Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits: Continuous Improvement with NGC’s PLM Case Study ® Customer: Challenge: Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits (FASK) is a privately held, New York-based importer of quality children’s and women’s apparel, and supplies apparel to such leading retailers as Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Belk and Dress Barn. FASK used manual processes for product development and supply chain management, making its workload control and collaboration a consistent struggle for users. NGC Solution: FASK implemented NGC’s fashion PLM and Supply Chain Management (SCM) solution to standardize all PLM and SCM processes and collaborate seamlessly to improve overall efficiency. “PLM provides a platform for continuous improvement. We’re always evaluating, listening to the needs of our users, and understanding what they’re trying to accomplish. PLM has helped us establish a more creative, collaborative environment where we can continually challenge ourselves to do better and to then accomplish those goals.” Austin Mallis Vice President of Operations Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits ngcsoftware.com | 800.690.064 | [email protected] ® Case Study Unique and Siloed Processes Means Slow Response and Inefficiency Prior to working with NGC, Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits relied on manual and repetitive processes that made workload control and collaboration a consistent struggle. These types of issues can be extremely detrimental to enterprise profitability and productivity, so FASK wanted a solution that allowed for timely and effective production. Standardize PLM and SCM Across the Organization for Streamlined Workflow NGC’s PLM and SCM solution was a perfect match for the challenges that Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits faced. The productivity and collaboration features in the NGC software such as calendars, global collaboration, and exception management helped FASK to streamline workflow and make communication between departments and individuals easier and better organized. After implementing NGC’s PLM and SCM solution, FASK realized enterprise advantages such as faster speed to market, better product adoption rates, improved order fulfillment rates, and a reduced production lead time, among other benefits. “Processes were unique to individuals rather than departments or the organization. Workloads could not be managed, and we had no tools to understand where we stood on specific styles or orders.” Austin Mallis Vice President of Operations Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits ngcsoftware.com | 800.690.064 | [email protected] Case Study ® 3 Key Highlights: • Streamlined workflow & improved collaboration: NGC’s software presents a single, collaborative platform that helps Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits standardize all PLM and SCM processes. Workflow calendars allow FASK users to view the status of milestone dates for selected calendars and make sure that product groups, collections and approvals are on schedule. Data can be shared seamlessly throughout the organization using NGC’s exception management and global collaboration features, improving communication flow and productivity. NGC’s solution has already reduced the volume of email and daily information requests by 40 percent—providing a dramatic improvement in overall efficiency. • Better task management: NGC’s PLM and SCM management tools ensure accountability throughout the design and production processes, allowing FASK users to stay on top of current, future and past due deadlines. Exception management features proactively alert users to problems, delays and other conditions that need immediate attention. Users can then drill down into the specific details and quickly resolve any issues, ensuring that design/production schedules stay on track. • Faster speed to market: NGC’s software is playing a central role in helping Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits continually reduce product development time and achieve faster speed to market. “PLM and Supply Chain Management are most effective when integrated in an end-to-end process. For us to be successful we needed software that took us from start to finish in the product lifecycle, and NGC allows us to do that,” Mallis said. ngcsoftware.com | 800.690.064 | [email protected] ® Case Study Continuous Improvement with PLM FASK also benefits from the custom reporting tools and key performance indicators included in NGC’s software. These allow for easy evaluation of development progress, sales trends, production status, inventory positions and financial targets for better decisionmaking and increased profitability. Fashion PLM can help foster a climate of continuous improvement, and Mallis believes that PLM can help break down barriers between departments and set the stage for the organization’s future growth and direction. Connect with us: “NGC’s solutions are opening up conversations about the best way to check processes and make improvements. This lets us focus on our core apparel business and directs us to the most efficient development processes attainable by our team.” Austin Mallis Vice President of Operations Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits ngcsoftware.com | 800.690.064 | [email protected]