Fashion Manufacturing
The “Real Savings” GUIDE
Dear Fashion Professionals, It’s the material that matters. If you want to save on materials, you have to know all about them. You need exactly the right quantity of materials to adhere to the design specifications. But you also want to ensure that you are producing with the best possible profitability, that you are using exactly the right amount of material and that information becomes available to you fast. This is why we developed Automarker and Autocost. They are the leading software services for structured placement, optimization and preliminary costing, and they use automated procedures to lighten your workload, from optimal material utilization and actual production cost calculation to order communication in different languages and formats. This guide contains valuable suggestions and an overview of manufacturing in the Cloud – and it will show you just how well – and easily – you can optimize your orders.
Enjoy your reading! Dr. Andreas Seidl
Produce faster: Place complex pieces and communicate – automatically +++
Contents Page 5 Manufacturing as a software service Page 4 What Automarker & Autocost can do for you
Page 6 What manufacturing systems must achieve
Page 12 How the innovations on Automarker.com work
Page 18 Automarker & Autocost in your company
Page 16 Currently happening in the industry
Page 14 Process production orders with Automarker and Autocost
Produce with top quality: Always up-to-date markers and cost scenarios +++
Straight to the point What Automarker and Autocost can do for you
If Automarker and Autocost are used, it’s all about money. The target prices and quality requirements have been defined. In pre-production right now, it’s all about the concrete manufacturing costs. And it’s only in material savings that there will be a really noticeable impact on your profit margin.
Manufacturing on Automarker.com gives you significant competitive advantages. Automarker and Autocost provide a fully integrated process between manufacturers and suppliers, one that goes well beyond the simple placement of a marker. Thanks to the software services on Automarker.com, you can fully process your production orders and 1. save on materials, without compromising on quality, 2. calculate accurately before purchasing and 3. communicate your orders efficiently. The manufacturing solutions in the Human Solutions Group are highly-qualified services in the Cloud and as such are available 24/7 worldwide. So you can place as many markers as you want or calculate orders – just as you wish.
The economic benefits of Automarker and Autocost: ° Higher profit margins through saving on materials before you buy ° Material and order optimization of between 2 % and 5 % ° Reduction of reaction times and coverage of peak loads ° Gain in know-how through programmed expert knowledge ° Better cost awareness within the company ° Free choice of partner (regardless of the technical platform) ° No investments/software always up-to-date
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Basic knowledge Manufacturing as a software service Always available for all markers and for every order – working with Automarker and Autocost combines fully automated piece placement with optimal material consumption and the precise calculation of each batch. And best of all, you have no investments in hardware and software. To start up, you only have to register online, then any number of users can work simultaneously.
Intelligent placement Automarker creates your pattern pieces automatically for menswear, womenswear and childrenswear. Even complex patterns with dynamic laying requirements are implemented and always with the same optimal result. Automarker supports all CAD formats and is integrated into Cad.Assyst.
Marker conversion Automarker converts your data into common CAD formats, so it supports nearly all plotters and cutters that use HPGL, DXF and ISO files.
Order communication On Automarker.com you can easily share your orders with your partner – independent of the system and automatically in the required languages, such as English, Chinese, Turkish and Hungarian.
Order optimization Autocost thinks like you and anticipates all parameters: markers, plies and fabric and cutter widths, as well as sizes keys and labor costs. Autocost takes its data from ERP or PPS, while markers come from Automarker and are always up-to-date (done in the background).
Manufacturing on Automarker.com More than 350 companies place around 20,000 markers every day on Automarker.com and benefit from an integrated technology chain: PLM GoLive – Cad.Assyst – Automarker – Autocost – ERP BOS
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Core questions: What manufacturing systems must achieve Question 1
Quality has priority for us. Can we still use automated placement? Yes – definitely. Automarker stands for high-quality piece placement. So you can be assured that the existing material will be optimally utilized and that your quality requirements are fully met in production. To do this, Automarker has a few technically-innovative tricks up its electronic sleeves, like “Rubberband”. With Rubberband, you can specify piece groups and the gap between individual pieces. It’s simple. However, you also specify a flexible space in which pieces can be automatically placed next to one another. Just like in manual placement, a tolerance area is defined that’s more like a rubber band than inflexible rules. This area is used by Automarker to automatically adjust the gaps between the pieces, to utilize the material more efficiently and to adhere to all the specifications at the same time, even for repeats. Marker quality and efficiency improve. Rubberband is the basis for many of Automarker’s innovative features.
What can you do with Automarker? You can specify and ensure quality. With Automarker you’ll automatically create high-quality markers – regardless of the complexity of the material or pattern. But you can also increase quality throughout the production process: By carefully specifying placement rules and material consumption to your partners, the responsibility for quality and cost stays with you.
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Needle table: Automarker knows all the rules about using needle tables. Pieces that are relevant for matching, such as the trunk and the upper and lower sleeves are placed on a matching line in the marker.
Automarker can: automatically place complex fabrics and patterns
Repeats Automarker offers cuttingedge efficiency for selfcoloreds, plaids and stripes. Pattern pieces and even sophisticated repeat fabrics are exactly aligned to adhere to design specifications.
Dynamic Gap You can configure gaps in such a way that they will only be considered if the necessary quality requires it. Congruent contours are placed with no gaps to increase efficiency.
Autosplit waistband If one-piece waistbands (e.g. for jeans) are inserted in the direction of the weft, Automarker separates them automatically if they can’t be placed completely within the fabric width.
Dynamic fusing block If you want to fuse several pattern pieces with an interlining material, they can be combined into a fusing block in the marker to make further processing more costeffective.
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Question 2
We want to use our materials as efficiently as possible – even with material quality deviations. Is that possible with Automarker? Yes. There are several placement rules in Automarker that help you to efficiently group pattern pieces – and also to address faults in the material. Not only do you have piece groups with specified tolerance values, you can also assign quality and color zones to individual pattern pieces and even entire bundles. And automated placement has yet another advantageous string to its bow: You will always get the same result, regardless of who creates the marker and when and where it was created. Even if the material is processed by your partners, you can be sure that your specifications and the specified material utilization are complied with.
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Tubular fabrics Pattern pieces are automatically laid within the fabric width, either at one of the broken edges or as an open “half-piece” group.
What can you do with Automarker? You can utilize material optimally. Thanks to technically-innovative algorithms, you can reliably save on fabrics with Automarker. Experience has proven that you can get 1 % to 3 % better utilization – and even up to 7 % with functions like “Needle Table”. You also have time and cost savings generated by e. g. the parallel nesting of markers and the flexible covering of peak loads.
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Automarker can: always produce results with the same quality
Avoidance of color variations in vertical and horizontal color gradients in the outer fabric.
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Bundle per bundle: To avoid color differences or to facilitate sorting in cutting, just divide your marker into sections with a flexible sizes sequence, and specify the number of sizes per sector.
Shade Zones – Define quality zones by different types (in, touch and out zone), by position (top, bottom, centered) or by dimension (number, absolute, percentage).
Splice marks help you to optimize material-related defect handling and placement at the cutting stage.
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Question 3
In our case, cost transparency only comes with the production order. Then it’s often too late for us to make real savings. Can we change this? Yes. Autocost calculates the production costs, including material requirements during and 40 % 29 %
11 % 20 %
Outer fabric 40 % Wages 29 % Trims 20 % Other 11 %
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after the model freeze, and optimizes your orders for preliminary costing or materials planning of the goods based on the size code. The savings Automarker achieves in marker laying are now increased to an even greater extent. When cross-processing several orders, Autocost helps you to combine identical cut styles for trims, like garment lining for the plaids, stripes and the self-coloreds of a sport coat – so you create the necessary transparency for making the right decisions before production starts. All orders are displayed in detail and evaluated by e. g. materials, styles, average material consumption or product groups. Savings potential: The proportion of the costs for the outer fabric of a garment is about 30 %–40 % of the sales price. With a turnover of 60 million, that makes 18 million. At savings of 1 %, this corresponds to 180 thousand. That means a profit increase of up to 10 %.
Fabric batch planning: This is the processing of several fabric roll sections, which can be flagged e.g. as color, width or shrinkage value batches for raw materials stockage.
What can you do with Autocost? You can sustainably optimize costs. Autocost calculates all your options and presents them clearly. Experience has shown savings in material lie between 2 % and 5 %, and add to this the savings in handling downstream processes, like the calculation of material requirements or in-production reports.
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Autocost can: Calculate production costs precisely and safeguard decisions ° P reliminary costing based on the sales curve per product/target group: The calculation of
the material requirements for a garment is based on the sales curve. The distribution of quantities can be stored by product or target group for each size. The result is the calculation of a “weighted” average material consumption per garment.
ptimization of plies and markers using comparison scenarios: Parameter-controlled mark°O
ers or What-If-Analyses, e. g. a 2-ply marker or a 4-ply marker; planning of forerunners within the production order, adjustment of the ply height for combining sizes; special optimization for components/ingredients and contrasting fabrics; support for different placement methods (open, paired, folded).
° P lanning of trims: Optimization orders for the same styles (e. g. a lining for a self-colored
sport coat or one with stripes or plaids) are planned as a pool. The orders in question can be selected by filter (e. g. timeframe, style description, etc.).
rder splitting: Splitting of orders into quantities, available yardage, fabric widths, and °O
shrink and stretch values for special demands placed on the material.
ultistyle: Reduction of material requirements by combining styles produced in the same °M
material; direct access to the CAD database for assigning the CAD style.
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In concrete terms How the innovations on Automarker.com work
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Placement rules for needle tables Automarker now meets all the requirements of the needle table marker. The fabric layers of plaid and stripe materials must be positioned very precisely. A needle table avoids unnecessary blocking in the marker, but it requires a high level of expertise. This expert knowledge is transferred to the laying profile and can be called up for every marker and every new production order. The material savings compared to working without a needle table amount to between 3 % and 7 %. Compared to manual operation (with or without a needle table marker) the time savings are hugely impressive, since all markers are calculated in parallel. A production order with 15 to 20 markers, for example, can be processed after around 20 minutes.
Crotch gusset separation The separation of crotch gussets in menswear back pants or in workwear can also be performed automatically in Automarker from 2012. The decision here is based on the higher material utilization.
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Dynamic Gap To ensure better material utilization, Automarker calculates the gaps between pattern pieces, depending on the quality requirements: Quality-relevant areas such as armholes, necklines and armpit sockets are placed at distance. For pattern pieces with the same contours, like waistbands or pocket welts, the distance is removed dynamically if they contact one another during placement. If contour equality cannot be guaranteed, the distances are added dynamically.
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Tubular fabrics The markers for the processing of tubular materials (especially in the underwear industry), can be prepared in such a way that symmetrical pieces can either be placed on one of the broken edges, or placed as a “half-piece” group openly in the fabric width. Automarker.com supports this variable nesting of pattern pieces and decides autonomously which variant scores more savings. The CAD data only has to be prepared as a “Variable Style” (available as a function in Cad.Assyst from Version 20.13).
Precalculation based on the sales curve No more surplus or deficit. Based on the number of pieces sold so far, Autocost lets you check the forecast material consumption from your Product Development and correct it if necessary. The distribution of quantities can be stored by product or target group for each size. The result is a “weighted” average consumption per garment.
Fabric batch planning/Creation of remainder orders Empty your warehouse! Autocost can plan several roll sections of a material within a manufacturing job. These include color, width and shrinkage batches in the raw materials warehouse. Autocost ensures that fabric remainders occur only in the last section of fabric processed.
“Knitwear Special” in Autocost The material requirements for underwear and knitwear can be configured and issued in weight.
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In concrete terms Process production orders with Automarker and Autocost
Order communication in the Cloud simplifies your day-to-day routine. Working with Automarker or Autocost, you benefit from a seamless process, language barriers no longer exist and your material-relevant results in order optimization are always hugely impressive – and you’ll also benefit from integrated communication at the same time. Autocost: Order optimization ° Import: Production order (colors, sizes, quantities, parameters, styles and CAD style) ° Order optimization with all relevant parameters ° Marker making: place the same marker as often as you want with Automarker (Smart.Marker) ° Material report including feedback to ERP ° Placement instructions for cutting Automarker: structured placement ° Uploading of markers: directly from Cad.Assyst or on the platform (all CAD formats) ° Automatic nesting with Smart.Placement ° Conversion of (already placed) markers, pattern pieces and plot files ° Downloading of the placed markers in the required (third-party) format ° Controlling of all common plotters and cutters Automarker.com: Networking with partners ° Communication: Sharing of individual markers or complete placement orders with the partner; E-mail notification of status changes for manufacturers and partners, e.g. “cutting follows” ° Custom processing of orders e.g. lettering, internal element, various formats for element types and assignment of sizetables, processing notes, photos etc. ° Multilingual: German, English, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Rumanian, Hungarian ° Conversion/assignment of data formats: Support for all common CAD, plotter and cutter formats, such as Assyst, Gerber, Lectra, dxf. Output in HPGL and ISO for all common peripheral devices, markers also available in PDF format. ° Security: ISO/IEC 27001
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Networking with partners
Automarker.com
Structured placement
Conversion
Order optimization
Support As a subscriber to Automarker.com, you’ll have direct contact with our experienced team of experts. Support is absolutely free of charge.
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Autocost and Automarker perspectives Currently happening in the industry
How can we link service quality and efficiency? Excerpt from Rofa Fashion Group, Case Study, fashion 02
The Rofa Fashion Group uses Automarker and Autocost to optimize materials usage and cycle times in work planning. Labor costs and material consumption can be pinpointed and precisely estimated. There are no more unnecessary waiting times during peak load periods. In the case of a changed sizes key, the markers are simply calculated differently in the Romanian production facility on Automarker.com. One big advantage is in communication with other sites, because all the current data is available on the Internet. Errors during data transfer for an order are now a thing of the past. And it’s thanks to this optimal calculation and planning that Rofa has needed around 10 % less material every year since the system was introduced. “We use Autocost and Automarker to achieve smoothly-running processes in our work planning and consequently in our production processes – and we never lose sight of the savings potential either.” Stefan Nasser, Head of Production for Europe, Rofa Fashion Group
Does Automarker keep its promises? Excerpt from Ahlers AG, interview and test, fashion 02
Work more effectively and use less material. These are important prerequisites if you want to react flexibly in development and optimize production costs later. Reason enough for the Ahlers Group to put Automarker through its paces. ° Requirements: high-class collections for brands like Pierre Cardin, Otto Kern and Baldessarini ° Materials: a wide range, from cotton to silk fabrics ° Samples: mainly self-colored or with small patterns ° Method: comparison of manually-laid markers with those of Automarker ° Conclusion: Automarker can perform 80 % of the tasks that have to be done. An individual Ahlers profile is created for specific requirements in the case of fabrics with different shades of colors. “We foresee a major advantage for our communication with the production facilities. At the same time, however, we can also define clear-cut standards internationally – such as how placement should be done. Everyone gets the same results with one marker – whether in Poland, the Far East or Herford. And all the documentation is available and up-to-date in the system.” Birgitt Berkemann, CAD Administration, Ahlers
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Read the full articles at www.human-solutions.com/fashion
CWS-boco Supply Chain Management GmbH
Which technologies best support our full-service workwear concept? Excerpt from CWS-boco Supply Chain Management, Case Study, fashion 04
CWS-boco SCM manages its workflows in product management, development and order optimization with integrated technologies from the Human Solutions Group. The company also controls processes from the first presentation to delivery with PLM GoLive. Once the collection has been matched, the optimization of material consumption is next in line. To do this, you place all the markers in Automarker and use Autocost to optimize material consumption for the entire order. The company currently achieves between 85 % and 88 % in material usage without compromising on quality – a statistic that’s among the best in the industry. However, using the Cloud in pre-production also has 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. “We benefit from the seamless continuity of the Human Solutions Group products. This makes our everyday work a great deal easier and is the basis for our efficient workflows.” Angel-Luis Merino, Production Manager, CWS-boco SCM GmbH
What the industry says about Automarker.com “We use Automarker for nearly all our placement tasks.” Chaim Schipper, Oui
“We are delighted with the new features of Structured Laying, because Automarker has now also become a viable program for us in the premium segment.” Klaudia Wirtz, Laurèl
“The speed and degree of utilization convinced us. After only a short time, Autocost became indispensible for our production. And Automarker has now become our favorite colleague.” Lea Schmitz, S-Gard
“When markers begin to pile up, Automarker is the first choice.” Daniel Clocuh, René Lezard
“Automarker and Autocost combined have increased the performance of our marker department/order optimization by roughly a third.” Andreas Seidewitz, Modeinstitut Berlin
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And now Automarker and Autocost in your company ‌
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Your notes: How’s our pre-production running currently? What would we like to improve? ° R educe material consumption
° S horten reaction times ° C ompensate for peak loads ° S pecify quality ° I ncrease awareness of costs ° U nderpin decision-making ° U se placement rules uniformly What should Automarker and Autocost do for us? arker laying °M
° D ocument expertise ° C onversion ° O rder communication etworking with partners °N O ° rder optimization ° P recalculation Which technical possibilities and functions are our top priority? ° S tructured Placement with Rubberband and quality zones
° I nvolvement of all relevant parameters
° What-If-Calculations ultilingualism °M S ° eamless process and data flow What areas would be ideal for start-up? Which departments and IT systems would we link to Automarker or Autocost? Who should get involved and how do we move on? Make an appointment with Assyst!
We’ll be delighted to consult with you on fashion manufacturing. Assyst GmbH, +49 (0)89-905 05 0, contact@assyst.de, www.assyst.de Assyst is a company of the Human Solutions Group.
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Fashion CAD
Fashion in 3D The “I’m glad I knew that” GUIDE
The “This CAD can even suprise me” GUIDE
Fashion PLM The “Let’s tackle efficiency” GUIDE
Fashion Manufacturing
The “Real Savings” GUIDE
Fashion Sizing & Fitting
Also read our other Topic Guides!
The “I want sizing fitting” GUIDE