The retail industry is facing many challenges to compete with the market standards. Fashion Retailers need to regularly try out new concepts and store formats to survive in the industry. Releasing products faster to the market is always a challenge to the retailers.
Retailers are tailoring their product offerings to meet changing consumer interests through the use of technology. When we speak about the fashion & apparel industry, seasonal demands are one of the major challenges faced by them. The retail industry can overcome these challenges by incorporating Retail PLM Software in their businesses.
Now, let’s understand what is Retail PLM Software and its Importance.
What is a Retail PLM Software?
Retail PLM Software acts as a single version of truth to assist buyers, designers, merchandisers, quality, supplier compliance, and sourcing teams in the product development process. The use of computer-aided critical path management and workflow processes optimize the development of the product. Basically, Retail PLM software will enhance collaboration, information quality, product quality, product compliance, and time management across businesses.
It helps the team to focus to get quality products faster into the market. The software is required for better product efficiency, global communication, and transparency in the business. It also brings about transformation in everything right from compliance to quality to innovation. Additionally, the software will also help in managing tariffs, fluctuating costs, and exchange rates. Using spreadsheets will not help scale your business, instead, PLM software can hold product data and help companies scale their fashion businesses.
How will it drive digital transformation?
The market-driven, cloud-based, mobile technology of the Retail PLM Software will boost product innovation, deliver products faster to the market, improve supplier collaboration and product co-creation. Check out the ways in which the software will empower retailer in the fast-thriving industry:
- Retail PLM software helps retailers develop more products, offer better choices, and streamline their business processes. Offering customers with multiple choices at the best prices will allow retailers to be the one-stop shop for their customers in all seasons.
- With the software, fashion retailers can digitally transform the product quality and in-store experience. Retailers can ensure can consistently maintain their brand standards while developing multiple products. Hence, digital flexibility will reduce the number of trials.
- Retail PLM Software will enhance efficient development processes, eliminate data entry tasks, easily manage regulatory compliance requirements, and reduce the number of errors. Hence, it accelerates overall product development timelines.
- The apparel PLM software acts as a single source of truth. It means people from different departments can share and access the information with everyone from anywhere in the world. Executives, designers, buyers, merchandisers, suppliers, logistics, quality control, and retail operations can all be under a single platform with the use of Retail PLM software.
- Gone are the days of accessing the information from spreadsheets, email attachments, and shared folders. With the PLM software retailers can focus on developing and sourcing new solutions. Also, the PLM system provides all the information to create Techpack that gets shared with factories.
- The retail industry is usually hampered by seasons and holidays. But, with the apparel software retailers can figure out their potential production and shipping delays to ensure that the product arrives on time without any hidden costs.
- Vendor collaboration in PLM software will shorten the time required for sharing information with your vendors. Hence, it accelerates faster delivery of the product.
- As mentioned earlier, retailers need to be proactive to survive in the competitive marketplace and the use of digital technology will make it possible. The Retail PLM software will also help fashion retailers increase their supplier base, find new vendors, multisource products, and expand into new markets. The module, 3D, and AI technology will help them streamline product sourcing and buying processes.
- The manual data entry process is prone to errors. With apparel PLM software, retailers can rest assured that all their product information is truly accurate. As the product gets matured with multiple revisions, the PLM system maintains all the versions of the product.
Conclusion
Eventually, Retail PLM software is the heart of the retail industry. The software combines design, development, merchandising, sourcing, compliance, assortment strategies, presentation, etc under a single platform. The software helps in delivering the right product at the right time and right place. The retail industry should incorporate PLM software that can manage all the stages of a product lifecycle with increased efficiency, lower cost of the product, and releasing products faster to the market.
