Introduction
What’s the Story?
The Coresight Research team will attend and participate in this year’s Shoptalk conference, which will be held on March 27–30, 2022, in Las Vegas, US. Shoptalk 2022 will address the sudden transformation in the retail environment since the outbreak of Covid-19, as the industry is looking to embrace technology and innovation to address new challenges.
On March 27, 2022, Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, will emcee and feature on the judging panel of Shoptalk 2022’s “Shark Reef” startup pitch competition, which will see 15 early-stage US retail-technology innovators compete to win the Shark’s Choice and Audience Choice awards. In the lead-up to the event, we are profiling the participating innovators.
This report forms part of our
Innovator Profile series, which focuses on emerging technologies that are disrupting traditional retail and fuelling innovation across the retail value chain. We present Calico, a retail-technology company that provides a smart production management platform that helps DTC brands streamline the supply chain process to get their product to market quickly. Coresight Research collaborated with Calico to offer insights into its service capabilities and offerings.
Why It Matters
Coresight Research categorizes the 15 participating innovators into four areas of disruption in retail. Calico falls under “reducing waste and increasing sustainability.” Customers, employees and governments are increasingly demanding sustainability efforts from businesses, seeking transparency in sourcing, progress in environmental initiatives and the reporting of goals. Technology companies can assist retailers in achieving their sustainability goals, across carbon emissions reduction, waste management and more.
Calico: In Detail
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Funding Stage
Seed stage
Total funding amount: $2.1 million
Company Description
Founded in 2020, Calico provides a smart production management platform that helps DTC brands simplify and streamline the supply chain management process to get their products to market quickly. Calico’s system allows brands to oversee and manage the entire production process, including creating, paying for and managing all their factory purchase orders from one central dashboard. The platform allows brands to communicate closely with Calico’s network of factories that have been vetted to meet their ethical and environmental standards. The platform also utilizes intelligent product databases that allow for different product iterations and design changes.
Calico aims to assist DTC brands to launch and manage complex supply chains for their production needs via an operating system that gives brands visibility into the entire supply chain process from one centralized dashboard.
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Source: Company website [/caption]
What Problem Is the Company Solving?
DTC brands and retailers often struggle with overseeing and managing the complexities of the supply chain process—from selecting the right producers to work with to overseeing the progress of their products’ development. Managing different parts of the supply chain process from different operating systems can also create process inefficiencies, leading to delays for brands that need to quickly bring their products to market. Further, vetting factories so they meet ethical and environmental standards can be time-consuming, especially for smaller DTC brands.
A smart production management platform allows DTC brands to oversee the entire supply chain from a single centralized dashboard. Calico’s platform gives brands visibility into the process through quick communication and trackable factory purchases. By utilizing Calico’s network of factories, brands have access to production options that best meet their requirements—and can be sure that the factories they are working with have already been vetted to ensure ethical and environmental standards, contributing to sustainability in manufacturing and supply chains.
Market Opportunity
As global supply chains expand and the world of production becomes more interconnected, proper management of supply chains is more important to DTC brands than ever. Challenges in the process often include a lack of visibility and coordination. To help brands navigate and manage their supply chains, SaaS companies are developing supply chain management software to streamline the process and bring products to market faster. Revenue in the supply chain management software segment is projected to reach $18.6 billion in 2022 and grow to $23.8 billion by 2026, representing a CAGR of 6.4%, according to Statista.
As environmental concerns over waste and carbon emissions rise globally, many retailers are looking to shift to more sustainable modes of operation. Consumers are scrutinizing products’ environmental sustainability and preferring brands and retailers that promote sustainable commerce. Coresight Research’s July 26, 2021, US consumer survey found that about three in 10 US consumers reported that the Covid-19 crisis has made environmental sustainability more of a factor in their shopping choices—more than double the proportion of respondents that reported the opposite.
What We Think
We expect that managing supply chains will continue to be a focus for brands and retailers as production and manufacturing further globalize and expand. We believe that brands and retailers should harness innovations in supply chain management software to improve supply chain efficiency and bring their products to market quicker.
