PLM makes creation of hundreds of styles per season manageable at GUESS / p.5
Jula enters strategic partnership with Technia to facilitate growth / p.6
PLM MAGAZINE 2 0 1 5
A MAGAZ I NE P U B L I S H E D BY T E CH NIA - #1 IN KNOWLE DG E O F PLM
R E TA I L EDITI ON
PLM helps TUI Nordic
create a new kind of travel
Trend Spotting:
Embrace Big Data and do it right with social media /p. 7 Retail success story:
Haglรถfs on fast track for profitable growth /p. 5 PLM fashion expert Arik:
PLM for consumer and retail challenges and opportunities /p. 8
Success Story: TUI Nordic
Challenges in the retail industry
R
5 5 6 Success Story:
TUI Nordic uses PLM /p. 3 Success Story:
Haglöfs on fast track to profitable growth /p. 5 Success Story:
GUESS manages hundreds of styles every season /p. 5
etail companies are striving to keep the modern and sophisticated consumer happy and loyal. The industry climate is complex where the consumer is acting in multiple channels and needs to be continuously stimulated. Specifically, retail businesses have to ensure that the needs of returning consumers (e.g. Loyalty Card holders) are fully met. This situation is forcing retail companies to rapidly adjust and be innovative in shop planning, diversifying assortments and analysis while making sure that the brand identity is kept. At the same time, the leading retail companies are expanding in number of stores, new geographical areas and assortment content. This introduces challenges with communication and follow-up within the existing work force and with the increasing number of suppliers, who are essential as they may own the relevant product information. Additionally, sustainability requirements and increasingly stringent government regulations results in complex business processes and traceability procedures to be implemented. In light of those challenges, it is obvious that retails are searching for ways to make better business decisions and maximize consumer satisfaction.
Press Release:
JULA enters strategic partnership with Technia /p. 6 Trends:
Trend guru Joakim Jardenberg about Big Data /p. 7 PLM retail expert Arik Golboa:
PLM for the consumer and retail industries /p. 8 About Technia Technia – The #1 knowledge company in PLM. We facilitate the future in innovation. We guide you to become the future winner by combining your own strengths with our expertise in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Our solutions are used worldwide in industries such as life sciences, automotive, travel, retail, oil & gas, telecom, fashion and food & beverage. We serve over 800 clients worldwide, including 20 that are listed on the Fortune 500. Technia is a part of the Addnode Group (listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic List). For more information, please visit www.technia.com Publisher: Jaana Ahlberg, Technia AB (jaana.ahlberg@technia.com) Photos: Technia AB, TUI Nordic, Guess, Haglöfs, Jula, Jardenberg Production: Felicia Grundel, Technia AB (felicia.grundel@technia.com)
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In this special edition of PLM magazine we focus on PLM for the retail industry and how we can address all of these challenges. You can find a mix of retail PLM success stories and industry specific use cases. We hope you will enjoy it. And if any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. With warm regards,
PLM takes charter travel to a new level Tourist travel isn’t what it used to be. The one-size fits-all charter trips are being replaced by tailored travel. Customers want to choose the hotel, food, sports activities, degree of sustainability and more.
F
or travel agencies, tailored travel means new opportunities, but also huge amounts of facts and figures to keep track of. TUI Nordic, the biggest tour operator in the Nordic area, decided to go for PLM and Technia to sort it out.
Jonas Gejer CEO and founder, Technia jg@technia.com +46 733 77 24 14
Why PLM and why Technia? “PLM is usually associated with the manufacturing industry, not service
products. But Technia very quickly understood our needs and showed us the possibilities with PLM in our business,” says Peter Ulwahn, TUI Nordic’s Head of Product and Purchasing.
Information was scattered In the travel business, charter trips used to be a pretty straightforward product: basically a flight and a hotel. There
were few options, if any. Travel agencies developed their IT systems for bookings and the Internet, but detailed information on hotels, flights and other services were limited and hard to find. “Such information was scattered in different systems, individual Excel lists or stored in some mainframe computer,” says Ulwahn. TUI Nordic includes Fritidsresor in Sweden, Finnmatkat in Finland, 3
Success Story: TUI Nordic
Success Stories TUI Nordic uses PLM from Technia
Star Tour in Norway and Denmark. “We would guess what customers wanted and it took months, sometimes a year, to produce a new travel product. We printed a catalogue with our offerings twice a year,” says Ulwahn. “More and more, customers were asking for additional services such as paying extra in order to have more luggage, for a baby carriage, or a golf bag on the flights. Customers wanted to know how much this would cost, what the seating and food options on the plane were, the kind of hotel rooms offered, or the tours and deals available at nearby restaurants. Something had to be done,” says Ulwahn.
The base for new offerings “We needed all of this information in one place and to have it accessible for relevant staff at any time,” says Ulwahn. PLM started off in the manufacturing industry, to keep track of every nut and bolt in aircraft production. TUI Nordic was evaluating the system for a small project concerning hotels.
Haglöfs on fast track for profitable growth See the “TUI Nordic uses PLM” video at www.technia.com/tui
“We then realized that PLM could be used to keep track of all detailed information. We called in three suppliers to find out how it would work,” says Ulwahn. Technia had experience not only from the manufacturing industry, but also from Haglöfs and other apparel companies. That made an impression. “PLM is a great support when you have a lot of information to keep track of, regardless of what product or service you are selling. The system gives you an overview and the base for new offerings,” says Technia’s Sales Executive Arik Gilboa. TUI Nordic named its PLM system the Travel Product Generator, TPG. It is integrated with all purchasing information. All products are updated and distributed to all systems, with one master.
Works for banks and telecom
hotel with 18 restaurants in the neighborhood with which we have favorable deals for our customers,” says Ulwahn. “Or say, we have a hotel in Tenerife which does not sell as well as we hoped. Now we can reconfigure the offering and include tickets to the huge Tenerife Siam Water Park.” The two-times-per-year printed catalogues have been replaced by 19 releases on the web. TUI Nordic is probably the first travel agency in the world to use PLM. “PLM can work just as well for banks, insurance companies, and telecom operators, any company with a lot of products in different combinations,” Ulwahn says. The next step could be equipping staff with Technia’s TVC Mobile Access which would enable them to punch in information anywhere, for instance when visiting a new hotel. And the next generation travel sites may be when customers are allowed directly into the PLM system and are able to make their choices on their own and give feedback.
W
ith a track record of an average growth rate of 18% since late 80´s, Haglöfs faced a tough task to be able to deliver on their targets, in rough economical circumstances. But once again they delivered a growth rate of close to 20% with a profit of 11% - a great achievement in these tough times. Haglöfs invested in a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system in 2006, as one part of their strategic plan to enable their future expansion. The selected
By keeping track of all the details, TPG makes it easy to tailor customer demands and to make new products, even when they are complicated. “For instance, we may have a
“WE NEEDED ALL THIS INFORMATION IN ONE PLACE AND HAVE IT ACCESSIBLE FOR RELEVANT STAFF AT ANY TIME” Peter Ulwahn, TUI Nordic’s Head of Product and Purchasing
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G
uess, the famous manufacturer of trendy and upscale apparel and accessories, creates hundreds of styles per season. Keeping track of it all just wouldn’t work without Technia and the PLM software ENOVIA, says CIO Michael Relich. “In 2004, we were a North American based company but then we bought a licensee in Italy and established a sourcing office in Hong Kong. Our eight-digit North American style number was not
partner on this journey was Technia, one of the leading PLM solution providers in Europe and the Americas. The solution is based on the ENOVIA Apparel Accelerator and complemented by Technia’s tools for improved efficiency, called Technia Value Components (TVC). Read the full article at www.technia.com/haglofs
PLM makes creation of hundreds of styles per season manageable at GUESS compatible with the Italian 11-digit style number along with fabric, color and size codes. So a PLM system was an answer to this,” says Relich. “ENOVIA has been an enormous success. We can configure it to how the users want it and it is flex-
ible. Apparel designers want to be creative. Without Technia and TVC we would not be as successful. Technia makes me sleep better at night,” he says. Read the full article at www.technia.com/guess
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Press Release
Trends
Advice from trend guru Jardenberg:
Jula enters a strategic PLM partnership with Technia to facilitate growth STOCKHOLM January 12, 2015 - Jula, a leading Swedish do-it-yourself retailer, has chosen Technia, a subsidiary of Addnode Group, as their strategic partner for a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) implementation. Jula’s PLM solution will be based on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform from Dassault Systèmes, and will enable Jula to create conditions for further expansion and an enhanced range of products.
J
ula has chosen a PLM solution based on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform from Dassault Systèmes and Technia as their strategic partner for the PLM implementation. Key drivers for Jula to implement a PLM solution are the need to support further growth and to create conditions for enhanced assortment planning. The PLM solution will establish an infrastructure to globally manage products, assortments, campaigns and supplier collaboration with a strong integration to various business systems. “Jula has expanded tremendously over the past decades. This partnership with Technia and Dassault Systèmes is about facilitating our next growth phase and to further enhance the offering and shopping experience for our customers. We selected Technia and the Dassault 6
Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE Platform nership validates Technia’s and Dassault based upon their track record, focus and Systèmes’ number one position as a capabilities within the retail business”, supplier of PLM to retailers”, says Jonas says Magnus Sigurd, Purchasing Director Gejer, CEO at Technia. at Jula. ”Jula and Technia are embarking on a journey to facilitate continued rapid growth and an enhanced shopping experience for Jula’s customers. It´s a privilege to be chosen as partner to Jula, one of the best managed and fastest growing companies in the Nordics. This partJonas Gejer, CEO of Technia and Magnus Sigurd, Purchasing Director at Jula
Embrace Big Data and do it right with social media Invite your customer into your process, and see how you can use Big Data to your advantage, says Joakim Jardenberg, founder and CEO of Mindpark AB, and number 14 on The Telegraph’s “100 most influential technology investors in Europe” list.
T
he more things change, the more they stay the same. While the world around us has changed dramatically in the last two decades, our fundamental needs stay the same, says Joakim Jardenberg, a leading Swedish technology expert, an angel investor, and a top-level CEO whisperer. “The way we express ourselves, and where and how we do it, has changed, but the core of our needs is the same as it’s always been,” he says. That’s why the rise of the video on the Internet shouldn’t come as a surprise. About a hundred hours of video are uploaded every minute on YouTube alone. “Moving pictures have always captured the minds of people. A few decades ago we saved up money to go to the Saturday matinee. What is new is the almost unlimited supply of video,” says Jardenberg.
“Another thing that’s new: we can be both consumers and producers of content. When you find your niche, your videos may not get 2.5 million views, but you don’t need that, either. What you need is loyal fans, who will build your brand and give you feedback,” he says. That goes for business users as well. “The problem with social media is that we only hear about the success stories. It’s easy to forget that building a presence is a marathon,” Jardenberg says. “Instead of using a megaphone to blast your own message, listening is key. Everybody loves to talk about themselves, but it’s important to use the big ears and a small mouth,” he adds. Starbucks, for example, has involved loyal customers in its product development process. Invite your customers to a dialogue,
Joakim Jardenberg, CEO Mindpark • Senior advisor to CEOs of large Swedish companies (five in the Top 25 largest companies) • Angel investor • Number four on Hungton Post’s “Most Influential Tech CEOs On Twitter” list • Number 14 on The Telegraph’s “100 most influential technology investors in Europe” list • www.jardenberg.se
and let them tell you which features they’d like to see,” Jardenberg says. He also suggests that all companies try to see how they can use Big Data. “There is so much information available. For example, one company, on a whim, plotted the data from its Android battery temperature app users in London with data from Weather Underground, a weather service that provides real-time weather information, and found a correlation strong enough to predict the outdoor temperature by looking at the battery temperature data. “We don’t even know which questions to pose. There is so much data, and everybody should be thinking of ways to take advantage of it,” he says. 7
PLM for the retail industry
E
xperiences from retail companies show that one key prerequisite in order to meet business challenges
in the retail industry is to ensure that the innovation process is controlled, measurable and is as efficient as possible. The innovation process is referring to single products, assortments, and campaigns, all from idea to realization.
Unfortunately, the everyday reality at retail companies is quite the opposite. Product related information is not managed effectively, but instead as “information islands” between different departments followed by unstructured and cumbersome communication both internally and externally with suppliers; additionally, no evident assortment planning may be used; priorities and process ownership are not always clear; aggregated information is hard to analyse and compose (e.g. list of products including a dangerous substance); difficulty to prioritize tests and follow-up quality parameters; difficulty in identifying consumer patterns and follow-up claims. One major result of this situation is that the expansion effort is becoming over-expensive
• Create the prerequisites for an effective
assortment planning and in some cases is not possible. One solution approach to address the business barriers is to establish an information platform for the innovation process that will act as an infrastructure for expansion and quality. A suitable approach for that kind of platform is called Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). PLM was originally developed by the aerospace and automotive industries and is currently being adopted by an increasing number of retail companies. PLM stands for simplification by digitalization - a platform where all product-related information is found, managed and followed-up in one place that is globally available for all (HQ departments, sourcing offices, chosen suppliers etc.). In PLM the innovation process is managed from idea to realization, while minimizing internal inefficiencies and replacing existing Excel, mail and file folders.
What can a PLM solution do for retail businesses? • Establish an infrastructure for growth • Improve innovation by increasing val-
ue-adding work
“CONTACT ME FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PLM FOR CONSUMER AND RETAIL” Arik Gilboa, Sales Executive, Technia
@
arik.gilboa@technia.com
+46 733 77 24 28
• Increase product appeal and consumer
experience by utilizing store virtualization and configuration • Enable product-centric decision-making
based on consumer input and behavior combined with sales statistics • Strengthen branding by enforcing the
usage of brand definition, logos, messaging and other standards utilization of templates and workflows • Positively impact decisions related to
calendars, cost and quality by performing virtual product qualification early in the development process • Integrate regulatory compliance and
sustainability into the product innovation process to reduce the chances of last minute changes and product recall • Complement the transactional process
(order placement, warehouse management etc.) and the marketing process.