Abstract
Product life cycle management (PLM) is a set of business processes and
supporting tools which help firms to improve the way they manage their product
development. It is particularly useful for textile and apparel manufacturers
who need to respond to new fashion trends quickly or collaborate closely with
customers and suppliers in order to remain competitive. In general terms, PLM
systems can help companies to improve their internal and external
communications, ensure that everyone is using the same data, and organise the
flow of data between participants involved in a product' s supply chain.
Several software companies offer specialised PLM packages which are geared to
the textile and apparel industry - including large global organisations such
as Lawson and Lectra as well as smaller software suppliers such as Yunique and
DeSL. Other suppliers include PTC and Dassault Systemes, which began by
developing software for the engineering industries and adapted their systems
to the needs of soft goods companies. Specialised PLM packages are designed to
support a number of key processes and activities in the textile and clothing
industry, including line planning, storyboarding, colour management, computer
aided design (CAD), management of fabrics and trims, management of product
data, cost estimation, sourcing and supplier management, tracking a product' s
development, acquiring and storing business intelligence, and reporting.
The Hong Kong-based apparel manufacturer TAL Apparel is using a product called
Lawson Fashion PLM to collaborate with its suppliers on the development of
textiles and trims. TAL Apparel' s sister company in the USA, The Apparel
Group, is using the same product to develop fabric and garment specifications
with its textile suppliers, with TAL, and with garment factories.
The benefits to be gained from using a PLM system are clear and measurable -
provided the system is planned, designed and implemented with care. They
include faster time-to-market, an improved cost structure, and an improvement
in quality. Some textile and apparel companies have reduced their re-sampling
by 25-40% while others have increased their component reuse by up to 30%. Gini
& Jony - India' s leading brand of clothes for children and young adults - has
found that its PLM system has provided it with more time to focus on
creativity, by enabling it to cut the time spent recording the details of each
new range by up to 50%.
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