Inside Outdoor Fall 2017

Inside Outdoor | FALL 2017 18 Today’s retail climate is increasingly about speed and digitization. As Spencer Fung, group CEO of global sourcing and logistics giant Li & Fung, recently said, “Speed is our top priority. Almost every single con- versation I have with [custom- ers] is now about speed and not about cost.” All the while, traditional paper-based product lifecycle management (PLM) tools, quite frankly, can be serial, fragmented and slow, thereby stalling innovation, product de- velopment and the introduction of products. With that in mind, Celia Newhouse, marketing director Americas for PLM solu- tions provider Centric Software, sat down to help answer the questions most often asked by outdoor industry companies when it comes to implementing a new and transformational sys- tem for developing their latest and greatest products. INSIDE OUTDOOR: Centric offers PLM software; why do, or should, companies in the out- door industry care about PLM? Newhouse: Of course, ev- eryone in the outdoor industry certainly cares about their prod- ucts and how those products perform. They may not really care about PLM per se, but PLM really is the optimum means to that end, and Centric helps them get there. IO: What are the advan- tages of using a PLM software solution such as Centric?  Why is it better? Newhouse: PLM is the backbone technology that drives all product related ac- tivities – from initial concept to retail. Centric PLM improves that entire process: enhancing collaboration, reducing errors and costs, and speeding time to market. The end result is both streamlined operations and a more competitive product to drive business growth. This is especially valuable in our industry, where new product introductions and product perfor- mance are so vital to our busi- ness success, and where the evolution of digital business is happening faster and faster. IO: How does Centric enable product development and help improve product performance? Newhouse: Centric gives you instant, real-time and on- going access to the information needed to improve, even as you go, and accelerates the go-to-market process; it’s fast- er and gets you to better new products quicker. It also helps create better teamwork; offering real-time accurate information to the en- tire team, including on-the-fly product feedback from the field, which simplifies and streamlines the complex product develop- ment process. Working with Centric means that you have better control and visibility over the entire product development cycle, which favors real-time decision making to meet constantly changing con- sumer demands. And, as we like to say, work- ing with Centric centralizes all product data and connects all the different departments, from design to retail, with one action- able version of the “truth.” IO: Does a PLM solution ac- tually save money? Newhouse: That’s another powerful aspect of PLM, and of Centric specifically: Our clients reduce their product develop- ment costs and increase sales and, ultimately, income. In real numbers, our clients have seen increases in sales and income of 5 to 10 percent, reductions in unneeded stock by 20 to 40 percent and 10 to 15 percent lower logistics costs. Save more money and make more money – that’s a powerful combination. Centric clients also report qualitative benefits to go with these quantitative results. Our clients say they are happier and less stressed at work because Centric frees them to focus on their core jobs and areas of expertise instead of the admin, rework and other non-value added tasks. IO: Does Centric work with any kind of product? Newhouse: Yes, Centric’s software is ideal for the wide range of hard goods and soft goods in the outdoor industry, but is not intended for products such as cars or airplanes. Cen- tric is designed and intended exclusively for outdoor, fashion and other consumer goods. IO: How difficult is it to switch over to a system like Centric. Is it cost effective? Newhouse: Implementation is fast; from just a few weeks for a small company to a few months for a larger one. And once it’s up and running, you’re good to go. And, of course, best practices are built in so it is a question of merely configuring preferences and not time-con- suming programming. Innovation in the Digital Age PLM’s impact on product development and delivery BACK OFFICE A Q&A with Celia Newhouse, marketing director Americas for PLM solutions provider Centric Software