Starting a fashion business is easy these days. Countries like the US and the UK have enabled a simple and easy startup process. But, setting up and running a product development process can be a challenging task. It is because the process involves effective communication & collaboration among team members, managing real-time data, competing with market trends, on-time delivery of the products, etc.
If you can effectively overcome all your challenges, then you can mark true success. Incorporating a PLM in fashion can take you much closer to your way to success. Are you wondering how?
PLM stands for Product Lifecycle Management that comprises four stages:
- The concept where the idea originates.
- The design where the idea converts to a prototype.
- Production of the design
- Distribution & maintenance where the product reaches the end-users.
PLM in garment industry connects all four stages and helps everyone involved in the process to collaborate with each other. Hence, it results in increased productivity, faster production, and higher quality. Studies suggest that investing in the right solution can help to improve time to market, reduce costs, accelerate productivity and improve overall operational savings by up to 30%.
Now let’s understand how PLM works for the apparel industry.
How PLM in Garment Industry works?
PLM acts as a single source of truth for any industry. With the help of the software, the entire team can work on a single platform. Irrespective of any departments, the PLM in garment industry is accessible to anyone from any location. Therefore, it acts as a single source of truth.
Let’s understand the working of PLM software for developing a garment. The entire team involved in developing this product will have access to the software. The steps involved are as follows:
1. Creating
The first step involved in a product development process is to create a plan. PLM in garment industry helps in creating a plan for the entire development process. All the team members will have access to the plan and will be continuously updated about the status of the product.
2. Storing
Storing any kind of data is possible in the PLM software and everyone can access the data stored. The access rights are customizable. Only the authorized people can change the access rights based on the requirements.
3. Designing
It is possible to integrate additional software with PLM in garment industry. You can integrate software for creating the product design and store it in the PLM software. All team members can give feedback on the designs created. Hence, you can receive comprehensive feedback on the designs. After finalizing the designs, the team members can go ahead with the latest designs.
4. Modifying
At any stage of the development process, modification can be done to the designs, specification documents, and plan. All team members can access all these changes instantly.
5. Manufacturing
PLM provides approved Techpack for factories to manufacture the garment. Factories can take the tech pack that has BOM, POM, Images, and other product-related information to manufacture the garment.
Now that you have an idea about the working of PLM in garment industry, let’s understand how the software can increase the productivity of garment businesses.
How can PLM in garment industry increase productivity?
PLM software offers a wide range of benefits that helps increase the productivity of the garment business by 5 times. Let’s understand these benefits:
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Reduced time to market
Product Lifecycle Management software for the garment industry automates the entire garment development process to deliver the product faster to the market. Studies show that using a PLM in garment industry reduces the time by up to half. When products are delivered on time, it is more likely that the productivity of the business will increase.
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Enhanced communication & collaboration:
PLM in garment industry allows every department in the product development process to stay connected on the same platform. It encourages information-sharing and communication between various departments of the organization. It also enables its team members to provide feedback and comments into the system.
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Integration with other systems
Fashion businesses are more likely to use various systems like ERP, CRM, etc. It will be a tedious task to manage these software systems separately. So, the PLM in garment industry allows garment businesses to integrate these systems and use them efficiently.
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Improvised Product Quality
Focusing on every minute detail of the product development process will automatically increase the quality of the product. Apparel PLM software will allow precise management of data access and accuracy, adherence to quality standards, and improved control over product specifications.
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Automates the entire process
PLM in garment industry uses workflows to automate the entire garment development process. Even if there are any changes to any data in the PLM system, it will automatically get updated in the system. The team members will also be able to access the information instantly. Hence, getting work done on time.
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Avoids mistakes
As the processes are automated, communication & collaboration are efficient between teams, there is very little probability that there will be any mistakes.
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Allows remote working
A PLM software does not require its users to be in the office continuously. Team members who are working on the PLM software in garment industry can work remotely. Hence, during the pandemic where everyone is locked up at their houses, PLM software will still allow the product development process to continue with the same efficiency.
Conclusion
In the fashion industry, speed and quality are very crucial. A software like PLM will help in faster production, maintain consistency, and produce high-quality products. PLM helps its users to improve the efficiency and productivity of their business as the information is streamlined and stored on a single repository. PLM in garment industry helps in easy management of all the product development processes right from creating a plan to delivery of the products.
