PreWarp was born from the aim of fixing the chronic issues within the fashion industry, an industry that annually contributes more CO2 emissions than the aviation and global shipping industries combined.
A number we keep having to double check, it is so unconscionably large*.
Tom and I came at this problem from two very different perspectives and experiences but with a shared interest in creating impact in a creative industry that had been slow to adopt new developments in forecasting, machine learning and optimisation.
Who are we
Tom’s background is in aerodynamics, where after an engineering degree at Oxford he spent 6 years analysing, optimising and improving formula one cars at Ferrari F1. Although in some respects a million miles away from fashion in its appetite for data and analytics, this foundation in marginal gains and constant optimisation brings a new rigour, perspective and skill set to the oldest industry there is. The one that, ironically, ultimately gave birth to Babbage's foundation for modern computing.
For me, having spent a career at the intersection of producing physical goods, particularly clothes, and software, it was the culmination of years of observing 2 phenomena. On one hand the negative impact gut instinct and intuition based decision making were having on the financial and environmental sustainability of the retail industry. Where talented people were so time and resource constrained that they fell back on simple heuristic based decision making. On the other, seeing the power of software to augment roles in other industries, where applied analytics and ML powered recommendations had elevated roles and outcomes.
The problems we solve
PreWarp was launched in the depths of a global pandemic, a time where brands desperately needed tools to help them make the most of the inventory they had in order to survive. Now, we apply these same lessons and efficiencies to drive tools and analytics to help them thrive.
Specifically,
PreWarp empowers merchandisers with AI powered recommendations. Recommendations that improve price, optimise allocation and ultimately, reduce waste.
We aim to be the go to product for retailers to optimise resource allocation across the product lifecycle from launch to outlet, driving profitability and sustainability for our partners.
We’re just getting started, exciting things to come 🚀
*https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-ambiente