A comparison between the management of the Open To Buy in the literature and in the Fashion Italian Industry

The Open-to-Buy (OTB) is a very common parameter in the fashion industry used by buyers and retail managers in order to control trends in a proactive way, optimizing inventory levels and maximizing profits. The definition of the OTB has been deeply studied by researchers and practitioners of the fashion industry in the last years. Nevertheless, in authors opinion, there is a misalignment between the literature outcomes and the industrial background, especially for the Fashion Italian companies. Recently, the fashion industry asked for a review of its business strategies to better react in a more and more competitive market, based on an uncertain and unexpected demand. In literature the Open-to-Buy (OTB), referred to as the amount of funds the buyer can allocate for new purchases in-season, become the instrument that buyers can use in order to meet this need. The aim of this paper is to examine the state of the art of the fashion supply chain focusing on OTB management in comparison with the industrial point of view.