Coalision, the Canadian company behind activewear brand Lolë and outdoor clothing brand Paradox, has selected Centric Software’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software provides innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury and consumer goods companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
David Turcotte, retail system administrator at Coalision, says competition was the driving force behind the company’s decision to look for a PLM solution.
“Our main challenge involves Lolë, our major brand,” he says. “We needed to upgrade our design processes to be even more effective. Two years ago, we began a complete examination of our IT infrastructure. It became clear that to gain a share in the digital world, we needed PLM. We had been working with a process in our ERP system but the way we were creating wasn’t seamless or collaborative enough. We wanted a PLM solution that could help us work better internally, reduce time to market and analyze our sourcing and materials more effectively.”
Coalision considered several PLM solutions from major vendors but ultimately made its choice based on Centric’s fashion expertise and flexibility.
“We found it really interesting that Centric PLM is a web-based application” said Turcotte. “Our team liked the software’s flexible approach and user-friendly interface. Centric PLM is specifically created for apparel and footwear, whereas other solutions originated in industries such as automotive or manufacturing. The Centric team has deep apparel and footwear knowledge and they were extremely understanding of our business needs throughout the decision-making process.”
According to Turcotte, Centric PLM will re-centralize product data and completely overhaul the way the design and product teams work. “We expect to see better collaboration and faster time to market,” he said. “Everything will be more visual. We’ll be able to get a holistic view of the products in development each season. Because we’ll have a centralized single version of truth, we will reduce errors. We have a really good relationship with the Centric team and we’re looking forward to getting started.”
