Spotlight on Syrup Tech, Tech Innovator

Syrup Tech Introduction

Can you tell us a bit about what Syrup Tech does?

Syrup provides advanced demand sensing and inventory optimisation for apparel, footwear, and accessory brands.

Our in-house data science team develops cutting-edge forecasting methodologies that are flexible enough to deliver accurate forecasts at any level of granularity - even to the style x size x colour x location level. These forecasts feed powerful buying, allocations, and inventory rebalancing workflows.

We’re big fans of open collaboration and building partnerships, not transactional relationships. Future Fashion Assembly is the perfect forum to support this preference while allowing us to engage with incredibly exciting innovations in the broader fashion ecosystem.

Can you highlight a key achievement or innovation you are most proud of?

Now in our fifth year, it’s difficult to pick just one achievement that I’m most proud of. You have the typical founder moments: first customer signed, first million in ARR, Series A funding… But, I think what I’m most proud of is how much we’re improving the day-to-day for our users.

We hear directly from planners, allocators, and buyers all the time about how much time they’re saving, how they can focus on higher-value strategic work, how happy they are to escape Excel. It’s incredibly rewarding to have a personal impact like that.

About the Business

What inspired the founding of Syrup?

My background is in consulting, where I spent a fair bit of time partnering with retailers. That's where I saw firsthand the sheer amount of waste that's endemic to the industry. It's a staggering problem, really. This was also around the time we saw this stratospheric rise of consumer AI - what I call the 'Cambrian explosion of AI'. It struck me that this technology could be a game-changer for retail, helping to tackle that waste head-on. And that's really where the idea for Syrup started to brew.

How would you describe your mission in one sentence?

Our mission is to create a world where retail enterprises make the best use of their scarcest resources: both their physical resources and their people’s time.

Innovation and Sustainability

What innovations are you most proud of, and how are they impacting the fashion industry?

Of our many innovations, the one I’m most proud of is our neural network model, which we call the Large Demand Sensing Model, or LDSM for short. It still blows my mind that we built our own neural network!

Having a neural network at our disposal allows us to do some very advanced technical work behind the scenes, described by terms like 'feature modelling' or 'embeddings'. But when it comes down to it, fashion retailers are getting access to incredibly powerful forecasting technology purpose-built for their industry, and they don't need any internal data science expertise. That's the real win.

How does sustainability play a role in your work and vision?

In a way, sustainability is why Syrup exists. Much of the sustainability discourse within fashion focuses on overconsumption - the consumer impact of buying and wearing clothes. But overproduction is less often talked about, despite it being one of the biggest drivers of negative environmental impact both upstream (resource consumption) and downstream (excess garment disposal).

A foundational Syrup premise is that an accurate view of demand, delivered through forecasts and shared early across the supply chain, is the missing key that will reduce overproduction and move our industry away from its environmentally unfriendly present reality.

Case Studies

Can you share an example of how your technology has positively impacted a fashion brand?

We worked with a major North American footwear retailer who were struggling with the usual headaches: too much reliance on manual processes, not enough granularity in their forecasts, and a mix of overstocking and understocking. They were pushing huge amounts of inventory during peak season, which meant big overheads.

They brought in Syrup, and we used our AI-powered demand sensing to really transform their inventory management. We're talking about granular forecasting, right down to the style, size, and location level. This allowed for better initial allocations and much smarter replenishment.

The results were impressive. They saw a 5.3% jump in revenue across the test stores and a 14x net ROI. They also got a handle on their inventory, with a 12% reduction in missed demand and a 13% reduction in on-hand inventory. It's a real testament to the power of getting the right stock, in the right place, at the right time.

What measurable results have you achieved with your solution?

Syrup customers are reducing on-hand inventory by ~30%, increasing full-price sell-through by ~10%, and capturing ~5% more margin.

In addition, our forecasts beat market-leading forecasts by over 50% - including the homegrown forecast from a Top 10 Fortune 500 retailer and the forecast solution from a well-known legacy software provider.

Future Fashion Assembly Partnership

What led you to join Future Fashion Assembly?

We see Future Fashion Assembly as a crucial hub. It's a place where innovators, brands, and other key players can come together to really push the boundaries of what's possible in fashion. For Syrup, it's about being part of that community, sharing our expertise, and collaborating on solutions that can move the entire industry forward. Plus, it's always great to connect with like-minded people who are passionate about driving change.

Opportunities in Fashion Tech

What do you see as the biggest opportunity for businesses in fashion technology today?

I think one of the biggest opportunities lies in tackling the industry's overproduction problem head-on. As we've discussed, it's a massive environmental issue, and technology can play a key role in solving it.

We need to move towards a more collaborative, interconnected supply chain - you can read more about it by downloading an IAF report called 'Under the Banyan Tree.’ This means better data sharing, increased transparency, and a willingness to work together to optimise the entire value chain. Companies that can facilitate this collaboration and provide the tools to reduce waste will be the ones that really make a difference.

What advice would you give to other companies looking to innovate in this space?

My advice would be to really focus on solving tangible problems for the industry. There's a lot of hype around new technologies, but it's important to keep your focus and build solutions that deliver real value. Don't be afraid to challenge the status quo, and always be willing to collaborate. The fashion industry is complex, and we'll only make progress if we work together.

Future Goals

What’s next for Syrup, and how do you plan to continue making an impact for fashion brands?

We're going to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with forecasting through extensive experimentation with machine learning models. We're committed to staying at the forefront of AI and using it to deliver ever-more accurate and actionable insights for our customers.

We're also focused on expanding our workflow solutions to cover even more of a merchandise planning team’s operations. We've got some exciting announcements coming soon on that front, so watch this space!

Finally, we're actively pursuing additional partnerships with other supply chain players, including manufacturers and raw materials providers. We believe that by connecting the dots across the entire supply chain, we can unlock even more value for retail brands and drive greater efficiency and sustainability.

Can you summarise the business’s vision for the future of fashion tech?

Our vision is to provide infinite intelligence at every step of the fashion value chain, empowering businesses to make smarter, more sustainable decisions from design to delivery.