S&S Activewear (PPAI 256121, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 2 supplier, has announced the launch of ApparelSoft IQ, a proprietary intelligence layer designed to anticipate customer demand, optimize inventory decisions and improve how the business operates at scale.
- An intelligence layer is the tier in your enterprise stack in which humans and agents collaborate to reason about, query and act on your data, according to Kyle Langham, an engineer-turned-data executive at DFINITY.
ApparelSoft IQ has been in production for more than six months, driving out-of-stock levels to the lowest in company history, S&S Activewear says.
The tool is focused on demand forecasting and inventory optimization – one of the most complex challenges in the business – while designed to expand intelligence and automation across the entire ApparelSoft platform over time.
Frank Myers
CEO, S&S Activewear
“Inventory planning has been near and dear to my heart since my first day at S&S,” says Frank Myers, CEO of S&S Activewear and a member of the PPAI Board of Directors. “It was the first project I worked on with our Chief Transformation Officer, Brian Beale, back in 2009. We believed then, and know now, that having deep and reliable inventory is the most fundamental thing we can do for our customers.
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“ApparelSoft IQ is a milestone in that journey and a testament to what happens when long-term commitment meets the tools of today.”
Anticipating Demand
Developed by S&S Activewear’s data science team, ApparelSoft IQ combines more than 35 years of the Bolingbrook, Illinois-based firm’s historical data with information from alphabroder, which was acquired in 2024.
- By applying machine learning directly to this data, ApparelSoft IQ generates highly accurate purchasing recommendations and inventory positioning decisions, the firm says.
Josh Clark
COO, S&S Activewear
ApparelSoft IQ is built into S&S Activewear’s proprietary ApparelSoft ERP platform, which powers its e-commerce experience, customer tools and distribution network. As a result, its insights translate directly into action across the supply chain, from vendor purchase orders to inventory transfers between distribution centers. The goal is to ensure faster response times, more efficient allocation and more consistent product availability.
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“This starts with a highly sophisticated forecasting system built specifically for the blank apparel industry,” says Josh Clark, COO at S&S Activewear. “We’re not just reacting to demand; we’re anticipating it and positioning inventory ahead of it. That allows our customers to operate with more confidence and less disruption.”
