DeSL Rolls Out B2B Purchasing Platform For Fashion Industry

Discover e-Solutions Ltd. (DeSL) has announced a new procurement platform designed for the fashion industry.

A press release issued Wednesday (Oct. 9) said it is expanding its enterprise software offerings for the fashion sector with the rollout of its Dynamic Purchasing Platform, a solution for industry players to manage procurement from requisition through to delivery. According to DeSL, many companies in this sector continue to rely on enterprise resource planning (ERP) software or spreadsheets to manage purchasing activity.

In addition to a lack of visibility into purchasing behavior, DeSL pointed to the reliance on emails to work with suppliers, and a lack of integration to ensure pricing agreements and product specifications are updated and accurate.

DeSL’s purchasing solution integrates into ERPs and with third-party logistics service providers while enabling progress tracking, supplier communication, product specification management and visibility into a range of metrics including cash flow, planned costs and budgets. It also boost visibility of fashion companies’ overall supply chains, the company noted.

The platform does not support the payment of purchases, however.

Zilingo is another technology firm ramping up its focus on fashion supply chains.

Earlier this year Zilingo announced $226 million in new funding, one of the largest rounds for a Southeast Asia startup. The firm first launched as a business-to-consumer (B2C) platform for consumers to purchase fashion products online, but has since pivoted its focus on the B2B side of the industry to support fashion supply chain management.

“One thing that’s become very clear to us is there’s a lot of value [in] making the supply chain efficient, instead of giving out discounts and doing crazy marketing,” said Zilingo Co-Founder and CEO Ankiti Bose in an interview with reporters at the time.

The firm’s platform connects industry players to procurement and inventory management tools, marketing, payment processing and financing.