/?sh=5951d98c13a4 [Accessed 20th February 2021]
Greiner, M.E., Böhmann, T. and Krcmar, H. (2007), "A strategy for knowledge management", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 6, pp. 3-15.
Greiner, M.E., Böhmann, T. and Krcmar, H. (2007), "A strategy for knowledge management", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 6, pp. 3-15.
Gupta, B., Iyer, L.S. and Aronson, J.E., 2000. Knowledge management: practices and challenges. Industrial management & data systems.
Guha, S. and Kumar, S., 2018. Emergence of big data research in operations management, information systems, and healthcare: Past contributions and future roadmap. Production and Operations Management, 27(9), pp.1724-1735.
Gourova, E., Antonova, A. and Todorova, Y., 2009. Knowledge audit concepts, processes and practice. Wseas transactions on business and economics, 6(12), pp.605-619.
MacVaugh, P. and Pitt, J. (2008) ‘Knowledge Management for New Product Development’. Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 101-116
Robb D. (2003). Assembling Knowledge Management Teams, Information Strategy: The Executive’s Journal, Winter, 19 (2), 37-43
What Is Knowledge Management?
Knowledge Management (KM) is a process that helps organisations find, select, organise and transfer important information and expertise necessary for activities such as problem solving, strategic planning and decision making (Gupta, Iyer and Aronson, 2000). KM is used to improve the business performance of an organisation and develop its competitive edge against other companies in the industry.
As business processes are becoming increasingly more dynamic, new technologies are contributing to a fast-changing environment. Knowledge is in two forms, (1) Tacit which is intangible and difficult to translate to others and (2) Explicit which is tangible and easier to articulate. These two forms have become one of the main factors for sustainable development and competitive advantage (Gourova, Antonova and Todorova, 2009).
How KM is used in the Fashion Industry
In the fashion industry, retailers can now collect data from their consumers including an entire purchase history, where they can be primarily identified through payment methods allowing the company to understand and analyse the characteristics of the shopper and predict consumer behavior (Guha and Kumar, 2018). Large fashion brands will use knowledge management to act quicker in the digital age, allowing these organisations to react to a market change on time.
At Group Fashion Agency, our main goal is to improve the company’s efficiency to make decisions accurately and save knowledge within the company. As the fashion industry is an increasingly competitive sector, it is important for Group Fashion Agency to spot issues that may arise and quickly react to new information and innovations. As our marketing agency works with various different companies in the fashion industry, it is our mission to carefully consider what the different factors are that will help increase our clients market share.
The issues concerning KM in the Fashion Industry
KM helps to identify the response of fast changes in the fashion industry. With the industry constantly changing such as the increase in seasonal fashion and fading of mass production, retailers have been forced to desire low cost and flexibility in design, quality, delivery and speed to market (Doyle, Moore and Morgan 2006). Group Fashion Agency focuses on helping our clients take action through the fast changes in season and competition to ensure that they are aware of the changes in consumer behavior. As the fashion industry is changing rapidly from a resource-based industry to a knowledge-based industry, it is important that there are Information Technology based platforms in place to manage organisational knowledge.
The benefits to consider of KM systems in place
KM solves problems that are related to the adaption of changes in the business environment which increases the survival of the organisation based on the transformation of human capital into intellectual capital creating business value. KM offers solutions to improve employee satisfaction and job completion results in order to improve the organisation's operational efficiency (Aymen, Alhamzah and Bilal, 2019).
Keywords: #FashionIndustry #KnowledgeManagement #KM #GroupFashionAgency
References
Albers J.A. (2003). Framework for Implementing Knowledge Management, Proceedings of the International Conference on Management of Engineering & Technology (PICMET 2003), Portland Oregon, July, Obtained at www.picmet.org/new/db/pub_order.aspx
Aymen, R., Alhamzah, A. and Bilal, E., 2019. A Multi-Level Study of Influence Knowledge Management Small and Medium Enterprises. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 19(1), pp.21-31.
Doyle, S., Moore, C. and Morgan, L., 2006. Supplier management in fast moving fashion retailing. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 10(3), pp.272-281.
Eliyahu, S. (2021) “How to Choose a Knowledge Management Platform to help you Thrive in 2021”. Online Article,availableat:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/02/02/how-to-choose-a-knowledge-management-platform-to-help-you-thrive-in-2021/?sh=5951d98c13a4 [Accessed 20th February 2021]
Greiner, M.E., Böhmann, T. and Krcmar, H. (2007), "A strategy for knowledge management", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 6, pp. 3-15.
Greiner, M.E., Böhmann, T. and Krcmar, H. (2007), "A strategy for knowledge management", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 6, pp. 3-15.
Gupta, B., Iyer, L.S. and Aronson, J.E., 2000. Knowledge management: practices and challenges. Industrial management & data systems.
Guha, S. and Kumar, S., 2018. Emergence of big data research in operations management, information systems, and healthcare: Past contributions and future roadmap. Production and Operations Management, 27(9), pp.1724-1735.
Gourova, E., Antonova, A. and Todorova, Y., 2009. Knowledge audit concepts, processes and practice. Wseas transactions on business and economics, 6(12), pp.605-619.
MacVaugh, P. and Pitt, J. (2008) ‘Knowledge Management for New Product Development’. Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 101-116
Robb D. (2003). Assembling Knowledge Management Teams, Information Strategy: The Executive’s Journal, Winter, 19 (2), 37-43
Zack M. H. (1999). Developing a Knowledge Strategy, California Management Review, 41 (3), 125-14
ReplyDeleteKM & Improving the Customer Experience | Ruth Kelly
Knowledge Management is a powerful tool when aligned with business strategy (Greiner, Bohmann & Krcmar, 2007). Customer Experience can be greatly improved through effective Knowledge Management across an organisation. Creating a positive customer experience is essential for firms in the fashion industry, where consumers can easily and quickly switch to another retailer. Eliyahu (2021) advises firms to use KM to quickly and efficiently provide their customers with the information they seek e.g. by creating online FAQ sections based on customer data and insights, thus improving the customer experience.
McVaugh & Pitt (2008), propose a holistic approach to KM and describe effective knowledge management as measuring both the tacit and explicit knowledge across all levels of the organisation.
Effective Knowledge Management systems can help to track customer issues in a number of ways, such as through monitoring website traffic behaviour, analysing POS systems and gathering feedback from customer service representatives in the organisation. Fashion firms can use this powerful data to improve the customer experience and achieve a competitive advantage.
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ReplyDeleteImplementing Knowledge Management | Rachel Mullins
ReplyDeleteKM is implemented into fashion companies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It should be first understood that KM is a systematic process for creating, maintaining and nurturing an organization for making the best use of knowledge. Alber (2003) has a 5-step approach for implementing KM which integrates people, processes and technology.
Select knowledge management team
Robb (2003) specifically mentions that a team could include ‘an interface design lead, training lead, technical architect, organizational lead, and the “super-user”.
Establish knowledge management strategy and business case
A SWOT framework is a good starting point to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the organisation.(Zack, 1999).
Perform knowledge assessment and audit
A KM assessment and audit can inform the company about its health and effectiveness in using knowledge as well as determining and examining the organizational knowledge assets. (Albers, 2009).
Perform information technology (IT) assessment
An IT assessment examines the IT project management skills. These include: strategic and technical direction setting, funding, execution and review of IT projects. The company will learn if it is spending the right amount of money at the right time and is the most important business activity being supported. KM tools that play a role in project management could be collaborative tools, business intelligence and content management but should be assessed as IT infrastructure. (Albers, 2009).
Develop project plan and measurement systems
The project plan lays out the execution of the project based on the results of the knowledge, audit and technology assessment. The plan should include the following:
Define specific objectives, determine deliverables, define roles and responsibilities, define resource requirements, lay out schedules with milestones, develop a communication plan, determine metrics, describe organizational and/or technology changes, capture lessons learned. (Albers, 2009).