S&S Activewear, a leading technology-enabled distributor of apparel and accessories in North America, today announced ApparelSoft IQ, a proprietary intelligence layer designed to predict customer demand, optimize inventory decisions and improve the way large businesses operate. This ensures that customers get what they need, when they need it.
With today’s announcement, ApparelSoft IQ has already been in operation for more than six months, with out-of-stock levels reaching some of the lowest in company history, particularly across S&S-exclusive private label and retail brands.
ApparelSoft IQ was initially designed to expand intelligence and automation across the ApparelSoft platform over time, with a focus on demand forecasting and inventory optimization, one of the most important and complex challenges in business.
Now, ApparelSoft IQ helps S&S Activewear improve inventory decisions, optimize purchasing and placement across the network, and achieve higher inventory rates, reduced split shipments, and industry-leading inventory depth and breadth.
“Inventory planning has been near and dear to my heart since day one at S&S,” said Frank Myers, chief executive officer of S&S Activewear. “It was the first project that Brian Beal, chief transformation officer, and I worked on in 2009.” “We believed then, and still do, that having a deep, reliable inventory is the most fundamental thing we can do for our customers. ApparelSoft IQ is a milestone in that journey and proof of what happens when long-term commitment meets today’s tools.”
Developed by S&S Activewear’s data science team, ApparelSoft IQ leverages one of the most comprehensive datasets in the branded goods industry, combining over 35 years of historical S&S Activewear data with information from alphabroder acquired in 2024. This dataset spans styles, colors, sizes, geographies, and customer segments at unrivaled scale.
By applying machine learning directly to this data, ApparelSoft IQ generates highly accurate purchasing recommendations and inventory placement decisions, helping you reduce stockouts and continually improve how inventory is planned and deployed across your network.
ApparelSoft IQ is built natively into S&S Activewear’s proprietary ApparelSoft ERP platform, powering the company’s e-commerce experience, customer tools, and distribution network that operates with 99.9% order accuracy. As a result, that insight is directly reflected in actions across the supply chain, from vendor purchase orders to inventory movement between distribution centers, ensuring faster response times, more efficient allocation, and more consistent product availability.
Over time, ApparelSoft IQ will move beyond prediction to enhance intelligence and automation across internal operations and customer-facing functions, including enhanced product recommendations and insights to help customers grow.
“This starts with a highly sophisticated predictive system built specifically for the blank apparel industry,” said Josh Clark, chief operating officer of S&S Activewear. “We’re not just reacting to demand; we’re anticipating it and positioning inventory in advance of it. This allows our customers to operate with more confidence and less disruption.”
ApparelSoft IQ is built on a growing suite of technology investments from S&S Activewear designed to help customers operate more efficiently and grow their businesses. These solutions include solutions like ZeroTouch, which enables automated, production-ready workflows that reduce manual steps and speed turnaround times, and the FAST platform, which connects customers to a network of vetted partners through an end-to-end automated fulfillment solution. This allows you to scale and deliver faster without adding complexity.
About S&S Activewear: Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, S&S Activewear is a leading distributor of technology-enabled apparel and accessories in the United States and Canada. S&S has more than 6 million square feet of warehouse space across North America and offers more than 80 brands, ranging from basic clothing to fashion-forward styles. Through our national network, S&S serves a wide range of customers, including retail brands, e-commerce companies, apparel decorators, promotional products distributors, entertainment merchandisers, lifestyle brands, and web-based platforms for apparel customization.
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