Levi’s builds toward unified ERP system by mid-2027

Dive Brief:

• Levi Strauss & Co. expects to complete the transition to a unified enterprise resourcing planning system across its global operations by mid-2027, executives said on a July 8 earnings call.
• Most recently, the apparel giant migrated its Asia business operations and Beyond Yoga brand onto the global platform three years after integrating the system in North America.
• With the Asia integration wrapped up, Levi’s is now fully rolling out the technology across Europe and Latin America as the final steps of the transition, EVP and Chief Financial and Growth Officer Harmit Singh said.

Dive Insight:

Levi’s consolidation to a single ERP is an effort more than 10 years in the making. Through the transition, Levi’s is moving to a standardized, cloud-based ERP system rather than operating through “a very disjointed” customized platform, according to Singh.

“When I first joined the company 13 years ago, we had nine ERPs,” Singh said. “People said, “Let’s get to one ERP.””

Once fully implemented, the company expects the platform to better support its DTC-first model while enabling faster decision making and setting the foundation to scale artificial intelligence and automation across its global operations, according to Singh. The move is also meant to ensure a more consistent and accurate flow of data.

“If you think about our stores or you think about the distribution center, on a screen on my iPad, I can see the movement of goods happening as they happen, right, what’s the fill rate, what’s the service, what’s happening in sales,” Singh said.

ERP upgrades are continuing to proliferate across supply chains in various industries. Food maker Nestlé has rolled out the cloud-based SAP S/4HANA platform across 112 countries and 50,000 employees with plans to integrate SAP’s AI-powered assistant into core business systems. Meanwhile, CPG manufacturer Clorox began transitioning its U.S. supply chain and other business operations to a new ERP system last July.

For Levi’s, simplifying its supply chain tech stack parallels efforts to reconfigure its network, particularly in the U.S. The company will close a Kentucky distribution center at the end of August as part outfits shift away from an owned and operated distribution model toward a combination of owned and third-party operated locations.