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10^th ANNUAL BLUECHERRY GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN & TECHNOLOGY REPORT: AI INSIGHTS AND MERCHANDISE DEMAND PLANNING TOP PRIORITIES FOR FASHION AND APPAREL BRANDS  

BlueCherry highlights seismic shifts in tech and sourcing strategies over the past decade  

NEW YORK, March 13, 2025 – Computer Generated Solutions, Inc. (CGS), a leading global provider of supply chain management software solutions for fashion businesses through its BlueCherry® platform, today released its 10^th annual BlueCherry State of Supply Chain & Technology Report.

It provides a decade-long analysis of trends, challenges, and opportunities in the fashion supply chain landscape and reveals two top technology priorities in 2025: cultivating AI-driven insights and optimizing merchandise demand planning.  

Over 300 executives across the global apparel, footwear, accessories, consumer lifestyle goods, retail, and manufacturing industries contributed to the new report. BlueCherry reveals how industry priorities have dramatically changed in a decade characterized by shifting technologies, consumer behaviors, and trade environments. Top 2025 priorities include:  

• AI and advanced analytics: data-driven decision-making has been a high priority over the past 10 years and is now a must-have capability in 2025. Ninety-one percent (91%) of businesses view AI-driven insights as critical to growth. 
• Merchandise demand planning: 77% of respondents cite implementing demand planning technology solutions as a top priority — the highest in four years. This is due, in part, to objectives for mitigating unforeseen supply chain disruptions.  
• Nearshoring and reshoring: 45% of businesses are prioritizing nearshoring/reshoring, up significantly from a 14% average over the past four years. 
• Top growth strategies remain unchanged: Although the past 10 years have seen dramatic economic, social and consumer behavior changes, prioritizing new customer acquisition, ecommerce and deploying digital process improvements have each been constant priorities. 

The BlueCherry report also highlights top industry concerns for 2025: 

• Economic and political uncertainty: more than three-quarters (76%) of industry leaders cited economic and political uncertainty as a serious or moderate challenge, up from 68% in 2024. By contrast, just 6% viewed trade policies (including tariffs) as a major risk back in 2020.  
• Supply chain visibility: While overall confidence in supply chains remains steady, most respondents (85%) still say visibility is a key area for improvement.  

“Our annual State of Supply Chain & Technology Report has helped fashion and apparel brands navigate a decade dominated by tech-driven disruption,” said Paul Magel, President, Business Applications and Technology Outsourcing Division at CGS.

“Our findings underscore the importance of better demand planning and access to AI-driven insights for smarter, faster decision-making. At BlueCherry, we’re proud to empower clients with the solutions and intelligence needed to optimize operations, enhance resilience, and drive sustainable growth.”  

The full BlueCherry State of Supply Chain & Technology Report is available for download here. To learn more about BlueCherry and our full suite of solutions, please visit us at BlueCherry.com.  

Methodology  

The 2025 Supply Chain & Technology Report highlights the results of a market survey of 300 top fashion supply chain executives conducted in November/December 2024.

Respondents include leading voices from the apparel, footwear, accessories, consumer lifestyle, and home goods industries, including professionals from the C-suite, operations, finance, sourcing and supply chain management, product development, retail operations, IT, and e-commerce.  

About BlueCherry 

BlueCherry is the leading enterprise-grade software suite designed to meet the unique needs of the fashion industry. Offering a comprehensive digital supply chain management solution, BlueCherry empowers brands with real-time, end-to-end supply chain visibility to drive fundamental business processes.

BlueCherry’s unified platform leverages the latest digital technologies to streamline workflows, from planning and product development to manufacturing and sales. For more information, please visit www.bluecherry.com and follow us on LinkedIn. 

About CGS  
For more than 40 years, CGS has enabled global enterprises, regional companies, and government agencies to drive breakthrough performance through business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services.

CGS is wholly focused on creating comprehensive solutions that meet clients’ complex, multi-dimensional needs, and support clients’ most fundamental business activities. Headquartered in New York City, CGS has offices across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. For more information, please visit www.cgsinc.com and follow us on LinkedIn. 

In the dynamic world of workforce communication, finding innovative ways to connect with and empower frontline teams has never been more critical. At the heart of this transformation is Bites, an AI-powered knowledge-sharing solution that’s redefining how organizations engage with their employees.

Today, I’m excited to share a groundbreaking collaboration between Bites and Unilever Food Solutions. This partnership not only underscores the value of intuitive, integrated communication platforms but also introduces the enhanced capabilities of Bites 2.0, setting new standards in workforce engagement.

Key Highlights from the Attached Press Release:

• $10 Million Extended Seed Funding: Following its successful $10 million extended seed funding round, Bites has accelerated its growth, enhancing its platform capabilities to better serve organizations worldwide.
• 90%+ Engagement Rates: Using Bites, Unilever FS has achieved over 90% engagement among its frontline employees, significantly surpassing industry norms and directly contributing to improved sales performance.
• Bites 2.0 – Modernizing Workforce Communication: With AI-powered tools and integration into familiar channels like WhatsApp and MS Teams, Bites 2.0 transforms complex materials into engaging, bite-sized formats, making knowledge-sharing effortless.
• Scalable Impact with Industry Leaders: Bites is trusted by global giants such as Amazon, Red Bull, and Decathlon, demonstrating its pivotal role in streamlining operations and enhancing employee productivity worldwide.

This transformative partnership has resulted in tangible operational improvements for Unilever FS and showcases the future of workforce communication. The attached press release provides detailed insights into how Bites is revolutionizing employee engagement and knowledge distribution—a topic we believe your audience will find both timely and relevant.

• Quebec follows closely in 2nd place, with over 4,400 pedestrian-related incidents reported annually.
• Alberta ranks 3rd, facing high pedestrian safety concerns despite having more than 460 parks and a decent walkability.