It was just last month in front of a standing room-only crowd at an Apparel Magazine event that Centric’s innovative mobile app caught the attention of Leslie Hand from IDC Retail Insights Community. In the latest Apparel Magazine Centric’s James Horne further spells out the company’s position on mobile PLM.
Centric's industry-first Collection Book for Fashion iPad App.
In the article Horne makes the eloquent argument that mobile apps for PLM are much more than gadgets, they are game changers. “While the apparel industry’s processes are visual-focused, PLM has largely not been a visual tool,” says Horn. “And while PLM has become the de facto ‘single version of the truth’ for product development, many processes happen outside the realm of physical access to the PLM system.” Horne says this gap leads to information being lost, delayed or transmitted inaccurately.
Mobile apps, which were once considered to be merely collector items for the tech-minded, now bring real value to businesses. Case in point: Centric’s Collection Book for Fashion iPad App.
Horne says the app takes PLM from behind the scenes of the industry, “turning the technology into a dynamic tool that connects product development’s technical processes with the consumer-driven creation process.”
Fashion houses and brand owners are utilizing mobile apps to more closely connect customers to PLM, improving overall satisfaction and the bottom line. As Horne outlines in the Apparel article, mobile PLM enables companies to:
- Present collections faster and more accurately, capturing last-minute style updates in the PLM system and reflecting those in collection books.
- Use mobile-based collection books to take orders anywhere, anytime.
- Speed transactions and the ability to customize during the buying process.
- Easily determine if samples meet specifications, and instantaneously communicate with suppliers.
- Accurately capture up-front trend information on collections by allowing direct visual input into the trend, concept and storyboard processes.
Tags: Apparel, Best Practices, Centric, Collection Book, consumer goods, fashion, Innovation, iPad Apps, News & Events, PLM, product development, Retail
