Supply Chain Satire
Levi's Pushes Distribution Benefits To 2027; Jeans In Transit Say They Are Used To Being Broken In Slowly
The denim maker's move from Kentucky to Ohio has been delayed again. A pallet of 501s has asked whether this counts as pre-distressing.
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Levi Strauss & Co. said the benefits of its new distribution network will not arrive until 2027, a second delay that was greeted calmly by the company's jeans, which pointed out that denim is designed to get better slowly and has never once been in a hurry.
Retail Dive reported that the company closed its Hebron, Ky., distribution center and moved operations to Groveport, Ohio, and that the transition has been slowed by SKU complexity. A fire at a distribution center was insured and not financially significant, the company said. This is the second delay.
A pallet of 501s at the Groveport facility said the trip felt about right. "We are raw denim," the pallet said through a fictional spokesperson. "We spent six months in a container once. Another year in Ohio is basically a spa. Honestly, the creases are coming in nicely."
| Period | Benefits ETA |
|---|---|
| First plan | 2,025 |
| Revision 1 | 2,026 |
| Revision 2 | 2,027 |
| Today | 2,027 |
| Next week | 2,027 |
Source: The Daily SKU Supply Chain Desk; a forklift driver with a very good memory
The issue, according to operations experts, is SKU count. Levi's sells jeans in many fits, washes, waists and lengths, and every one of them needs its own spot. "You have 32 by 32 and you have 32 by 30," said a fictional warehouse planner. "They look the same. They are not the same. They do not get along. Multiply that by everything."
"We spent six months in a container once. Another year in Ohio is basically a spa."
A spokesperson for the fictional Jeans Sizing Council said the delays highlight a broader problem. "Nobody knows their size," she said. "Not the shopper, not the warehouse, not the jeans. The jeans think they are a 30. They are a 31 after Thanksgiving."
Retail observers said a distribution transition is like a pair of new jeans: uncomfortable at first, and then, eventually, better. Levi's did not dispute the comparison, and said it had no plans to wash the project before it was ready.
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Riffing on: Levi's distribution network transition delayed, Retail Dive