The Role of Product Development Product development o Role of product developer Design apparel styles Write specifications for construction of the apparel styles Coordinate style selections to develop a product line o Primary goal of product development today Provide a product that FITS the customer Increase the company s MARKET SHARE Create products that DIFFERENTIATE from their competitors Provide products that SELL FOR A PROFIT Traditional linear supply chain o Fiber production o Yarn manufacturing o Textile production o Apparel manufacturing o Retailers o Final consumer Apparel supply chain structure today o More complex and flexible than the traditional linear model o Builds on core competencies o o Digital technologies make it possible for companies to coordinate their core competencies into a single effort PLM software o Seasonal concept Business and marketing plans Concepts mood color palette materials trim silhouettes Merchandising plans line boards material usage market calendars product tracking o Line development o Definition Initial specification adopted specification production specification production specification special size specification o Sourcing costing Vendor collaboration vendor allocation multisourcing estimate costing quality Supply chain management functions o Advanced planning and Scheduling APS Programs that develop constraint based production and distribution plans based upon expected demands These systems help produce schedules as to what how when and where to produce product kepping in mind inventory availability plant capacity and other business objectives o Automated financial transaction processing System for processing payments or advances such as between importers global suppliers banks and factors o Automated RFQ System for soliciting bids for products or production often including issuance of specifications job requirements to a pool of prospective vendors which respond with information via the system o Collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment CPFR A best practices framework established and empowered by a formal agreement to cooperate on strategy tactics and execution by resolution of exceptions The framework was developed by the VICS committee for managing the planning and replenishment process through the confidential sharing of sales and inventory data and trends among business partners o Continuous replenishment programs CRP The practice of partnering with distribution channel members that changes the traditional replenishment process from distributor generated purchase orders based on economic order quantities to the replenishment of products based on actual and forecasted product demand The use of CRP triggers the manufacturing and movement of product through the supply chain when the identical product is purchased by an end user o Cut order spread planning o Dashboard reporting capability System for creating plans for fabric spreading and cutting System that provides configurable at a glance views of key data usually in real time without the need to perform multiple steps to extract a report of this data o Direct shipping DC bypass Systems that enable vendors to ship goods directly to the retail store instead of to a regional distribution center A variation on this is cross docking where a shipment from a vendor goes to a retail DC which sorts and ships ordered goods immediately to the stores o Electronic data interchange autonomous system numbers EDI ASN System for generating and transmitting industry standard data communications such as invoices purchase orders and advance shipment documentation o Enterprise resource planning ERP Functionality that manages core transactions with suppliers and customers accounts payable and receivable and payroll o Radio frequency identification RFID Identification tags and labels made with silicon chips containing product data send out an interrogation signal and receive the data back from the tag via radio frequency can be use for inventory tracking point of sale information security anti counterfeiting or any number of other applications No line of sight is required to read the tags and multiple items can be read at once The RFID technology may replace bar codes o RFID support Systems with architectural upgrades to manage RFID data and translate it to match existing SKU data o Third party logistics management System that provides a holistic view of information from external logistics services providers such as shippers freight forwarders and fulfillment houses o Transportation management System to handle contracts and goods movement with multiple shippers and modes of transportation o Vendor scorecard System for capturing and monitoring data about supplier performance such as quality on time delivery and social customs compliance o Warehouse management System that controls movement fo goods within entering or exiting the DC distribution center o Work in progress WIP tracking System for monitoring production status such as what percentage of an order has been cut and sewn Design and product development functionality o 3 D simulation System that provides a 3 D view of styles during product development often with manipulation of a digital human avatar to simulate garment performance in response to lifelike body movements May also apply to consumer virtual try on or dressing room applications o Apparel design colections o Color management System for creating garment silhouettes concepts styles and System for communicating data that are related to color consistency lab dip approvals and testing o Computer aided design CAD Computer software with functionality that enables product design 3 D modeling and patternmaking o Digital asset management DAM Software of functionality that stores organizes and retrievew all types of digital asets into searchable files that include all relevant information associated with the asset such as copyright information creation date color information and usage restrictions o Fabric and trim procurement System for managing textile and trim inventory for sample System for creating markers and achieving best fabric making or production o Marker making and nest optimization utilization o Patternmaking and pattern grading different sizes o Product lifecycle management PLM System for creating garment patterns and grading them for System that allows product developers to track and manage continuous changes throughout the pre season and communicate between design