Every year, Pantone’s Color of the Year sets the tone for fashion, design, and marketing trends across industries. In 2024, the chosen color, Peach Fuzz, has already taken center stage and started creating a profound impact on supply chains.

In the ever-evolving and fast-paced world of fashion, businesses need to be ahead of trends for success. As Pantone’s Color of the Year gains popularity, businesses scramble to incorporate it into their products and marketing strategies, which leads global supply chains to experience higher demand for materials and products that align with this shade.

The popularity of the color extends beyond the products themselves and may be used in packaging and branding elements too. This could strain the supply chains to struggle to keep up with the increased demand, leading to delays or even shortages. Remember the global pink paint shortage of 2023 caused because of the Barbie movie? The Warner Bros. set used so much pink to recreate Barbieland, that it wiped out an entire global supply of pink paint while the whole market was trying to keep up with the pink fever!

As trends can be unpredictable, it can be challenging for brands and retailers to accurately forecast consumer demand. Accurate demand planning is significant for businesses to prevent delays, and production bottlenecks as manufacturers struggle to meet the sudden increase in orders.

Bringing Different Colors of Supply Chain Together

A well-established supply chain network means collaboration plays a vital role in making more informed and agile decisions. It facilitates the sharing of information and knowledge between different stakeholders, ensuring everyone is on the same page. This enables businesses to reduce lead times, align planning processes, and improve customer service.

Imagine a fashion brand launches a new collection and receives tremendous interest for a particular shirt in Pantone’s specific peach fuzz shade. How can he be sure that the right product in the right color will be in the right place at the right time?

Collaborating closely with the fabric supplier enables the company to align its vision with the supplier’s capabilities. After the desired color and texture are achieved, transparent communication enables the product to meet the quality standards and expectations.

This collaboration minimizes defects, reduces waste, and ensures the final product meets the brand’s standards. It is also essential to coordinate the timely delivery of the products in order to meet the demand in time. Accurate inventory management, sharing real-time shipment updates, and resolving potential hiccups in the supply chain require seamless collaboration between all parties involved.

Supply chains do not run in isolation. Risk-resilient supply chains need to integrate design, planning, manufacturing, logistics, maintenance, and service processes. Enabling this end-to-end supply chain process and bringing these elements together enables decision-makers to achieve greater visibility across supply chain operations.

The Importance of Empathy and Sustainability in a Color-Focused World

Peach fuzz represents movement toward empathy, understanding, and a nurturing spirit. In today’s world, where sustainability is no longer optional, supply chains play a crucial role in recognizing the importance of having empathy towards nature and individuals. This includes implementing safe and fair labor practices, making responsible sourcing decisions, and addressing consumer concerns related to sustainability.

Whatever the color of the year, companies always need to think “green” when ordering new materials, revising packaging designs, and delivering new peach fuzz colored products.

“Climate change, circular economy, ESG, and sustainability have become business priorities and our global supply chains sit right in the middle of these challenges – as a major contributor to the problems, and a great area of focus to take action,” said Richard Howells, VP of Digital Supply Chain at SAP.

As customers, employees, and investors increasingly reject companies that are slow to establish sustainability goals, competition in the market is leaning towards planet-friendly practices. Adapting to incorporate the latest color of the year is just one example of the need the respond to changes and why supply chains must be a are a dynamic, intricate, and multi-faceted entity.

They need adaptability, collaboration, and empathy. By harnessing the power of advanced technologies and ethical practices, businesses can minimize disruptions, strengthen relationships, optimize their business process, and embark on a colorful journey toward a more risk-resilient and efficient supply chain management.

To learn how to avoid risk by building visibility and collaboration into supply chain planning, download the Oxford Economics Research.