The high standards of the HUGO BOSS Group guarantee the well-known quality of its products throughout the value chain, beginning with the development of new collections to innovations in the manufacturing process to logistics and purchasing. These efforts are supported by uniform software that was introduced into the Company as part of the “Columbus” project and links all workflows.

HUGO BOSS has been working on the Columbus project since 2003 in its largest internal modernization process in the Company’s history to be able to react to growing business and work flows that are becoming more and more complex. The project involved the deployment of the standard software solution SAP AFS to control the entire value chain of the HUGO BOSS Group across all brands as well as all of the administrative structure up to and including the points of sales.

At the same time, process flows were optimized to make workflows more efficient and utilize potential synergies. The Columbus project was completed in the past fiscal year, while follow-up projects in process organization and IT are continuing. In this way, HUGO BOSS was able to establish clear organizational and procedural advantages as compared with the competition.

HUGO BOSS has a global purchasing network of over 1,000 suppliers. This allows the Group to manage material procurement in a flexible way. The high quality of the merchandise can be ensured due to the close partnerships with the suppliers, which also include delivery of machines, developing manufacturing techniques together, and training employees. Reliable production structures are making an important contribution to the ongoing improvement of the gross profit margin.

As the Group continues its international growth, there are also increasing requirements for a seamlessly functioning logistics. Linked logistics processes ensure the precise management of material procurement, producing goods, delivering goods after they have been ordered, and delivering them to points of sale on time. This modern logistics system guarantees HUGO BOSS the smooth transportation of goods while protecting product quality for its retail partners.

The ready availability of goods, which ensures on-time and complete delivery of goods, reached an excellent figure of 95% in fiscal year 2008. By continuously optimizing processes throughout the entire value chain, especially by also implementing new software systems and expanding and modernizing its warehousing infrastructure, HUGO BOSS will continue to maintain its competitive cost structure and its outstanding quality level in the future.