fashion 04 (EN) by Human Solutions Group

fashion 04 The magazine for technology in the apparel industry

Mature Develop, coordinate, optimize – 3D pays.

Innovation course Pattern data in the Fashion Cloud … here’s how it works.

Best practice This is what the industry is doing with the new fashion technology.

Editorial “Fashion is an art that you have to master, even at the computer.” This quote comes from a customer, someone whom I regard very highly. His quote perfectly illustrates the balancing act between economic product development and emotional design, which you all know well from your own working life. This is why our fashion technology is created, to allow you not only more efficiency but also more flexibility and freedom in your everyday work. In the last two years alone, there has been substantial progress in this respect and many companies have set up strategic IT projects for 3D, Cloud, size & fit optimization, continuous processes and new software functions. But what can these innovations actually achieve in practice? Our new fashion 04 magazine really gets into this question. It shows you currently-available innovative technologies – and apparel industry companies report on their practical utilization of the technologies. All of these projects are exciting, from CAD upgrade to SizeGERMANY fashion manikins, from enterprisewide process support by means of PLM to the use of Vidya in international collection coordination. These innovations result in quality improvements and significant time and cost savings. Time, however, never stands still – and that’s why we work hard at setting the standards again and again – pushing the envelope in technical innovation and in the application of our technologies. This year has also seen us presenting several exciting new features: Our Fashion Cloud GoLive is now the central hub for CAD data, 3D is present in the everyday collection work of many companies and size & fit is one of the key trends in the industry today. If our magazine perhaps inspires you to create new projects that advance your business … then we will both be delighted. Enjoy your reading, your thinking ahead and your planning! Yours, Dr. Andreas Seidl CEO – Human Solutions Group

Innovation 6 The beauty of 3D. You’ve never seen Vidya’s simulation quality and depth of functionality like this. 14 Economic trend: time saving with 3D. Detlef Oesterreich, IT manager of Best Prac tice Best Practice BRAX, talks about his Interview experiences with 3D in collection development. 16 The look to emulate. Suitable for any style and any occasion – the new Vidya functions. 19

NEW

3D News. What’s happening in the 3D world.

Focus 20 Excellent playmakers. A lot has happened in the Human Solutions Group – see for yourself!

Trends 26 Fashion trends. How fashion technology proves itself in the current trend topics like Shapewear and Intelligent Shrinking.

NEW

32 Economic trend: sustainability. Daniel Krieger, founder of EARTHBACK, shows Best Prac tice how his company uses technical Interview innovation to combine ecology and business success.

Contents Best Prac tice Fashion

Benchmark 34 A matter of data. Now pattern data from Cad.Assyst is available centrally in the Cloud. Find out everything about the new service.

• HUGO BOSS: How can we safeguard ongoing operation during a global CAD upgrade?

• Laurèl: How can Development and Production work effectively together?

• navabi: How do we improve size & fit in home shopping?

• Peter Hahn: How can we secure our size & fit philosophy in international product development?

Perspective

42 Fashion Camp: L’Isla de la Moda. Nine candidates in a tough technology competition on the fashion industry’s infamous island.

• Schauflinger cutting agency: How can we develop and plan in-depth cutting orders?

• Steiff: How can we work as efficiently as possible, even with unusual fabrics?

Panorama

• SUSA: How can we deliver fast and stock up optimally?

50 360° of practical experience. Are the new technologies keeping their promises? These companies show what can be achieved:

• Takko: How do we create a uniform size & fit for all models – without any extra effort?

• Walbusch: How can we achieve more efficiency in procurement?

• Yamamay: How does perfect size & fit look on products worn close to the body?

NEW

39 Fashion Quest. The successful fashion saga continues …

• BRAX: How do we use 3D productively?

• CWS-boco: Which technologies best support our full-service concept in workwear?

• EARTHBACK: How can we open up new target groups and markets … fast?

. of Traditioaln n o ti lu o v E of l e Th most tive industry. Al

nova Fashion is an in l. What are your ones are digita st ile m w ne e th plans? Page 80

The beauty of 3D

You know the ins and outs of 3D? You’ve seen all that 3D has to offer? We beg to differ! You’ll be amazed by Vidya’s simulations of unique quality and wonderful depth of functionality for your collections in the computer.

Innovation

Reality in the computer Vidya not only displays cuts, materials and humans with superlative accuracy, current body measurements and shapes, the direct transfer of accurate 2D pattern pieces and the proper handling of natural material properties are also incorporated into Vidya â&#x20AC;Ś and that means a level of simulation quality that is second to none in the market.

Performance for professionals Vidyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s logical and consistent innovation plan ensures that professional pattern makers can work faster and better, supported by the new features of faster sewing, a higher computing speed and the increasingly detailed imaging of seams, colors, fabric thickness and material effects like gloss or wrinkling.

Innovation

A complete process chain â&#x20AC;Ś all the way to the partner Vidya is directly linked to Cad.Assyst and iSize and is ideal for communicating across sites or with partners. This results in impressive time savings in communication and significantly fewer prototypes.

Innovation

Economic trend:

time saving with 3D BRAX is a well-established brand â&#x20AC;Ś and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing. In the last few years, the company has successfully expanded its range into a lifestyle brand and verticalization is in full swing. Today, BRAX develops for the trade and for over 100 stores and franchisees. The company has been working with Vidya in its womenswear blouses segment for some time now. Detlef Oesterreich heads the IT department at BRAX and is responsible for the introduction of 3D. fashion 04 talked with him.

Innovation

fashion 04: Mr. Oesterreich, how do 3D and BRAX get along workwise? Oesterreich: There are two important points that support our market success: size & fit and the punctuality of our deliveries. We can enhance both of these by using 3D in our processes. fashion 04: What advantages do you see in using Vidya? Oesterreich: We have a greater degree of certainty in our decision-making for the collection – mainly because the simulation quality is outstanding. Our designs have a higher hit rate, we can risk more diversity and we gain time. With Vidya, we reduce the number of prototypes and therefore the time we have to wait on them. Our house model is available digitally – so we have no more idle time. And we also use the Vidya simulation to communicate with our partners, who understand exactly what we want a lot faster – a picture paints more than a thousand words.

makers have to contend with a lot of changes … but that’s a good thing, because 3D clearly upgrades the qualifications level of our specialists here in Germany; pattern makers have always required a high level of competence and using 3D is no exception – but 3D creates more “skill waves” in the process and that makes it all the more valuable. It contributes to better coordination and provides marketing and sales images for business customers at an early stage. All these benefits can ultimately be traced back to the pattern maker and his expertise. fashion 04: What must the technology be able to do? Oesterreich: The simulation quality must naturally be right. If you want to work productively with 3D in efficient processes, then you soon realize that using real cut pieces, material parameters and body dimensions is a must. We must continue using the data along the process chain, so we need to be able to manage 3D via PLM, for instance. The strategy and performance of the Human Solutions Group are precisely oriented in this direction – and that’s why we’re on board with them.

fashion 04: How is 3D being received in BRAX’s day-to-day work?

fashion 04: What can still be improved in your opinion?

Oesterreich: As always with any completely new technology, I think reactions are mixed. Some are all for it, others need some time. Good communication with the employees during the introduction phase is very, very important. Everyone misses their familiar workflows. In that respect, 3D changes a few things. But the usual processes cost time and time is a real luxury in our industry. Our conclusion is that 3D means a rethinking process, but it pays off.

Oesterreich: Some people miss the haptics and we’ll have to work even more intensively on the color fastness in monitors and printers. But that’s an upstream issue from the textile/material segment – and we already have promising solution approaches. And I think we have to take a more differentiated view of haptics; a few years ago, many of us thought that you couldn’t sell apparel in the Internet – but as you can see, it works.

fashion 04: What actually changed for your employees?

fashion 04: Mr Oesterreich, thank you very much for the interview and best wishes for your continued success.

Oesterreich: Designers and product managers profit most from it during collection development; the pattern

The look

to emulate ➊ Dynamic performance When it comes to performance, Vidya scores heavily. Garment sewing is faster … and what’s more, single garment pieces can be altered faster too. That gives you 30–40 % more speed – and the same goes for creating simulated worlds. You simply select a background, target group avatar, pose and scenario.

➋ Color with style Color your world with Vidya! All textures can be fully tinted with overlay colors – in the exact color tone you want. And if you’re pressed for time (and who isn’t in fashion nowadays!), just import color palettes quickly from the Adobe Photoshop design program.

New! A free Vidya Viewer for Android mobiles. Download it at: www.vidya-software.com

THE NEW APP: THE VIDYA VIEWER ON YOUR MOBILE!

Innovation

➌ Fashion for everyone In the Avatar Studio, you can develop exactly the right models for your collections, based on real body dimensions and shapes from iSize. Here 3D and 2D also come together … with it’s 3D preview in 2D, for instance. Animation in Vidya has also been significantly expanded: now movements can be simply loaded, or postures created in just one step.

➍ Love of detail Gloss structures, semi gloss, crinkle effects, tone-on-tone patterns, Vidya neglects none of today’s fashion trends. Fabrics can be replaced quickly and are always simulated with accurate material properties. So you can already see the difference in fabric drape between corduroy, jeans and jersey on the digital model… and estimate the impact of effects.

Visit the new Vidya portal on www.vidya-software.com This new Human Solutions portal gives you a perfect overview of your theme and all its possibilities … with 3D.

WANT TO SEE MORE OF VIDYA?

➎ The layered look for any occasion A suit with a shirt has many different layers and Vidya images them all, shirt, pocket, pocket flap, lapel, fabric, pad and lining. Up to 21 layers and 3 cm of material thickness are possible – and that’s enough layers.

➏ Better business Thanks to 3D with Vidya you’ll save many prototypes and… gradually… lots of time too. Usability is also a contributory factor here, because error messages make your work easier and speed up the simulation of a model with the highest quality. Individual elements such as collars or hoods can also be easily positioned – so the more you work with Vidya, the more profitable it becomes.

3D News Innovation

Simulate, Print & Go – completely digital Design fabric and cut digitally, try the garment on virtually and produce directly on the digital printer as a marker. It’s worth it financially – especially with expensive fabrics and series up to 1,200 meters of fabric. Simulate, Print & Go creates real time cost and quality advantages, because patterns match exactly, you save on fabrics (because printing is only within cut pieces) and long-term material order and minimum quantity forerunners can be disregarded.

The Germans in the (Apparel) Final SizeGERMANY has arrived. The largest and the most accurate 3D serial measurement survey in Germany has changed our understanding of body dimensions and shapes. SizeGERMANY data has meanwhile been incorporated into the product development of many apparel manufacturers – and not only because of the Human Solutions technology that gives you practical analysis tools (iSize), CAD dimension tables (Cad.Assyst), 3D in the form of fashion manikins or Vidya avatars in a seamless process. Today, around 200 companies work with iSize and SizeGERMANY fashion manikins.

3D in shopping – bodyscanning for the masses Virtual try-on and sizes allocation – the innovations of the digital world open up huge opportunities for the apparel trade to increase sales, intensify customer bonding and enhance business profiles – and with the new bodyscanner from Human Solutions, these opportunities can now be exploited to the full. For the first time, Human Solutions – the sizing & fitting specialists from Kaiserslautern – are using 3D depth sensors for body scanning on an industrial level. The highlight: This well-known innovation from the games sector is combined with best practices, specialized knowledge and technology for body measurement and the world’s largest database for 3D body dimensions. The result is functional scanatars that realistically reflect the body dimensions and shapes of a person – and the scanatars can be seamlessly integrated into industrial clothing processes. A technical masterpiece that particularly stands out thanks to its sophisticated sensor switching and resulting powerful performance, the new 3D bodyscanner unerringly captures 35 body dimensions in just one second – but it’s also designed for everyday business, because the scanner’s weight and space requirements are minimal … and even the pillars fold down for easier transportation. Conclusion: Now there is a powerful 3D body scanner for sizing & fitting, one which not only excels through its fast, reliable measurement acquisition, but also thanks to its price.

Dress for success – Vidya Award at the Fashion Forum 2014 The Vidya Award goes into the third round. The prize for the promotion of young talent will be awarded at the Fashion Forum 2014 in Munich and three university colleges are offering their students the chance to participate: the University of Reutlingen, the Kerschenstein School and the Sigmaringen Fashion School. This year, the Textile and Clothing Technology students are designing a blouse for women or a shirt for men. After simulation in Vidya at an early stage, followed by continuous alterations, the 2D cut is then stitched. The sizes 38 or 50 of the SizeGERMANY serial measurement survey are used as a basis for the dimensions. The judges will assess the creativity of the design, the quality of the cut and simulation and the uniform size & fit on fashion manikin scanatars in Vidya and on the physical SizeGERMANY fashion manikins. The Vidya Award prize money will be 1,000 and 500 Euros for the first and second places. More on the award ceremony and the 2014 winners at: www.vidya-software.com

oking Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re lo the next to forward with you! season

Excellent

playmakers

Focus

The Human Solutions Group has done well in the Fashion League in the past five years – on both national and international levels. Sales are on the increase, innovations are working well and new products are in the pipeline. All this is not least due to the consistent, strategic focus on future technologies in three segments: 3D, Cloud and One Process, seamless process continuity. The team has done well in other areas too. The Group is ready for the next season.

Objective attained – growth against the market trend • 10 % more sales in 2013 • 80 % more EBIT • 25 % more system sales • Increasing values with consulting services

The 11 players of the year – consolidation succeeded • Five companies – 200 employees – one unit: Human Solutions GmbH, Assyst GmbH, Sistemi Assyst s.r.l. (Italy), Human Solutions of North America, AVM Solutions GmbH • Maintenance contracts & support: uniform support structures for all customers within the Human Solutions Group • Cross-product development: Interdisciplinary teams of developers increase the innovation of our products and enable many synergy effects

The season’s highlights – the success of our top goalgetters It’s clear that the products of the Human Solutions Group hit the back of the net. One reason for this is that we address and accelerate the right issues … for example: • With Cad.Assyst, our customers construct their designs 20 % faster and many are upgrading to current releases. • We offer the only PLM system with a fashion reference process. • In our Cloud, over 2 million laying orders are placed in Automarker – and PLM GoLive has truly proven itself on the Internet. • We have carried out the largest German serial measurement survey, involving more than 13,000 men, women and children – and now we also have the results of the SizeITALY survey. • More than two thirds of all apparel models can be simulated with Vidya.

Focus

To the World Cup with Pure Play The World Cup honors the best soccer clubs in the world. To achieve comparable results in the fashion market, our strategy focuses on software. This increases the quality of our products and allows us to support all common plotters and cutters. This openness matches our strategy well – and also that of our customers – because the aim of each of our technologies must be to promote the business of apparel manufacturers and dealers. “Your business first” is therefore an important guideline for the future developments of our products. Together with leading companies, we have solved key challenges in the apparel market to enable customer-oriented and market-driven collections to be developed profitably. To do this, we have special skills for e.g. sizing & fitting, process design, data management, virtualization, simulation and automation – and we link all this to a seamless range of bestin-class technologies and services from a single source. Today we cover almost the entire fashion process with our CAD, PLM, ERP & Co, from the first draft to the point of sale.

World Cup – present in central-manufacturer and supplier markets Our customers can rely on a powerful international network of partners with consistent support standards. We expand these structures along international supply channels together with strong manufacturers.

Asia • China: on-site support at six locations • China and India: competence development and quality assurance support for manufacturers and suppliers • Indonesia: expansion of supplier integration in Indonesia • Vietnam and Cambodia: in the pipeline

Russia and Eastern Europe • Solid partner structures • Supervision of subsidiaries and suppliers on site • In the pipeline: strong expansion in Eastern Europe, in Poland, for instance

Africa • South Africa: strong presence • North Africa: expansion in the pipeline

Group tactics with “Tiqui-Taca” – One Process: technology, organization, infrastructure Seamless processes require technologies that mesh seamlessly – and integration is a key guideline for the further development of our technologies. Many programs are already closely integrated and the rest will follow bit by bit. Technology alone, however, is not enough … so we also offer our customers solidly-founded organization, such as on-site support, enabling the company’s process chains to reach the producing countries. This also includes infrastructure. The Cloud is the best means of staying flexible to easily integrate valuable partners and quickly take advantage of innovations – and here too, Human Solutions is a trailblazer.

“The seamless (but controlled) linking of your own sites and key partners is not only convenient, it provides invaluable competitive advantages.”

Group tactics with “Fast Counterattacks” – 3D visualization, simulation, process integration 3D grows, because it can save time, not only in development, but along the entire process chain all the way to marketing and sales. Human Solutions offers the right foundation for the profitable use of 3D: sheer quality in visualization, high-quality simulation thanks to outstanding data quality and a soundly-based background of knowledge in terms of sizing & fitting, process know-how and technologies from one source, all of which together enable the seamless integration of 3D into fashion processes.

“The more intensively 3D data is used, the greater are the benefits in time, cost and quality.”

Focus

The 12th man – la OLA for our customers In recent years, the Group has won worldwide strategic accounts. These include international corporations as well as family businesses and niche providers. In the case of strategic issues, the focus here is on close cooperation, not just with customers, but with the entire industry. A professional workshop offer, for example, provides an insight into important topics such as automation, sizing & fitting and management systems for all interested parties.

Group tactics with “Power Play” – Fashion Cloud: data access, synchronization, functionality It’s not only the amount of data that’s increasing, but also the complexity of data management. With traditional networks, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to provide data optimally – but the Fashion Cloud by Human Solutions allows you to do exactly that. It provides access to up-to-date data and a perfect infrastructure that can be quickly and flexibly adapted. So the Human Solutions Cloud exactly matches the demands of the apparel industry for speed, costs and quality – and it will continue to grow along with these demands.

“No industry is so internationally aligned as fashion – so the Cloud is sooner or later going to be first choice– but it must meet the requirements of the industry.”

Fashion trends No, the “Safari” style isn’t on the way back yet … but we have selected some exciting trend themes from the jungle of possibilities – and the technologies to give you your money’s worth are coming right up here too.

NO.

SHAPEWEAR

Trends

Nothing is done in Haute Couture today without shapewear and now the trend is reaching our wardrobes. Body shaping underwear, leggings and tights are “in” like never before. OK, corsets and girdles were never really “out”…. but today’s women want to look good without compromising on comfort, so shapewear should be comfortable and still serve its purpose. Figure-shaping leggings, for example, make the stomach flatter and raise the bottom. That’s good for the wearer – but for the apparel manufacturers it raises plenty of questions about size & fit. Thanks to various serial measurement surveys, you know how your own customers look, but without shaping underwear. So how would a woman look in the new collection if she’s wearing shapewear? The answer to this question has never been answered … until now. During an additional survey project within the SizeITALY framework, women were first scanned with and then without the figure-shaping leggings of an Italian brand. Their body dimensions were acquired and the women were simulated in iSize as 3D models. The various elastic materials were subsequently simulated with Vidya and fitted to the 3D models of the scanned women. The result? The waist circumference was significantly reduced with the figure-shaping leggings.

NO.

INTELLIGENT SIZES RECOMMENDATION IN THE MAIL ORDER TRADE

Online shopping is getting really exciting … now there’s a solution for providing the right sizes for customers, even if different size systems are in use. Until now, customers have often been surprised at the different size interpretations of the various brands when they opened their mail order packages. The sizetables for size recommendation in catalogs and online stores were no great help either, so numerous orders were returned because of poor sizing & fitting. Not so good for the mail order company … BUT … an exciting solution is in sight. Together with retail customers, the Human Solutions Group is working on a standardization system (without changing the manufacturers’ sizes systems). So whoever orders different brands of apparel in the future will get a recommendation for a size that can really fit – and no complex self-measurement will have to be done either – all the customer has to do is provide a few basic values. Initial tests have been so promising that the Work Group Retail is even thinking about adding extra features: because the system can learn with every purchase that fits well or with every additional measurement that is provided, so the size recommendation becomes even more accurate. Also in the pipeline is an instant visualization of the customer’s own figure in 3D, with fitting.

NO.

LARGE SIZES

Men and women “north” of the classic standard clothing sizes have long ceased to be a fringe group – and it’s mainly women who want chic apparel, even from size 44 upwards. Any manufacturer who makes a timely entrance here has an attractive market waiting – especially if the target group and its size & fit requirements are clearly defined. This first involves understanding the body shape when increasing size and advancing age start to impact, because the changes in the grading steps above size 42 are very different to those in sizes 36 to 40. In the case of large sizes, the increase in dimensions doesn’t occur evenly over the entire body, only in individual body zones – and this causes a significant change in the proportions, not only impacting on size & fit, but also influencing the style, e.g. in the arrangement of applications, patterns, darts and color surfaces. So as an apparel manufacturer with a broad size portfolio, it would be worth your while using bang up-to-date size & fit data to analyze your own target group and to carefully examine the market shares of each size – and extending your analysis by one or two sizes in the upwards direction could pay off. When transferring previous styles to large sizes, you can easily comply with the recognized basic statistic rules in iSize to convince your female customers in the larger sizes segment.

NO.

INTELLIGENT SHRINKING

Trends

After washing = before washing! Unfortunately this is not always true. It’s no secret that fabrics – and especially stretch materials – tend to shrink when washed. So your pattern must be adapted to address the fabric’s shrinkage behavior from the outset (or even earlier). With Smart.Pattern, the surprise effect can be reduced to a minimum with the very first prototype. The Cad.Assyst module transfers the shrinkage values to the pattern by means of a macro. The example shows how this works: First determine the shrinkage values by washing the fabric or enter empirical values. The Smart.Pattern macro only stretches the pattern elements that are affected by the shrinkage of the fabric. You can intervene at any time while the Smart.Pattern macro is running. The macro automatically calculates the cut (including shrinkage values) using three stretching operations – horizontal (x-axis), vertical (y-axis) and waist – and the result can then be applied to all sizes. Smart.Pattern’s Intelligent Shrinking Macro saves a tremendous amount of time. It also helps to retain the experiences gained with various fabrics, enabling them to be recalled company-wide at any time – and this not only applies to shrinkage, but also to the routine tasks of stitch direction, buttonhole facings for piping pockets, lapel collars and linings.

THE (STILL UNALTERED) PANTS PATTERN FROM OUR EXAMPLE IS SIMULATED HERE IN VIDYA FOR A BETTER VIEW. ON THE LEFT BEFORE WASHING, ON THE RIGHT AFTER WASHING.

A MARKED CHANGE … THE PATTERN ADAPTED TO THE SHRINKAGE VALUES.

New –

comprehensive

online help!

Get fit for automation At the push of a button, use finished macros from a library of over 250 pre-configured macros or develop your own automation for individual routine tasks. Assyst offers you many seminars and training courses for using macros and creating your own Smart.Pattern library. More info at www.human-solutions.com

NO.

INTERNATIONAL SIZE & FIT

What does my customer actually look like? The SizeITALY serial measurement survey answers this question for the fourth largest market in Europe … and one which is consequently representative of the Southern European markets. The size & fit information of more than 6,000 Italians complements existing data from Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan, China and the U.S. on iSize.com So what constitutes good size & fit in Italy? Italians like to wear their fashion with an average size & fit – not too close-fitting, but not too loose. However – as in most countries – around three-quarters of the Italian population have difficulty in finding clothes that fit. Sixty percent require alterations, most of these being shortened. The same applies to Italians as it does to Germans – younger Italians are slightly taller than the older generations. The relatively wide size distribution within the population is interesting and chest, waist and hip measurements have also increased, as they have in other regions. This is a trend that significantly increases with advancing age. All the data can be analyzed as usual in iSize – also for specific target groups. Offering a youth brand or fashion for older people beyond your own national borders would be a good tactical marketing move, since iSize allows the analysis of several markets to compare them.

SIZEITALY AT A GLANCE •

6,064 men and women (18–84 years), plus children (6–17 years) More than 24,000 scans 9 age groups 30 socio-demographic questions for fashion Two regions – Northern and Southern Italy 44 body dimensions (8 primary and 35 secondary dimensions, weight) Conforms with ISO 8559, ISO 7250

NO.

PROFITABLE CREATIVITY = CREATIVE PROFITABILITY

Trends

What has to be there first, the price or the model? This is collection planning’s version of the whatcame-first, the “chicken or the egg” debate. Planning seems to place restrictions on creative ideas, but a good idea must match the brand and its price level. So the question is, what can be done? Software is the answer. Good tools can help you to manage the balancing act between free creativity and objective market planning more easily – if, for example, planning co-develops in accordance with the collection status and the required numbers are instantly made available when they’re needed. This can be done if PLM, order optimization and ERP complement one another flexibly and enable a cost overview for every process phase.

PLM GOLIVE – PRELIMINARY COSTING FROM SKETCH TO PROTOTYPE: Good planning is a central and recurring theme in collection development. The comprehensive collection framework plan in PLM GoLive is the basis for the calculation of costs, from the first sketch to the finished model. The Assyst program offers enormous flexibility for this – the procedure shown here is only one of many options. First of all comes the overall picture of the new collection (the drill-down). Based on the previous year’s figures, the elements of the collection can be planned and the desired retail target prices specified at the same time, e.g. T-shirt (29.90 Euro) or a suit (679 Euro). Later production costs are increasingly consolidated with the completion of the BOM, the bill of material (drill-up). Thanks to this transparency, management can then decide at any time if either the model or the price has to be changed. Some vital information is still missing, however – and that’s where Autocost comes in.

AUTOCOST – ORDER OPTIMIZATION WITH ALL THE DETAILS: How expensive is the production? If the product is broadly defined, material consumption for all your planned sizes can be precisely determined and optimized in Autocost, production quantities and costs (payroll/time) included. The impact on costs caused by any changes in patterns, fabrics or suppliers is shown immediately. This also enables the testing of different cost-reducing scenarios – and currently-laid markers in Automarker make the ideal basis for these tests.

ERP BOS – COMPLETE COST TRANSPARENCY FOR EVERY PRODUCT: From the model freeze and thereafter, cost control is all-important. Now the order quantities are known and all the estimated values can be put into concrete terms based on the final cost calculation. ERP BOS takes over all the product data straight from PLM GoLive and continues working on the BOMs. The AVM system also displays the current orders for any period, the corresponding production, supply and storage costs and all the accompanying costs for label creation and packaging.

COST TRANSPARENCY THANKS TO a collection framework plan with target price (PLM GoLive) Material BOM (PLM GoLive/ERP BOS) Detailed order optimization with sizes weighting and the costs of materials, set-up time, cutting time (manual/cutter) and labor costs (Autocost) A wide range of evaluation options e.g. by order, material, styles and average material consumption by product group (Autocost) Order quantities and production costs (ERP BOS) Costs for documentation/storage (ERP BOS) Previous year’s figures (PLM GoLive/ERP BOS)

Economic trend:

sustainability A young company wants to do everything right and offers fashion inspired by eco-conscious value creation and alternative forms of financing such as crowdfunding. The beauty of this is that it works! And so EARTHBACK became a model for the established industry, with a consistent business model and a high level of professionalism based on technology from Human Solutions. fashion 04 spoke with Michael Krieger, one of the managing directors and founders of EARTHBACK.

Trends

fashion 04: Mr. Krieger, you founded EARTHBACK with an ambitious goal …

fashion 04: How do you ensure that you are working profitably?

Krieger: It’s quite simple really: We make nice things to wear. However, EARTHBACK has not just one but a whole range of business objectives. Of course it’s about profit as with any business venture. But at the same time we want to prove that sustainability and success are not contradictory, but can even go hand in hand.

Krieger: For each product there’s a minimum order amount – and we adhere to this amount to maintain the desired sales price. Our process always looks the same: idea, preparation, funding, production, warehousing. Currently we only sell via our webshop. Our organization is streamlined and very professional and for this we also use innovative methods and technologies such as iSize.

fashion04: How exactly does this look? Krieger: EARTHBACK wants to adhere to what the name says … “I want my earth back,” and “I give something back to the earth”. We promote young designers under this premise. We help them with marketing and the industrial production of their designs, giving them a professional edge of several years. We also try to ensure that we have a sustainable, environmentally-certified value chain, all the way to the finished product. Even the customer is involved in this business model. Before we go into production, we make sure that there’s a market. The customer orders before production starts and thus becomes a prosumer, influencing what is produced. This sounds unusual for the apparel industry, but it’s common in other industries like in car and furniture purchasing. fashion04: Why apparel? Krieger: With seven billion people who all have to put something on, how that apparel is produced has a real impact on our environment. And the core team of EARTHBACK comes from the apparel industry.

fashion 04: How is iSize integrated into your business model? Krieger: We’re just getting started and we have to build up a reputation in terms of quality. One vital issue is the size & fit of the garments. What good is a sustainably-produced coat if it doesn’t fit? Size & fit is therefore a very important subject when we get the design sketches into serial production. This is further complicated by the fact that we aim at very different target groups with our business model – at least now in the early stages. Today it’s women up to 35 years old with a dress, tomorrow it’s perhaps teens with streetwear – and the size & fit must always be optimal, so customers buy our products again and recommend us. The analysis and data quality in iSize is very valuable for us. fashion 04: Mr. Krieger, thank you for the interview. We wish you and your team every success with EARTHBACK.

A matter of data The fashion cloud GoLive has been enriched by an additional service … “Data in the Cloud”. Now your Cad.Assyst pattern data is available in the Cloud and that means it’s on any computer or laptop where it’s needed – automatically updated.

The services of the Fashion Cloud GoLive Software in the Cloud Automarker: automated structured laying, conversion and order communication Autocost: order planning and optimization

New

Data in the Cloud Cad.Assyst: data sharing and updating worldwide, including version management

The Cloud – a matter of trust Your data is always secure. In the Fashion Cloud GoLive, we host it in accordance with strict quality and security criteria. Our “Software in the Cloud” – the Automarker and Autocost programs – are almost 100 % available. Your hosted data is secured through strict user rights and security measures and the same applies to “Data in the Cloud”. You also have the ability to host your data yourself … in a Fashion Private Cloud GoLive.

Ready, set, go, Cloud! The Cloud feature “Data in the Cloud” is now available for all Cad.Assyst users. More information on: +49 89 90505-0, contact@assyst.de or +1 919-741-6130, contact.usa@assyst-intl.com

Scale

Working on Cloud Fashion The new service of the Fashion Cloud GoLive quickly proves itself in day-to-day work, because it saves lots of time in partner cooperation and data transfer. Data Storage

07.06.2014 15:49

New York

Hong Kong

Data Storage

Scenario 1: from site to site For example: from the New York HQ to the Hong Kong office The Cloud makes it possible – one file can be on several sites at once. At HQ, every employee can access the current pattern data of a model. Around 30 workplaces are linked, but it could be many, many more or even just one workplace, it makes no difference to the powerful Fashion Cloud GoLive. One or more other sites can also be instantly networked via the Cloud – and now they also have access to the exact same, current Cad.Assyst file. The advantages? Large e-mails and uncontrollable data storage are eliminated – and your data also remains intact and safe, because all changes are saved automatically and nothing can be lost when the data is versioned.

Scale

Szenario 2: from company to company For example: linking partners and freelancers As in scenario 1, freelancers or partners can also be directly linked with one another – and in regions where Internet connectivity isn’t consistent, Cloud data transmission is ideal, because your data is available offline and changes are updated quickly, eliminating the need for new e-mails with huge attachments. Access is carried out according to the predefined configuration.

Data Storage

07.06.2014 15:49

New York

Hong Kong

Data Storage

Szenario 3: on the road For example: from the New York office to Hong Kong You’re traveling with your laptop? Then you don’t need to take current data with you, it’s already there. Just arrived in the Hong Kong office, all you need is an Internet connection to get your data up-to-date. This is much faster and easier than e-mails, because even large amounts of data can be transferred perfectly. One of the sites is offline? No problem! When the Internet connection is restored, all changes are synchronized.

1 x 1 in the Fashion Cloud Data sharing and synchronization: Cad.Assyst Cloud functionality is unlocked for you once – and the Cloud menu in Cad.Assyst is then available for any selected user. Files intended for the Cloud only have to be stored in a specified drive or folder system. From then on, they are synchronized and updated on every authorized computer. So the CAD files are “multi-saved” … centrally in the Cloud and on the various connected devices. This means you can access your data off-line too. You still have full control, however, because if the file is removed from the Cloud, it is also deleted from the directories on the local devices.

Version management: Having Cad.Assyst data in the Fashion Cloud provides yet another advantage: If a file is locally changed, overwritten, deleted or lost accidentally, it’s still available. Not only an up-to-date version in the Cloud, but also in the different versions of the past few weeks – now that’s security.

How “Data in the Cloud” works The Cloud in Cad.Assyst Using the Cloud functionality in Cad.Assyst is oh-so easy. Once stored in the Cloud, your data is automatically transmitted to each specified device. Updating is always done in the background and the Cloud menu is instantly available when you’re working in Cad.Assyst

In Cad.Assyst, you’ll see the GoLive menu with the following functions: - Stop transmitting the file to the Cloud. - See the files that have been updated and when. Access version management. - In the offline mode, see files waiting for synchronization.

Scale

Fashion Quest SEASON II of the successful fashion saga

Our programs as soap stars

New paths to success 39

Windows CAD is basking in his success. Since he took over as head of the family-run Fashion Quest, business has been booming. His collections are already being celebrated as new classics and professionals love his sizing & fitting and perfect precision. But dark clouds are on the horizon … competitors from abroad are unexpectedly crowding on to the market, putting Fashion Quest under pressure. Episode 1: Tough market laws In the elite restaurant “Golden Design”, CAD is celebrating the success of his new collections together with Vidya and his managers PLM and ERP. Womenswear, menswear, childrenswear … everything that Fashion Quest launches seems to succeed. The banks are happy, new ideas are plentiful and the champagne is flowing freely. They’re reviewing all their collection models on a laptop, when their idyll is rudely interrupted. A group of half-drunk businessmen with flashy models walks past the Fashion Quest separée, jeering noisily. CAD, shocked, suddenly sees his nightmare unfold … those flashy models are wearing the trends he has planned for next season! And another nasty surprise awaits the boss – his favorite model, Wonda Shape, is one of the ladies with the revelers. Has she told all? Episode 2: All or nothing CAD is already pretty drunk. At the next table, the fashion CEOs are raucously trying to outdo one another. CAD drinks more and more, until finally PLM and ERP persuade him to go home. But before he leaves, the hard businesswoman, Consolidad del Marketo, lays down a challenge to CAD – disdainfully, she says Fashion Quest could never deliver faster than she can. CAD accepts the challenge and is provoked into making a bet – whoever presents their collection first at the next Fashion Show wins the loser’s company! Too late, he learns that Consolidad has already swallowed up many other companies – and the financing of his collection is still not done and dusted. Is the name of Fashion Quest about to disappear forever? Episode 3: Communication is the key That same night, CAD (with black coffee coming out his ears) and Vidya start work on a new trend collection. The designs are developed fast thanks to the seamless Fashion Quest processes. Although it’s almost midnight, the two employees Automarker and Autocost immediately tackle the production. They exchange info all night with the production partner in China – as if he were in the same office. Despite bad weather, the data transfer works great via their new invention, the Fashion Cloud. Vidya sends a video message and her free viewer software – and the supplier understands immediately how the new Fashion Quest trend should look. Last-minute pattern changes have to be made in China – but the data isn’t available and the weather’s turning bad.

Scale

Episode 4: Storm on the way The next day, CAD presents his new collection designs to his investors. They’re all thrilled, but one of the businessmen knows Consolidad and her market power. He was at the Golden Design by chance – and he doubts that Fashion Quest can win the race to the next Fashion Show. CAD loses his nerve, he’s put everything he owns on one card. At the very last minute, PLM and ERP pour oil on the troubled waters with hard, cold facts and Fashion Quest gets one more chance. But the next bad news is waiting: Automarker and Autocost can only deliver markers, not current cutting data – and a typhoon is raging over the Pacific Ocean, preventing the transmission of large amounts of data. The supplier could soon be completely cut off from the outside world. Episode 5: Showdown in the Cloud In his luxury penthouse office, CAD pours himself a drink, signs off from the company network and stares angrily into the blue sky. Everything runs so well in his San Modino HQ and he can’t send his data abroad? The whole team arrives, from design to shipment, but no one can help. Only Automarker and Autocost keep working feverishly on a solution together with Cloudia, the unassuming network expert – and they seem to have an idea. CAD is astonished, apparently there’s a lot more to Cloudia than meets the eye … because she has secretly expanded the Fashion Cloud with Automarker and Autocost. Even the cutting data is now centrally hosted and updated instantly. All the Chinese partner has to do is log in. And it works! From the brink of defeat … to a stunning victory! The collection immediately goes into production. Episode 6: Who laughs last The big day has come, all the companies are presenting their collections – and the big surprise is Fashion Quest, first at the Fashion Show with its outstanding models! PLM and ERP immediately incorporate Consolidad’s company into the Fashion Quest empire. New investors rush to the scene. The house model Wonda Shape returns, full of remorse. But the true heroine of the day is Cloudia. Automarker and Autocost have taught her a lot and her excellent data management will become a vital competitive advantage for Fashion Quest. Yes, the future looks bright for CAD and Cloudia. Do we hear wedding bells in the distance?

The saga continues … Season III of the Fashion Quest clan is in the pipeline! 41

The Fashion Camp: “l’Isla de la Moda” The hard-hitting technology competition about speed, cost and quality Concentrated, powerful and purposeful. Nine product stars show what they can do on the Isla de la Moda, facing the main challenges in the apparel industry. The harsh conditions on the infamous Fashion Island have already killed off many products. Only the best survive. The super celebrities Automarker, Autocost, PLM GoLive, ERP BOS, Vidya, Cad.Assyst, iSize, SizeGERMANY fashion manikins and Bodyscanners are fighting their way through the fashion jungle on Fashion Island head-to-head and in teams … and they’ve already passed some difficult tests with flying colors. Now all their performances will culminate in the final Fashion Course – a huge effort in collection development, one which only really powerful technologies can master – but you decide in the end. Who is your favorite in terms of lead time, cost efficiency and quality of results? To whom do you award the Fashion Crown?

Perspective

The Fashion Course â&#x20AC;Ś the ultimate task: Model Freeze Point

Order & Storage Marsh Land

Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Isla de la Moda

Quality Forest

SizeGERMANY Manikins ERP BOS

Mount Process

Calculation Plane

Sample Quick Sands

Lake Workflow

Autocost

PLM GoLive

Marker Bay

Vidya

Automarker

Design Beach

Cad.Assyst Cut Reef

iSize Cloud Harbor

Material Reef To Partner

Bodyscanner Fit Island

Body Reef

Fashion Markets

The moderators and the jury: expertise will decide During their tasks, the celebrity technologies will be accompanied by Assyst, Human Solutions and AVM. They will provide support for textile and fashion industry professionals in choosing who is to wear the Fashion Crown.

The candidates: nine star technologies United in one continuous process, the fashion technologies of the Human Solutions Group are ready at the starting line:

“Bits & Bytes Heroes” The candidates in the Fashion Camp:

The Strong Pattern Professional Name: Cad.Assyst

Task: 2D pattern development Known for: time savings Passion: automation and efficiency gains Hometown: collection development Best feature: optimal data management, perfect tools for quality construction and time saving Worst feature: makes automation-addicts out of users Teamwork: is at the center of a team made up of Vidya, Automarker and PLM GoLive Key functions: New Relea se • Smart.Guide: up to 20 % more design efficiency in 2014 • Smart.Pattern: time savings through automating routine tasks • Smart.Label: basis for intelligent cuts, already realized with dynamic sizetables • Database: management of all cut files and basic cuts in CAD • CAD in the Cloud: share and convert cutting data • New: colorful CAD! When laying markers, the “jpeg request” feature makes the visual look of the fabric visible. • New: show pattern repeats or photo prints in the marker and change the requirements for the fabric manufacturer where required.

The Highly-Efficient Laying Master Name: Automarker Task: marker making Known for: optimal material usage, format conversion and order transmission on the Internet Passion: structured, automated laying 24/7 Hometown: pre-production/manufacturing Best feature: always exactly accurate Worst feature: hardly any sense of humor Teamwork: actually likes everyone, but especially fond of Autocost and Cad.Assyst Key functions: • Communication with partners • Conversion of markers • Menswear: needle table, crotch gusset separation • Complex pattern repeats • Quality zones and splice marks • Disaggregation and common-lining • TaketheBest

Perspective

The Consistent Saver Name: Autocost

Aufgabe: cut order planning Known for: preliminary calculation with all refinements Passion: material and cost savings Hometown: pre-production/manufacturing Best feature: cost transparency and forecast Worst feature: workaholic Teamwork: works closely with Automarker, Cad.Assyst and ERP BOS Key functions: • Includes all expenditures and parameters: material, setup time, cutting time, labor costs, sizes distribution, plies, cutter width • Detailed order structuring • Extensive evaluation options • Comparison of laying scenarios • Creation of remainder orders • Centralized data storage

The Flexible Know-It-All Name: PLM GoLive

Task: management system Known for: automated workflows, continuous data flows Passion: planning, workflows, data quality Hometown: collection development Best feature: top data availability and functionality, also on the Internet Worst feature: addicted to harmony Teamwork: Everyone knows and likes him: design programs, Cad.Assyst, Vidya, ERP BOS Key functions: • Collection framework plan and calculation • Management of all product data • Automated workflows • Full fashion-reference process • Mapping of the entire collection world • Management of all business models: full purchase, outward processing, womenswear, menswear, childrenswear

The Sustainable Optimizer Name: ERP BOS

Task: management system Known for: flexible organizational structures, continuous data flows Passion: data quality and shorter lead times Hometown: purchasing, production, ordering and warehousing Best feature: flexible perfectionist Worst feature: charming stickler for processes Teamwork: SAM and also the best friend of PLM GoLive Key functions: • Flexible mapping: concern structures, outward processing, full purchase • Support for various types of production • Purchasing and warehouse controlling • Master data: customers, orders, products, materials • Planning, assignment, management and controlling in production • Order picking/order picking route optimization • Returns management

Strong in Simulation – the 3D Diva Name: Vidya

Task: top 3D visualization and simulation of humans, patterns and materials Known for: 3D size & fit control and control of the fabric drape Passion: saving on physical prototypes Hometown: collection development Best feature: can wear anything Worst feature: unbridled ambition Teamwork: solid friendship with Cad.Assyst, iSize, SizeGERMANY fashion manikins, PLM GoLive Key functions: • Realistic drape • Overlay color • 3D preview in 2D CAD • Free viewer • Model poses • Avatar studio: comprehensive population of scanatars and fashion manikins with real body dimensions • Precise display of fabric drape, with matching distance to the body and detailed material properties

The Single-Minded Sizing & Fitting Queen Name: iSize

Perspective

Task: Online portal for analysis of body measurements Known for: perfect sizing & fitting and easy operation Passion: 3D body measurements and body shapes in table and model Hometown: collection development Best feature: highly motivated Worst feature: collects data like other women collect shoes Teamwork: Part of the developer gang: Vidya, Cad.Assyst, SizeGERMANY fashion manikins Key functions: • Market and target group selection • Comprehensive, representative data base of more than 100,000 men, women and children • 44 ISO-compliant body measurements • Scanatars and digital SizeGERMANY figures for download • Interactive adjustment of your own sizetable • Examination of the grading steps

The Representative Fitting Fans Known for: perfect body feeling in all sizes Name: SizeGERMANY fashion manikins Passion: real body measurements, SizeGERMANY Task: fitting of prototypes and samples Hometown: collection development & quality assurance Best feature: fitting professionals Worst feature: want everything, can do everything – womenswear, menswear, childrenswear Teamwork: Part of the developer gang: iSize, Vidya, Cad.Assyst Key functions: • Comprehensive range of sizes: womenswear, menswear, childrenswear • Compressible body areas • Ideal surface properties for fabric drape • Variable mounting • Various models in a modular system • Sewed on measuring lines

The Mighty Monarchs of Measurement

Known for: 3D measurement acquisition from head Name: Bodyscanner to toe, provision of data for fashion processes Task: measurement surveys Passion: innovation when shopping and optimal size & fit Hometown: collection development, point of sale Best feature: speed, accuracy … professionalism Worst feature: likes to brag (about measurement successes) Teamwork: iSize Key functions: • Measurement principle: laser or 3D depth sensors • Automatic measurement, sizes allocation and scanatar calculation • Exact 3D imaging of the human body • Short scanning times • Ease of use

Challenge – the Fashion Course:

“The trick is making it look easy” So far, the candidates have passed all tests and boldly faced every challenge. Now it’s time for the final decision. The products compete against one other in teams: on the Fashion Course on the dreaded “l’Isla de la Moda”, the ultimate fashion world in which all workflows MUST be perfect. Who will contribute most to your development process in terms of time, costs and quality? You decide!

Team 1

Team 2

The management systems PLM GoLive and ERP BOS The task: “Provide data from sketch to production without interruption, even if workflows or company structures change.”

The sizing & fitting specialists: iSize, SizeGERMANY and Bodyscanner The task: “Provide all data on body shape and volume, wherever it’s needed.”

The result: PLM GoLive and ERP BOS are equal partners. PLM GoLive contributes solid Internet experience. ERP BOS relies on EDI and classic partner integration. Rarely have we seen so much efficiency: The two have to enter a product ID only once instead of 23 times. Deadlines are clear. BOMs are complete. Data is always up-to-date. Particularly elegant: ERP BOS’s shortening of order and warehousing paths.

The result: Working hand-in-hand is the success secret of the sizing & fitting technologies by Human Solutions. Bodyscanners measure in seconds and iSize provides all the data, comprehensive analysis results and sizetables. The SizeGERMANY fashion manikins are the calming influence in fitting and quality assurance – so the sizing & fitting team are distributed over the entire collection development process. We admired the uniform use of the same 3D body measurements in iSize and SizeGERMANY fashion manikins.

Team 3

Team 4

Pattern development – Cad.Assyst and Vidya The task: “getting to model freeze as fast as possible – with as few prototypes as possible.”

Pre-production – Automarker and Autocost The task: “Save material, make marker guidelines and send them to the production partner as fast as possible.”

The result: Cad.Assyst and Vidya are a well-coordinated team. Impressive the way they throw the design “balls” around, creating one model after another. Cad. Assyst is highly efficient – but most of the time savings are created by the digital prototypes of the CAD cuts on the Vidya models. Sizing & fitting problems, colors, positioning of prints, grading steps – it can all be checked digitally, because the cutting data, material parameters and the human body are as real and uniform in CAD as they are in 3D. So it’s no wonder that the team gets to the model freeze much earlier than usual in the market.

The result: optimize the use of materials … and you don’t have to say that twice to Automarker and Autocost. These soul brothers calculate the necessary material consumption and order costs in the shortest possible time – so fast that there’s even time to compare different scenarios, e.g. in sizes distribution or marker width. Automarker scores with automated markers that even take intuitive aspects of manual laying into account. Autocost immediately tackles the markers, adding important numbers and presenting an overall result. The order is then complete and immediately available for the partner in the Cloud.

Perspective

Model Freeze Point

Order & Storage Marsh Land

L’Isla de la Moda

Quality Forest

SizeGERMANY Manikins ERP BOS

Mount Process

Calculation Plane

Sample Quick Sands

Lake Workflow

Autocost

PLM GoLive

Marker Bay

Vidya Design Beach

Cad.Assyst

Automarker

Cut Reef

iSize Cloud Harbor

Material Reef To Partner

Bodyscanner Fit Island

Body Reef

You decide – what’s most important for you? Who’s your favorite … who gets the Fashion Crown? Telefon +49 631 343 593 00 contact@human-solutions.com +1 919-741-6130 contact.usa@human-solutions.com Normal telephone charges apply, from landline or mobile phone. And we’ll gladly return your call!

Fashion Markets 49

Panorama

360°

of practical experience

Are the new technologies keeping their promises? These companies have put the software innovations to the test in strategic projects and they show what can be achieved with technical innovations in day-to-day fashion work. You‘ll find their issues and their solutions here – in Panorama.

Vidya at BRAX

Automarker, Autocost, Cad.Assyst and PLM GoLive at CWS-boco

iSize at EARTHBACK

Vidya at Esquel

Cad.Assyst at HUGO BOSS

PLM GoLive at Laurèl

iSize at navabi

SizeGERMANY fashion manikins at Peter Hahn

Automarker, Autocost and Cad.Assyst at Schauflinger cutting agency

Automarker and Cad.Assyst at Steiff

ERP BOS at Susa

SizeGERMANY fashion manikins at Takko

PLM GoLive at Walbusch

iSize at Yamamay

CASE STUDY

How do we use

3D productively?

BRAX started its first 3D season with a digital house model in Vidya. The main objectives? To develop faster and exploit the 3D data as much as possible, from first sketch to sales. BRAX used to be a very well-known pants specialist in the German market – and today the company is a famous lifestyle enterprise. The family business has new product segments and its own stores and has long established itself as a premium-casual supplier with a wide range of garments. Good margins and good quality are still the company’s number 1 priorities, not least in sizing & fitting – so it’s not only consumers who love this brand from Eastern Westphalia, the retail world is also hooked on BRAX. Business today is great … but in Herford, the focus is firmly on tomorrow and one of the technologies of the future currently being used by BRAX is 3D simulation. BRAX opted for Vidya by Assyst and was one of the first companies in Germany to use 3D in its collection development.

their existing range of 2D patterns and simulated them in 3D. Tension ran high among the specialists; what could the new technology achieve and where did its current limits lie? Then came the results: and everyone was totally convinced. The pilot simulations showed that BRAX could significantly reduce the number of its physical prototypes and develop more variants at the same time – and that meant important time gains. Taking the next step systematically, BRAX then introduced Vidya into its womenswear blouses product segment. “Vidya has the quality to give us the competitive advantages we want. We were very impressed by the imaging of our designs on our own house model.” Detlef Oesterreich,Head of IT, BRAX

Testing the performance BRAX has had concrete 3D plans for two years now. The first step was an intensive test of Vidya’s performance. Together with Human Solutions Group experts, BRAX specialists selected blouse models from

The objectives with 3D simulation For BRAX, the time factor was always an important key to success. The company is known for its reliable

Panorama

deliveries, so the most important aspect for the family-owned company was gaining time. Thanks to the simulation in Vidya, the hit rate in the designs was considerably increased and fewer physical prototypes were needed, avoiding unnecessary delays. “We’ve always managed to adhere to our deadlines … but 3D gives us even greater time savings and that helps us respond fast to market trends – and as a vertical company, that’s really important for us.” Detlef Oesterreich, Head of IT, BRAX

BRAX also attaches great importance to using correct body dimensions that match its own sizetables. The company doesn’t want to lower its sights … and it doesn’t have to, because the scanatars in Vidya simulate persons, patterns and fabric properties with great precision. The house model goes virtual In its blouse segment, BRAX works with a regular house model and the digital world won’t change that. The human model’s dimensions are first acquired by bodyscanner – then a scanatar is created with her exact dimensions and shape. Skin characteristics and softer body areas react just like in the real world and that’s vital for the fabric drape later … and ultimately for the realistic size & fit of the digital garment.

3D in collection development BRAX has only just crossed the 3D starting line: after the successful start with its blouses, the company is now trying its hand with other constructions like shirts and coats. Tricky issues like imaging colors on different output devices are also being solved – and BRAX wants to integrate 3D into its own processes at the same time. All that means a lot of work – but what’s been done already is more than promising. “3D isn’t just Plug and Play like a software that everyone’s been using for years. Whoever expects anything like that can’t achieve success in the market. The willingness to innovate, to create new processes and to co-design must be there … and that describes BRAX to a T! Detlef Oesterreich, Head of IT, BRAX

BRAX uses 3D to save time and costs in collection development.

Best Pract ice Fashion

CASE STUDY

Which technologies best support our full-service concept in workwear? CWS-boco Supply Chain Management GmbH (CWS-boco SCM) manages its product management, development and contract optimization workflows with integrated technologies by the Human Solutions Group.

Service is the central theme at CWS-boco SCM, CWS-boco’s purchasing company. CWS-boco offers customers in the industry, craft and the services sector comprehensive solutions in workwear, from the individual adaptation of the collections to the leasing of the apparel. For the CWS-boco SCM team, this could mean (i) a portfolio with over 3,000 active articles, (ii) often up to 2,500 individual items at special sizes that have to be specially modified, (iii) intensive cooperation with customers in the development of the apparel and (iv) manufacturing in seven plants in four countries. Communication is a focal point, as is the overview of the company’s own portfolio as well as patterns and orders. To achieve its objectives, CWS-boco SCM uses Automarker, Autocost, Cad.Assyst and PLM GoLive by Assyst.

“We profit from the seamless integration of the Human Solutions Group products. This makes our everyday work a great deal easier and forms the basis of our efficient workflows.” Angel-Luis Merino, Production Manager, CWS-boco Supply Chain Management GmbH

Data management in PLM and CAD CWS-boco SCM develops a customized apparel offering for its customers. When a request is received, a presentation is created that exactly reflects the requirements of that company. Here CWS-boco uses its existing, comprehensive product range, adapts models or develops completely new pieces with Cad.Assyst where required.

Panorama

CWS-boco Supply Chain Management GmbH

Management of the basic patterns in CAD is particularly important, because there are countless variations. On request, the company also produces many special sizes and some of these are in batch size 1, where the pieces are individually re-altered. A successful presentation is followed by prototypes, time-consuming try-on & wear tests on the customer’s site and finally CWS-boco carries out more alterations if required. Better communication in development In such a complex development process, product data management in PLM GoLive is worth its weight in gold. It helps to keep track of progress, centralizes the information from different areas and contacts and enables access to the Cad.Assyst data. With PLM GoLive, CWS-boco SCM can also control processes from the first presentation to delivery. “We work closely with our customers on new collections or on the adaptation of existing products. PLM GoLive helps us to do this because we have all the information on the status quo and the upcoming tasks immediately at hand.”

wear rather than buying it, so both sides benefit from the durability of the apparel. Besides intuitive compliance with ISO standards and safety requirements, this is yet another reason for CWS-boco SCM to opt for absolute quality in materials and workmanship. All the markers are laid in Automarker and Autocost is used to optimize the material consumption for the entire order. The company currently achieves 85–88 percent in material usage without compromising on quality – a statistic that’s among the best in the industry. However, using the Cloud in pre-production has yet another advantage: The production partners and foreign sites receive all the order data via Automarker, so it comes directly from the Internet. This reduces communication costs even more. “Since we work together at different locations, the Cloud solutions of the Human Solutions Group are very interesting for us.” Angel-Luis Merino, Production Manager, CWS-boco Supply Chain Management GmbH

Angel-Luis Merino, Production Manager, CWS-boco Supply Chain Management GmbH

Production preparation in the Cloud When the collection has been matched, material consumption is optimized. The company uses Automarker and Autocost for this and many customers take advantage of the CWS-boco SCM service, leasing their work-

CWS-boco makes its intensively-complex development process much more efficient with the integrated technologies of the Human Solutions Group.

Best Pract ice Fashion

CASE STUDY

How can we open up new target groups

and markets … fast?

EARTHBACK uses iSize to ensure the profitability and the size & fit of its sustainable apparel products. Appealing fashion sustainably produced by young designers – that’s the EARTHBACK business model. After the creative phase, the young Berlin company gets the design licensed, develops a serial production-ready item and markets it. That’s a sophisticated business model, because market segment and target group are redefined for each project – so it makes sense to back up the necessary economic and apparel-technical decisions with iSize.

been successfully delivered. When the product range anchor has been established, EARTHBACK switches to apparel projects and actively expands the business.

“We don’t make classic collection development for regular customers, we start with new products in new market segments – and with iSize we always get optimal sizing & fitting.” Michael Krieger, Managing Director, EARTHBACK

First project: the EARTHBACK Bag EARTHBACK started with the multifunction Earthbag that can be worn as a bag, shoulder bag, beach bag or backpack. It was financed by Style Funding – the EARTHBACK version of Crowd Funding. Those interested can donate small amounts (for a EARTHBACK present), pre-order the bag or even co-produce their own bag in Berlin. Advertising for EARTHBACK takes place in the press, in social networks and on the road … and the concept works. The first Earthbag generation has now

iSize for market and target group analysis Now the company wants to increase the number of EARTHBACK projects and has three to four products running in parallel. The team led by Michael Krieger and Bastian Baumann knows that their reputation is growing with each project, strengthening the image of EARTHBACK. To establish a quality corporate brand, bond with customers and limit returns to a minimum,

Panorama

quality is important … but a perfect size & fit is vital. That’s why EARTHBACK uses all the iSize features: the target group analysis with socio-demographic data, the calculation of the potential market shares for each size, the appropriate body dimension data and the corresponding finished dimensions for different apparel sizes. The high quality of the data creates transparency in product development and reduces market risk … so every EARTHBACK product is sustainable, both ecologically and economically. “Young designers in particular often lack production know-how. We have it, but with technologies like iSize we achieve our high-quality standards much more easily.“ Bastian Baumann, Managing Director, EARTHBACK

Products ranging from Dirndls to Streetwear The current EARTHBACK project is a Dirndl from recycled jeans. Together with the young designers from Magdeburg and Halle, the EARTHBACK team developed a serial production-ready garment from the innovative design. The target group was 18 to 35 year-old women. The EARTHBACK apparel technicians incorporate the iSize body measurements into pattern development

and the individual size models are defined. Right now, the Style Funding phase is running and the fall should see final delivery, just in time for the start of the Oktoberfest in Munich. The next project is already ongoing. It will be a Streetwear label for young BMX riders/skaters – a very different target group. Of course these models also have to fit as many customers as possible, so iSize is used once again. “With iSize we have a big experience edge in body and finished sizes for apparel technology – so we can quickly push individual patterns to the necessary level for industrial production”, explains Diana Bauer, a budding EARTHBACK apparel technology engineer who is working with iSize and studying for her Bachelor’s thesis at the same time.

With iSize, EARTHBACK Best Pract ensures the economic ice success of its products: for F a shion example, market potential, target group sizes and socio-demographic information.

CASE STUDY

How can we safeguard

our ongoing operations during a global CAD upgrade?

Behind the success of the BOSS, BOSS Orange, BOSS Green and HUGO brands is a closely networked team with locations in different countries. The system change from Unix to Windows CAD is a major challenge. The CAD system is ubiquitous, particularly in the intensive daily business operations of the leading apparel manufacturer. Cad.Assyst is perfectly integrated into the IT landscape. More than 200 users work with the system, developing four collections per year. Add to that numerous global production sites that receive data from HUGO BOSS several times a day. Simply switching off, installing the new software, intensively testing it then going live is definitely not an option. Together with Assyst, HUGO BOSS is developing a sophisticated project plan and is implementing it with flying colors.

HUGO BOSS: “It was clear to us that Unix is a model that’s on the way out. The hardware is too expensive in the long run and support for new technologies hardly exists. Plus of course the new Windows-based functions of Cad.Assyst really appealed to us.”

Elaborate procedure for smooth operation The project has been running for over two years. Most of that time has gone into planning and tests. And it‘s not just about software either – the main focus is on sustained support of the processes and the migration of gigantic amounts of data. HUGO BOSS and Assyst created a joint project team with nearly 20 regular members. The team planned the project meticulously, coordinating every single step with the various relevant departments and specialists. The migration project began with a comprehensive inventory at each location. The result was a precise roadmap of all system network interconnections, procedures and processes in every area at each site. This helped to identify key features that must be present and “show stoppers” that could hinder or even prevent the migration to the new system. Relevance from an IT perspective wasn‘t the only prerogative, however – the day-to-day business also had to be given the best pos-

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sible support. Printing of the pattern pieces overview, for example, or the interaction of CAD with barcode scanners, situation planning and management reports were all given a higher priority than is usually the case in IT projects. Much thought was also given to various data migration scenarios – a new, empty database was initially favored, one which could be gradually filled by the users themselves. However, this would have meant a lot of effort for the users. Positive side effect: better data quality This is why the team focused on data quality in the second major step of the project. The existing database was cleaned up – only active data was transferred to the new system. One tool used here was the Consistency Checker, an Assyst program that eliminates erroneous data and dead files. This freed up extensive storage capacities. Running parallel to this, all users were trained on Cad.Assyst, enabling the transition to the new system to go as simply and smoothly as possible. HUGO BOSS: “A CAD system change for an apparel company is like open-heart surgery. So the entire project team went to a lot of trouble to ensure that nothing could go wrong.”

Day-to-day business was always given top priority Shirts, womenswear and menswear were then actually migrated to user groups on a monthly basis. Each conversion took place within a small time slot – on a Friday at 12:00. And the conversion was finished on the following Monday at 09:00. Employees who worked in several product groups then worked in parallel for a time and the migration went as planned. All the elaborate preparations of the team paid off. However, the most important aspect was that Cad.Assyst was really appreciated by HUGO BOSS users. So the change from Unix to Windows was not only rewarding from an IT point of view … HUGO BOSS: “Assyst has a high level of specialist technical know-how and also in project monitoring too – but the company’s CAD experts really displayed an understanding for the way we work and that was outstanding. I believe that’s one of the main reasons why the project went so smoothly.”

With the support of Assyst, HUGO BOSS converted its product development from Unix to Windows CAD – and day-to-day business was not affected.

Best Pract ice Fashion

CASE STUDY

Development and Production

How can

work effectively together?

The international premium brand Laurèl works with PLM GoLive, thus creating a seamless, digital process step-by-step.

The Laurèl collection consists of two collections, Fall/ Winter and Spring/Summer. Around 500 pieces are created per season. Laurèl stands for sheer femininity, promising a class that fascinates with its lightness and high quality. Behind this successful brand world are sophisticated processes – and effective management systems like PLM GoLive are needed to keep these running smoothly and make data and workflows seamlessly available, from initial design to production. “The processes of our collection development are just as sophisticated as our products – and a PLM system must support us perfectly in this respect.” Roland Werfs, Head of IT, Laurèl

Product data management for the entire range The current 2015 Spring/Summer collection is a premiere for PLM GoLive. The Human Solutions Group system has replaced the outdated PLM system. This is a definite planning advantage, since processes and workflows are well documented by the inventory system. PLM GoLive also includes a reference process based on best practices in the industry, so at least half of the processes can be used. This shortens the design phase. In design, each product is stored in PLM GoLive with initial basic information, such as fabric and basic pattern … from the first sketch and ranging from apparel to accessories. The level of

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detail is intensified during the process, piece by piece. During further development, the pattern, measurement chart and model description are processed and uniformly documented in the PLM system – and the same applies to the prototype phase, reproduction, set of sizes and production. Each department works with the same master data, instantly accessing current information and working effectively thanks to automated workflows, which can be adapted to match each product. “We’re going confidently into our first season with PLM GoLive … and we’re looking forward to the first practical experiences, which we can use to fine-tune our workflows.”

The close linking of the two systems is made possible by PLM GoLive’s open interface. The responsibilities are clearly distributed here: PLM GoLive, for example, documents all product master data that can be seen in the ERP system, but not changed – so the product data is available at an early stage for calculation in production. Conversely, ERP data like vendor master data is also visible in the PLM system. A seamless IT landscape is the target Laurèl also works with Automarker and Cad.Assyst. The CAD upgrade on Windows is planned for mid-2014, when CAD data and markers will also be directly integrated into PLM GoLive. Technicians abroad and manufacturing facilities in Turkey and Asia should also be able to access PLM GoLive in future, bringing Laurèl’s vision of a seamless digital process ever closer. “The optimal data availability and workflow support is a great help for our employees. That’s why we want to gradually expand our system link with Assyst.”

Klaudia Wirtz, CAD & PDM System Management, Laurèl

Development and production work closely together What makes the Laurèl process special is the earlystage and intensive exchange of data with ERP, resulting in close collaboration between product developement and production. As soon as certain key data like the model number are stored in the PLM system, the product can be manually released for comparison with the ERP system.

Roland Werfs, Head of IT, Laurèl

With PLM GoLive and the direct linkup with ERP, Laurèl creates a seamless process, from design to production.

Best Pract ice Fashion

CASE STUDY

size & fit in home shopping? How do we improve

Using the very latest 3D body measurements and the matching fashion manikins, the premium online store navabi creates competitive advantages in the market for large sizes. navabi dresses well-built ladies. The Aachen online retailer offers an extensive portfolio of premium designer fashion in sizes 42 to 58 … but that’s not enough for navabi. The company encourages its customers to be bolder in their approach to fashion – and supports them with comprehensive advice on style, color and sizing & fitting. Not an easy task, when you work with over 120 designer brands from all over Europe. That’s why navabi and Human Solutions are launching an exciting sizing & fitting project. “Thanks to the iSize data, we’ve learned a lot about our existing sizing system … but best of all, we’ve found new ways to make our navabi sizing and fitting advice a unique selling factor in the market.” Matthieu Paulsen, Senior Operations Manager, navabi

Knowledge is size & fit It all starts with the analysis of the existing navabi sizetables in iSize, based on SizeGERMANY data for women with sizes 42–58. The result: The existing table has dimensions that are too large – and that costs market shares. There are interesting changes in the grading steps too: navabi learns from this and optimizes its sizetable to match its target market. And it’s not only the analysis that’s exciting … because the company soon recognizes the great potential in the new navabi sphere of knowledge. Human Solutions experts and navabi are working closely together to integrate the results into the business process – and so this first step of the project is the foundation for a new form of sizing & fitting

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advice in online retailing. New: the navabi sizes The iSize project complements the existing sizing & fitting advice on the Internet. Thanks to the iSize analysis, navabi has gained a reliable data base for the determination of sizes. The project team coordinates these results with the previously-used sizes key and a comprehensive customer survey – then develops a new navabi table with Human Solutions, which is actively used: Acting as a reliable standard guideline, the relevant navabi sizes are on the Internet today right next to the name of the manufacturer. The navabi customer can now decide for herself if a model is smaller or larger – and she’ll receive more help online and while ordering by phone. “The navabi sizes based on iSize make shopping easy for our female customers. We’re actually building a bridge between the sizes of the different brands.” Matthieu Paulsen, Senior Operations Manager, navabi

Size & fit check with SizeGERMANY fashion manikins Thanks to the reference sizes, the differences compared to the sizetables of each manufacturer are now obvious. However, the key point here is that it doesn’t stop at mere numbers: SizeGERMANY fashion manikins in the corresponding sizes 42, 44 and 52 facilitate the use of the new sizetables. In quality assurance, the delivered products are fitted on the fashion mani-

kins and photographed. The difference between the various brands is now physically apparent. Information and pictures go directly to the employees in the online editing and support teams, who can now provide optimal advice about how a model sits and its appropriate size. A model for the future The iSize data has helped navabi significantly … but its potential is far from exhausted. The data can also be used for communication with manufacturers or for developing new markets, for instance – but navabi is first thinking about other ways to provide sizing & fitting advice … and is well-equipped for that challenge. “Human Solutions breathes life into sizing & fitting: The combination of data in iSize and tools like 3D avatars and physical fashion manikins is unique … and that convinced us immediately.” Bahman Nedaei, Chief Executive Officer, navabi

With iSize data and Best Pract SizeGERMANY fashion ice manikins, navabi creates F a shion added value for its female customers – a standard reference size and accurate sizing & fitting information about manufacturers’ models.

CASE STUDY

How can we secure our

size & fit philosophy in international product development? Peter Hahn uses data from iSize and SizeGERMANY fashion manikins, creating a uniform understanding of sizing & fitting in Germany and Asia. You can expect quality when you buy from Peter Hahn – and that’s exactly what you get. Around 8,500 items were in the 2013 Fall/Winter range – the focus is usually on womenswear, but the company also has menswear, underwear, shoes, accessoires and home textiles. Regular customer surveys confirm the high level of workmanship, material and size & fit. So it’s no wonder that the mail order company from Winterbach near Stuttgart is one of the most successful multi-channel businesses in Germany – and Peter Hahn wants to hold that premium position. That’s why the company sets new standards when it comes to sizing & fitting – and it realizes these standards consistently thanks to SizeGERMANY fashion manikins and iSize, the body dimensions portal. Successful own brand strategy Peter Hahn was one of the first SizeGERMANY partners, so the company knows a lot about its own market shares and the changing dimensions of its target groups. This knowledge has been fully exploited,

especially in the development of in-house brands. The target group in the womenswear sector is women from 45 to 75 years. The special feature here is that the company’s own labels follow a coordinated approach and support the Peter Hahn customer with the appropriate style through every age group. The sizing & fitting philosophy is also similar for each brand, but it follows body dimensions that change with advancing age. This is why Peter Hahn not only provides its international partners with model concepts in the collection development of its various own brands, but also with understandable sizing & fitting specifications based on the corresponding sizetables and the company’s sizing & fitting philosophy. “Our own-brand strategy is based on a clear sizing & fitting concept and SizeGERMANY & iSize contribute a tremendous amount of added value to this.” Jörg H. Mahncke, Head of Quality Management and Sustainability, Peter Hahn

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Easier coordination in collection development Peter Hahn also uses SizeGERMANY fashion manikins to monitor the required size & fit. The mail order company has an almost complete set of fashion manikins in Winterbach, Hong Kong and Bangkok, with sizes 36, 38, 42, 46, 50 and 54 for womenswear and 50 and 54 for menswear – and the uniformity of the sizes in measurement charts and fashion manikins is particularly appreciated. A preliminary processing and sizing & fitting inspection for sample pieces and sets of sample sizes is carried out in the Hong Kong and Bangkok procurement offices in coordination with the Peter Hahn HQ in Winterbach. The fitting of the garments on the uniform SizeGERMANY fashion manikins serves as an objective basis for communication. In the quality development department in Winterbach, they take it one step further after the delivery of the sample pieces/sets of sample sizes: the sizing & fitting and the finish of the supplied products are even more intensively assessed through trying-on procedures with live models – and the quality is also thoroughly checked based on tests like wash samples. Only then does production release take place. “We can’t imagine working without the SizeGERMANY fashion manikins today. We can communicate much faster and more effectively because all our partners in Germany and in Asia have the same SizeGERMANY fashion manikins and are consequently accessing the same body shapes.” Ingrid Baden, Head of Quality Development, Peter Hahn

Current body measurement data as a strategic factor In addition to the fashion manikins, the company appreciates the analysis options in the iSize portal – for short or long sizes, for instance – but the development of body measurements in different age groups has also deepened the Peter Hahn team’s understanding of sizing & fitting. “With iSize we can analyze our market shares and adapt our sizing & fitting step-by-step to increase our market potential – and that’s a key factor in our strategic orientation.” Jörg H. Mahncke, Head of Quality Management and Sustainability, Peter Hahn

Today Peter Hahn delivers its garments to ten European countries – including Britain, France and Scandinavia. And thanks to iSize, new market potential could also be tapped here.

With the help of the Best Pract SizeGERMANY fashion ice manikins, Peter Hahn is F a shion implementing a uniform understanding of sizing & fitting into the development of collections in Germany and Asia.

CASE STUDY

How can we

develop and plan in-depth

cutting jobs?

The pattern agency Linienführung uses Cad.Assyst, Automarker and Autocost to implement its technical collection development all the way to the production order stage.

Anja Schauflinger is a pattern construction specialist in a class of her own – especially when it comes to the grading, sizing & fitting of pants. A qualified fashion designer, she focused on technology early on in her career. Today her Linienführung agency manages the development of models and even entire product lines for some well-known fashion brands. She is occasionally the main point of contact for the entire product segment, accompanying each product from the first cut through grading, duplicates, shrinkages and production. Assyst supports her with integrated tools for construction, laying and order optimization.

uses Cad.Assyst to adapt the pattern to each different fabric being used. The same is done after washing. If the fabric shrinks by 16 %, for example, the actual cut of the pants must be made four sizes larger. If the shrinkage is 2 % in length and 5 % in width, the cut must be individually adjusted in length and width. With Cad.Assyst, Ms. Schauflinger is in control, because specific material parameters can be easily adjusted. The pattern is checked again and again, because the fabric can still change so much that adjustments are necessary, even during sewing. With so many variants, pattern management with Cad.Assyst is very valuable.

One model, many patterns Pattern creation is multifaceted, because the dimensions are not only dependent on the target group, the fabric also influences the later pattern: the more elastic the material, the tighter it can sit – so Ms. Schauflinger

“I’ve been working with Cad.Assyst for a long time now – and I know the software like the back of my hand. I would never change it.” Anja Schauflinger, owner, Linienführung

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Markers and order optimization in the Cloud The complexity of the patterns is also demonstrated in the laying of markers. All the pieces must be placed correctly in accordance with the stitch direction. This also applies for the waistband, because it always runs differently due to the various fabric layers. Anja Schauflinger works with Automarker. She is impressed by the seamless continuity of Cad.Assyst and the quality of the automatic laying. All areas of a pattern can be precisely defined – and using the Assyst software provides yet another advantage for the Linienführung agency … the Cloud. The Internet services are billed on demand. This made the startup much easier for Ms. Schauflinger many years ago. Today she has approximately 140,000 pieces laid per year. “Automarker and Autocost have one big advantage for me: Unlike a stationary software, all the updates are immediately available online.” Anja Schauflinger, owner, Linienführung

However, simple markers aren’t enough. The shrinkage values apply to each roll of fabric, so the patterns have to be adjusted again: 1,500 pieces distributed over three rolls of fabric mean three more pattern variants.

The pattern agency Linienführung uses Automarker, Autocost and Cad.Assyst for seamless services and gains more flexibility by using the Cloud.

Best Pract ice Fashion

This again highlights the importance of the interplay of Cad.Assyst with Automarker and with Autocost. Ms. Schauflinger also uses the Internet to calculate how an order should be optimally processed. She can use Autocost to take into account the different bolts of fabric, fabric width, ply height (cutter-dependent) and the number of sizes per marker – and of course the recurring pattern adjustments. It’s good that Automarker markers can be automatically re-laid, without incurring additional costs. “With Automarker and Autocost, my production orders can be optimally planned and created in different languages. This is very helpful in the hectic everyday life of collections.” Anja Schauflinger, owner, Linienführung

How can we work

as efficiently as possible even with unusual fabrics?

The tradition-rich company Steiff manages its comprehensive, current basic pattern archive with Cad.Assyst, using complex material mixes in its product development without any problems.

Everyone knows Steiff – but few know how a highquality, soft toy collection is created. The teddies and animals from Giengen in Swabia are always in demand, but demand booms before Christmas and for the most important German toy fair in February. Then the two Steiff collections go on sale, each with 100–120 new items. The range extends from classic teddy bears for children to the intricately-designed and highly-priced collector’s items for adults. Deadline pressure is high, efficiency is vital. Manual work is only done in Design, all other product development and production preparation is done with Cad.Assyst. Special design requirements and complex materials The Steiff designers sketch out their models and produce their prototypes by hand. If the draft is generally accepted, it goes into construction. The complexity of the models varies from bears with only a few pattern

pieces to animals with 30–40 individual pieces. There can be a lot more pattern pieces in the collector segment toys, since the models are more complex. Several different materials are often used and a separate marker must be created for each of these. Slight model adaptations, however, are immediately done in CAD. One important part of serial production is meeting safety requirements. When processing begins, staff ensure that the seams are set long enough and effectively, or that reinforcing tapes are inserted, preventing individual parts from being torn off. The necessary pattern adjustments are implemented immediately in CAD. The material and its particular characteristics must also be taken into consideration. Among other materials, Steiff uses flat-woven fabrics, knitted materials and felts – but the main material is mainly plush fabrics with piles upwards of two centimeters in height.

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“Thanks to the seamless continuity of the construction process in Cad.Assyst, marker laying with Lay.Assyst/ Automarker and cutting in the laser cutter, we save a lot of time in development and in production.” Ralf Cierpka, Development Management, Steiff

The stretchability of plushes and fabrics made of natural and synthetic fibers can also vary considerably. This is a relevant factor in Cad.Assyst, for example, when it comes to eye positioning: In stretch apparel, smaller holes are needed than in a non-stretchable cotton fabric. Here Steiff has defined standards in CAD and these are used depending on the material properties. “Steiff has defined particularly high quality demands in terms of material and product properties and Cad.Assyst helps us to meet these quality standards.” Ralf Cierpka, Development Management, Steiff

Models between trend and tradition In Steiff childrenswear, which is produced under license, the company attaches importance to their apparel having elements that can be found on the soft toys, such as logos, applications and materials. Even soft toys and teddy bears are subject to fashion trends. Basic pattern management for the Steiff products is carried out using Cad.Assyst. This saves time and ensures a uniform design language, e.g. in complying with features such as the hump on the upper back, one of the recognizable features in classic Steiff teddy bears.

“With Cad.Assyst, we tie our comprehensive basic pattern library and predefined standards directly into construction and this enables us to easily build on existing models.” Ralf Cierpka, Development Management, Steiff

Digital process from construction to cutting Pre-production preparation begins with marker laying in Lay.Assyst and Automarker and this is more complex than it first appears. The pile of the fabric is particularly important here. All pattern pieces must be placed in the correct pile direction to make the “coat” appear real. Even critical pattern repeat requirements exist, e.g. in tiger stripes – they have to intermesh with one another on the upper back. The final marker goes straight into the laser cutter and is cut automatically. Further manufacturing steps such as sewing, stuffing/ filling, decoration and painting are done by hand, to ensure adherence to the high Steiff level of quality during processing.

Thanks to Cad.Assyst, Steiff ensures continuity and quality in the development of successive generations of its soft toys.

Best Pract ice Fashion

CASE STUDY

How can we

deliver fast and stock up optimally?

Corsetry manufacturer Susa uses ERP BOS to manage all its processes … from purchasing and ordering to delivery … and links up with its field sales force at the same time through mobile communication. Susa is one of the oldest manufacturers for corsetry and swimwear in Europe. For more than 150 years, quality has been an integral part of this German brand name from Heubach near Stuttgart. Today Susa specializes in wire-free bras, Dirndl bras and swimwear. The Dita von Teese licensed brand is also marketed. To survive as a family business in this competitive international sector, Susa has a highly-developed workflow organization – and the company uses ERP BOS by the Human Solutions Group to manage it. “Our business success is based above all on quality – the quality of our products and services for our customers – and ERP plays an important role in this respect.” Andreas Höschele, Managing Director, Susa

Transparency in NOS production at various sites Susa manufactures around 1.1 million pieces per year. Initial patterns, sales rep samples and initial outfits for shippers come straight from the company HQ in Heubach. The main part of the collections is finished abroad … in the Ukraine for instance. Susa’s ERP system must be able to map and manage the company’s structure and processes, in addition to a large range of diverse products from 70A to 120G. Most of the products are NOS articles, which are constantly being produced by partners on various sites and that has to be perfectly coordinated. Management estimates product, size and color trends on the basis of the previous year’s sales figures and determines theproduction quantities from those estimates.

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“We have many sizes in stock … and that means we can deliver fast. Efficient stocking up processes are vital for our profitability as a company.” Andreas Höschele, Managing Director, Susa

Route optimization saves warehouse time The Susa warehouse is highly modern and comprises several floors. With a large building like this, storage route optimization with ERP BOS generates considerable time and cost savings. The system combines different orders and puts together a logical route for the Susa warehouse employees. That can save several hours a day against having to process each individual order. “We have an incredible standard of quality in our workflow organization … and we’re not afraid of being compared to large concerns in that respect. Our quality really boosts our ability to compete.”

tion of partial processes provided by ERP BOS. Routing slips and labels, for example, are issued in the correct language. The language repertoire of the Susa ERP boasts up to 12 languages – including Hebrew and Japanese. The data flow for the order itself is also very well organized. Major customers order directly via EDI links, while other traders have benefited from Susa’s tightly-networked field sales force for more than a year now. Thanks to SAM, the ERP BOS mobile order entry system, sales forces become considerably more efficient: In addition to all the up-to-date information, staff on the road now also have pictures of all the products – and they can see the stock availability figures and possible delivery dates on a daily basis. This speeds up sales closing-out significantly and saves Susa time, because costly communication and documentation is no longer necessary – and because business never stands still, Susa intends to expand its ERP system to benefit even more from the growing online business.

Andreas Höschele, Managing Director, Susa

Efficiency in order processing This degree of efficiency and transparency is also carried over into Susa’s organization of its ordering processes. Susa supplies the Benelux countries, Spain, Greece and Japan, as well as the German-speaking markets. And the company fully exploits the automa-

Thanks to ERP BOS, Susa has a high degree of transparency and efficiency in order processing and warehousing.

Best Pract ice Fashion

CASE STUDY

How do we create a

uniform size & fit for all models – without any extra effort? Takko Fashion is a true success story. The company has developed from a discounter into a value fashion vendor – and intends to continue growing. One important aspect to convince even more customers is correct size & fit.

Today Takko especially appeals to young and fashionconscious families in the value segment of the market. The company sells its clothing in 1,750 stores in Europe. This is a much bigger challenge for product development, because new Takko customers expect good products at good prices. And one vital issue is the size & fit of the garments. That‘s why Takko wants to improve the size & fit of its apparel and unify all models in one standard size – but the company also wants to save development time and costs as well. Human Solutions has the optimal solution …

dimensions and shapes of the population. And the company has been using the SizeGERMANY fashion manikins for some time now to develop and produce its apparel with the correct measurements of its customers. Performing sizing & fitting checks with existing tailor‘s busts was hardly possible because of the idealized body shape – so at the early development stage the Takko team had to try prototypes on human models. Things look a lot different with SizeGERMANY fashion manikins!

Fashion manikins with real body shapes The prerequisite for any size & fit optimization is realistic body measurements. As a SizeGERMANY partner from the outset, Takko knows all about the changing body

Size & fit evaluation on the fashion manikin Takko started on two sites with womenswear manikins in size 38 and menswear manikins in size 50. In the

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cutting department, the fashion manikins were first used for trying on the first prototypes in the creation of a new basic pattern. During the process, SizeGERMANY fashion manikins were then tested in fitting sessions with all the suppliers’ pattern samples – in Takko’s Quality Assurance (QA) division in Friedrichsdorf/Taunus and in the Product Management (PMT) division in Telgte – and continuously optimized. The results convinced all the staff – the fashion manikins provided sufficient evidence of existing difficulties related to the balance of the pattern. More and more fittings of prototypes were carried out on the SizeGERMANY fashion manikins. Thanks to the correct dimensions and body shapes of the fashion manikins – and their optimal functionality – most sizing & fitting problems could be identified on the manikins and correctly evaluated. Even fitting sessions with very tight pants proved to be no problem for the SizeGERMANY manikins. The soft abdominal section makes it easy to see whether or not the waistband is too tight. The detachable arms and shoulder pieces also enable closed tops to be tried on with no problems. Advantages of size & fit quality and efficiency And the SizeGERMANY fashion manikins have meanwhile become reference figures for Takko in womens-

wear and menswear product development. Freedom of movement and wearer comfort are only tested on a real model when a prototype has been tested thoroughly on a fashion manikin first. That saves time and costs. Wearer comfort for the human models has also improved thanks to the use of the manikins’ real body shapes. And something else has changed too – since Quality Assurance and Product Management are located on different sites, coordination in the development process is made easier by the uniformly correct size & fit of the fashion manikins. Now Takko is thinking about purchasing more fashion manikins with other standard sizes and target groupspecific body sizes and shapes. And the first suppliers are also becoming more aware of the situation – they are now considering testing their patterns on the SizeGERMANY fashion manikins – providing their customers with better sizing & fitting right from the start.

Thanks to SizeGERMANY fashion manikins, Takko can efficiently integrate the new body dimensions and shapes into its own processes.

Best Pract ice Fashion

CASE STUDY

How do we achieve

more efficiency

in procurement?

With a continuous chain of information, automated workflows and lots of practical experience, Walbusch is restructuring its entire supply chain management system – and the technical foundation for this is PLM GoLive.

Walbusch is a force to be reckoned with in the market for best agers. Nearly six million pieces of merchandise and 25,000 orders go out to 200 suppliers worldwide every year. Quality is of course important, but efficiency and flexibility are also key. The company’s in-house proprietary ERP system was being pushed to its limits with increased product development and procurement requirements. Walbusch looked for a solution – and found it in Assyst.

ers and agencies. It also features the classic functions of PLM in the product area.

Central procurement platform Today, up to 80 employees access a common platform for product, order and delivery information and work with native workflows. The new Walbusch SCM system networks the entire Purchasing Dept., covering quality assurance, materials planning, contract awarding, supplier management, import, export, and (soon) suppli-

A good technical basis for PLM/SCM Supply chain management has great strategic importance for Walbusch and PLM GoLive offers an optimal starting point for this. Production releases and other reference processes of the system are already very sophisticated and can be easily adapted to the specific needs of the multichannel company.

“Our supply chain management system by Assyst is the backbone of our optimized procurement processes. All Walbusch purchasing areas now work on a central information platform. This is a big step towards more efficiency.” Hartwig Bohnenkamp, Head of Quality Planning, Walbusch

Panorama

Walbusch used the system introduction for the comprehensive optimization and standardization of its procedures. The Walbusch/Assyst team tackled the design and adaptation of the software together. Then the test phase with real data began in selected departments – the new platform had direct access to the master data and inventory data of the Walbusch ERP system and information from Excel and Word documents was entered only once. Practice-oriented task management Continuous support throughout the season is particularly important for Walbusch. Over 300 different tasks were grouped according to types of procurement like the EU and Far East, or by product group. Each user has an individual dashboard, in which all relevant tasks are clearly displayed. So everyone knows right from the start what they have to do and which tasks are still open or already done. The dashboard becomes a management tool, indicating the need for quick action, load spikes and delays in the process chain. All workflows can be changed within the company as needed. During the test phase, the Walbusch project team could thus streamline its workflow design with no problems and focus even more on the practical side of things. After passing the test, the platform was introduced bit by bit throughout the enterprise.

With a comprehensive SCM system based on PLM GoLive, Walbusch reduces its procurement processes and makes targeted information available.

Best Pract ice Fashion

“PLM GoLive really matches our need for flexibility … we can simply adapt the workflows in our SCM system to our actual daily needs.” Hartwig Bohnenkamp, Head of Quality Planning, Walbusch

Worldwide networking as a target SCM/PLM by Assyst works well for Walbusch and contributed significantly to procurement productivity just shortly after being introduced. And this will continue, because Walbusch plans to expand the system along its global value chain. Two partners in Germany and the Far East are already linked via SCM Webclient, with more to follow in 2014. “Our processes and the availability of information have significantly improved thanks to our new procurement management with Assyst.” Hartwig Bohnenkamp, Head of Quality Planning, Walbusch

CASE STUDY

How does

perfect size & fit

look on products worn close to the body?

The Italian lingerie brand Yamamay takes close customer bonding seriously … and this includes the integration of the precise sizing & fitting data of the company’s markets into its own product development. In Italy, the name Yamamay is synonymous with high-quality lingerie, sleepwear, swimwear, knitwear and beauty products. At the heart of the brand is close contact with the Yamamay female customer, poetically expressed in the company’s motto, “To enter the heart of every Yamamay woman.” In its merchandise presentation, Yamamay offers an emotional and engaging atmosphere, with over 1,000 shops – in Italy, Greece and Spain – and for development this means that the Milan brand products shouldn’t simply “get under the skin” optically, they should also sit perfectly on the body – and that can only happen if the sizing & fitting is perfect. Yamamay puts a lot of effort into this. Through close contact with its own target group, for example, the Milan company recognized a while ago that the available body dimensions didn’t match those of today’s Yamamay woman – so Yamamay became one of the first SizeITALY partners and even commissioned an additional study specifically for shapewear as part of

the serial measurement survey. Access to international size & fit data is also important, because Yamamay is planning to expand its business, especially in Asia. “Partnership with SizeITALY was a strategically important decision for us. We work continuously on the size & fit of our products, and the results of the serial measurement surveys give us valuable information about the body dimensions and shapes of our customers – at home and abroad.” Barbara Cimmino, Marketing Management Products, Inticom S.p.A. Yamamay

New knowledge for development In terms of underwear and lingerie there is no margin for error. The cut and the underlying sizetable affect the selection of fabrics and materials, like stretchability, for instance – so any changes made to the tables have

Panorama

far-reaching consequences. The Yamamay designers and pattern makers really have to know the physiques of their customers … and to do this, they must have access to reliable data. SizeITALY completely fulfills Yamamay’s requirements for precision and professionalism. “The cooperation with the international Human Solutions team was very good and the project and the advice during the results analysis have given us an important impetus for future product development.” Barbara Cimmino, Marketing Management Products, Inticom S.p.A. Yamamay

The SizeITALY results and other analyses confirm Yamamay’s own studies and tests. With the newlygained information, the company can now check its target group segments, adjust its sizetables and reorganize sizes and product offerings where required. Shapewear … skin-close In addition to its involvement with SizeITALY, Yamamay is also conducting its own study together with Human Solutions. The study is intended to determine the objective effects of shapewear on body dimensions and shapes, resulting in valuable insights for product development. The target group and product are defined together with the Human Solutions team in Italy and Germany. As in the SizeITALY program, the subjects

are measured by 3D bodyscanner, with and without Yamamay shapewear. The effect of the shapewear, especially on the waist, abdomen, legs and buttocks can be clearly demonstrated statistically – and even quantified. Thanks to the 3D visualization of the exact body dimensions and shapes, the differences are visible at a glance. The Yamamay team is thrilled with the quality of the results and the sheer functionality of the Human Solutions technology. “We were amazed at the analysis and simulation options that are possible thanks to the use of real dimensions and professional 3D technology – and we’ll definitely continue to think in this direction.” Barbara Cimmino, Marketing Management Products, Inticom S.p.A. Yamamay.

With a sizing & fitting Best Pract study and the technical ice possibilities provided by F a shion iSize, Yamamay optimizes the size & fit of its products and prepares its international business expansion.

The evolution of

tradition

First came manual, then mechanical and now software. The apparel industry has always used reinvention to satisfy its markets. Today, all the large areas of innovation in the fashion industry are digital: Humans make decisions and implement their ideas with computers. To achieve this, IT must be able to digitally map the apparel products, raw materials, customers, existing corporate structures and communication channels – and it has to be just right for the fashion sector. To attain this goal, innovations are necessary in many companies and the Human Solutions Group has made some remarkable achievements in this respect – here are our fashion innovation milestones: Innovation: visualization and simulation The digital customer in development: The best model for your collection is in the PC. If you want correct size & fit for a comprehensive range of target groups, you can develop your models on scanatars averaged from the world’s largest body measurement database. A scanatar is born: For the first time, 3D bodyscanners enable the accurate imaging of a person’s dimensions in a computer and the use of the result when trying on the cut – completely automatically. Reality instead of an image: As the first company to do so, Human Solutions visualizes collections using the real pattern data. This makes 3D part of the process chain from design to sales. Digital corporate reality: No more compromises … the Human Solutions Group management systems can work accurately with existing organizational structures, flexibly mapping different brands, companies, sites and more.

Innovation: process continuity Network development, production preparation and production: all especially important! Vidya, iSize, Cad.Assyst, Automarker, PLM GoLive, Autocost and ERP BOS can exchange data seamlessly. Profitable teamwork between 3D and 2D: The sizetable in 2D is the scanatar in 3D. Cad.Assyst and Vidya are coming ever closer together, with the result that the 3D data can be used in the development process. Instant PLM with reference process: PLM GoLive is the first system consisting of modules that combine to form a proven fashion process. You only have to adapt what will give you a competitive edge (or what has become a popular habit).

Milestones

Innovation: data availability Orders instantly communicated: Automarker can create orders online marker-based in many languages and formats. Today thousands of orders are annually communicated to partners and two million markers are laid a year. All data on site in the Cloud: The new Fashion Cloud allows access to all the data that’s needed – there are no fixed costs and the Cloud saves operational effort. Cost savings compared to fixed installations can match the costs for a full-time employee. Exchanging pattern data: Hardly anyone can exchange CAD files and keep the parameters and settings correct… thanks to our many customers for their close cooperation in this project.

Innovation: automation Lay automatically, just like manual placement: A good marker layer must have judgment and intuition. Automarker has learned this in intensive discussions with users. There are very few challenges in the world of markers today that an automatic process can’t solve. Macros in pattern construction: Thanks to the Smart.Pattern module, Cad.Assyst is the first program that can carry out routine tasks in the adaptation of patterns – always at the same speed and always with the same precision. Workflows in development and production: Thanks to PLM GoLive and ERP BOS, processes along the entire process chain are standardized, making overviewing easy. Tasks, project status and master data are automatically displayed and completed.

Milestones

How about you? Which milestones are you already using? How is your business doing in the market? Which innovation would benefit you the most? What brings you the most value?

Develop faster Immediately pick up on trends Easier international coordination Communicate more effectively Use data all the way through your processes Avoid redundant data entry Optimize size & fit Know your target groups and markets better Use uniform standards and methods Flexibly adapt structures, processes and data

Imprint Acknowledgements: Many customers and partners helped us with interviews, information and pictures. Our thanks to each and everyone of them! Publisher: Assyst GmbH Max-Planck-Str. 3 D-85609 Aschheim-Dornach/Germany Phone +49-89-90 505 0 Fax +49-89-90 505 271 www.assyst.de Responsible for the editorial content: Alexandra Seidl, Human Solutions GmbH Compilation and layout: Marketing Essentials (Angelika Methner, Annegret Schall-Ceppa, Claudia Collin, Andrea Landgraf) www.marketing-essentials.de Translation: Kevron Translations (Ron Shankland, phone +49-6209-79 64 56) © The Assyst GmbH and Human Solutions GmbH have the 2014 copyright for all articles and illustrations, unless stated otherwise. Any form of reproduction, inclusion in online services and the Internet and copying to data carriers like CD ROMs, DVD ROMs etc., may only be carried out with express, prior permission in writing from Assyst GmbH or Human Solutions GmbH.