Craig Crawford, Digital Transformation Strategist, Crawford IT
8:45am
PI Keynote - Space: The Final Frontier.
Lincoln Hall
PI Keynote - Space: The Final Frontier.
Lincoln Hall
'It's a long road from a couple of guys in a closet to sending suits into space.'
Surprisingly, the tightly regulated agency that is NASA is very open to engaging and working with smaller businesses in the search for more unconventional solutions to space travel. Which is lucky for Final Frontier Design, a Brooklyn-based space suit design house, that was selected as one of the agency's four commercial space partners last year.
The company began as a two man-band: Ted Southern, a fine artist by training with a long history in costume design and Nikolay Moiseev, a mechanical engineer with a professional background in the Russian spacesuit design industry.
The team join PI Apparel to share their story - how their diverse backgrounds and skillsets have benefited their progression, developing what they call the 'Next Generation Space Suit', how they are applying commercial space learnings to earthbound product innovation and what their long-term vision is for their small 4-man team.
Nikolay Moiseev, Lead Designer, Final Frontier Design
Ted Southern, President, Final Frontier Design
9:30am
Motivating & Inspiring a Winning Innovation Culture
Lincoln Hall
Motivating & Inspiring a Winning Innovation Culture
Lincoln Hall
Making innovation successful starts and ends with people. At VF, the challenge is to motivate 70,000 people to innovate together but with the diversity of over 30 brands & cultures (such as The North Face, Seven for All of Mankind, Wrangler, Timberland and Vans), finding a common innovation vision, language and action step(s) can be daunting.
Working with Chip & Dan Heath (authors of Switch, the preeminent book on "How to Change Things When Change is Hard"), VF have developed a program to direct the "rider" (the analytical side) and motivate the "elephant" (the emotional side) to help us win with innovation.
This session will discuss the challenges faced, mistakes made and wins celebrated when transitioning VF from an insular, risk-adverse and short-sighted company into one that is open, collaborative and future thinking.
Soon Yu, Former Global VP, Innovation, VF Corporation
Focus Group - Product Innovation & the PLM Transformation Model
Blair Room
Focus Group - Product Innovation & the PLM Transformation Model
Blair Room
The product innovation/development space has changed; for too long companies relied on historical trends, the 'this worked so let's repeat' model. But over time, customers with an ever-increasing number of choices, became unresponsive to this and drove the need for manufacturers to differentiate themselves more.
Simultaneously, market tools changed and we began to get better access to design tools and services that brought more feedback information forward and allowed for the earlier development of consumer-centric assortments.
This session will discuss how the innovation space has and continues to change, the tools that are now readily available to help you be more consumer-centric and how best to respond to the tightening of the gap between processes, 3D and visualization.
Leslie Hand, Vice President Research, IDC
10:10am
Morning Refreshment Break
10:20am
Networking 121's
11:20am
Supporting Company Transition through IT - Language, Communication, Personalities and Partnerships
Lincoln Hall
Supporting Company Transition through IT - Language, Communication, Personalities and Partnerships
Lincoln Hall
In 2013, DKNY chose to be proactive; having selected RLM as an ERP partner, they already had a strategy in place for a complete enterprise-wide system suite roadmap that tied into that deployment. At PI Apparel 2015 and with the roadmap on track, Cindy Payero ran a focus group on how IT needed to position themselves as a Business enabler to ensure the process was as smooth as possible: the Business voicing their requirements and IT aligning themselves with these needs early-on.
Since then, the company has undergone a series of changes and today, is a very different enterprise but Cindy joins us to explore the vital role of IT and it's lending ear in making this transition productive and pain-free. More specifically:
Working alongside new management to understand their broad vision and being transparent with what is and isn't possible
Aiding new leadership to better define a more concrete direction
Communicating system capabilities and how can they be extended
Defining key reporting levels and recommending best ways to achieve them vs customised modifcations
The importance of listening to and engaging with new leadership early so they are supportive of changes
How is this all impacting the existing system development roadmap?
Cindy Payero, VP, DKNY Wholesale Systems, The Donna Karan Company LLC
Ready, Set, Go - The Evaluation, Piloting & Selection of a 3D Technology Platform
Main Lounge
Ready, Set, Go - The Evaluation, Piloting & Selection of a 3D Technology Platform
Main Lounge
In 2015, Walmart began looking into 3D technology as one of many potential lean 6sigma projects on their radar. Working from the point of view of Product Development, Graphics and Leadership, they began extensively evaluating two main providers, leading to a selection in Q4.
Denise Scott, Director of Apparel Technical Design, joins PI Apparel to discuss the journey to date, including:
Why 3D technology? - the incentives, vision and first steps
Creating the criteria by which to evaluate prospective tech partners
Visiting industry peers to better understand the technology and its applications
How can you replicate prints and colors whilst reducing sampling?
Aligning the target teams and their existing operations with the 3D strategy
The pilot discovery - rolling out 3D in girls Active Wear
Collaborating externally with suppliers, tech providers and colleges
Creating a costing analysis of true ROI
Rolling out further training regimes for user teams and executives to enhance communication, transparency and ultimately, project success
Denise Scott, Director of Apparel Technical Design, Walmart
Focus Group - Optimizing PLM via the 3 “I’s”: Input, Integration and Intelligence
Blair Room
Focus Group - Optimizing PLM via the 3 “I’s”: Input, Integration and Intelligence
Blair Room
If your PLM system implementation fails to take into account the three “I’s”, it is unlikely that your company will realize the full potential of a PLM system, regardless of who the software supplier is. At American Eagle Outfitters, we have optimized our PLM system by doing the following:
Providing Excel-like screens for users to INPUT data across records more efficiently, filter data effectively, and rollup information as needed
Planning for system INTEGRATION with our current or future ERP, Purchase Order, and Assortment Planning systems
Developing robust business INTELLIGENCE (including reports and visual analytics) as a primary deliverable, not a project afterthought
Anne Sanger, Senior Manager, Product Technology, American Eagle Outfitters
Focus Group - 3D Printing & Generative Design in Enhancing Product Design & Quality
Chase Room
Focus Group - 3D Printing & Generative Design in Enhancing Product Design & Quality
Chase Room
In an attempt to keep pace with the volatile consumer market and its demands, many brands have invested in 3D printing capability over the last few years. Under Armour's new Architech shoe, released earlier this year as a limited edition, has taken 3D printing to the next level by evolving it beyond a standard 3D printer with dynamic generative design software.
As a self-learning algorithm, generative design allows for the rapid processing of complex mathematics set to specific parameters across weight, stress, resistance, durability, size and so on, and thus is able to rapidly adjust figures, avoid failure and, after testing hundreds of possible iterations, create the optimum product design ready for testing and production.
Though this is currently a pilot at Under Armour, Alan Guyan joins PI Apparel to share their story thus far and to share/discuss how they see generative design and 3D printing becoming the future of UA shoe design, maximizing the design process and eliminating the need for the active consumer to buy more than one type of shoe.
Alan Guyan, Director, Design & Manufacturing Innovation, Under Armour
12:00pm
Sustainability to the Core
Lincoln Hall
Sustainability to the Core
Lincoln Hall
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) integrates corporate self-regulation into a business model. As a core component of CSR, sustainability seeks to balance the economic, social responsibility, and environmental impact of a business. A&E has set the highest level of sustainability compliance in the industry through their Eco-Driven initiatives. In working with some of the world’s largest retailers and brands, they have set the bar for all textile suppliers and retailers. And, in collaboration with Gerber Technology, they have made it easy for product development teams to ensure the correct thread goes into their garments, anywhere in the world through the use of PLM.
This session will explore:
An overview of tangible goals which consider the economic, social responsibility and environmental aspects of a global company's operations
A&E's Eco-Driven program, consisting of the Ten Threads of Sustainability
A practical example of how PLM is used to not only ensure compliance but deliver on the promise of CSR
Jimmy Summers, VP, Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability , American & Efird LLC
Nicholas Jouriles, VP, Digital Solutions Consulting, Gerber Technology
Under Armour in 3D - Making All Athletes Better
Main Lounge
Under Armour in 3D - Making All Athletes Better
Main Lounge
The desire to work in 3D was present at Under Armour long before they got the funding; the business side of the company struggled to see its immediate value. It wasn't until they decided to grow their women's offering by 30% and were faltering on meeting prototype deadlines, that it began to be considered a viable solution to working in an agile, flexible and efficient manner. It was at this point that the CTO at the time engaged with Optitex to virtualize and bring 3D into the showroom.
This session will discuss:
Understanding the drivers behind an investment into 3D technology
Phase I - partnering with Optitex to overcome the lack of in-house 3D capability and facilitating successful season development and launch
Phase 2 - bringing 3D capability in-house and validating it against existing 2D tools across a broad range of styles
Phase 3 - Capturing forward design thinking and maximizing speed to market on the Misty Copeland line with 3D
Phase 4 - Taking an aggressive approach to global vendor base integration in 2016
What is the Lighthouse Innovation Hub and understanding its role in promoting open collaboration and innovation in the 3D space?
Lisa Struble, VP, Apparel Development & Quality, Under Armour
Jami Dunbar, VP, Apparel & Virtualization, Under Armour
Join our Retail Transformation Journey and Incorporate the Voice of the Customer
The Library
Ryan Miller, Director, Business Systems and Sourcing, Dick's Sporting Goods
12:40pm
Networking Luncheon
Main Dining Room
1:35pm
Extending 130 Years of Innovation, Dedication and Success with PLM
Lincoln Hall
Extending 130 Years of Innovation, Dedication and Success with PLM
Lincoln Hall
Founded in 1886 as a little corset factory in Germany, today Triumph is present in 120 countries with the core brands Triumph® and sloggi® and had 2014 revenues of 1.437 billion euros. As a successful global manufacturer of lingerie, underwear, sleepwear and swimwear, Triumph is continually looking to improve its ability to maximize innovation while simultaneously managing the inherent complexity and scale of their operations. To this end, Triumph decided that they needed a business enabling technology which would allow them to achieve these goals. They turned to PLM.
Saman Ekanayake, Head of Product Development at sloggi GWF, will present their PLM journey and explains why simplifying development, adding structure, removing inefficiencies and increasing transparency are key to streamlining the development process and extending their 130-year-old tradition of innovation, dedication and success.
This session will discuss:
Triumph’s business objectives and challenges
Reasons to initiate a PLM project
How PLM can be a part of a business realignment strategy
Why Triumph chose Centric Software
An overview of the project’s first results and future roll-out
Saman Ekanayake, Head of Product Development, Triumph International
3D Product Development - A Look Behind the Scenes
Main Lounge
3D Product Development - A Look Behind the Scenes
Main Lounge
Nowadays, product realization is a global game; efficient sharing of projects and intelligible information across various business levels, departments, geographies and stakeholders is the reality of a successful global business. But to achieve this success, a reorganization and standardization of existing processes is paramount in an effort to simplify the operation.
The emergence of 3D CAD platforms allows for an immediate and realistic simulation of a garment that not only positively impacts those in tech departments but a wider reach into marketing, product development, sales and communication, enabling significant savings in time and cost.
Andrea Piras, VP, Retail Operations of Pittarosso, joins PI Apparel to discuss:
Exploring the evolution and current technological development of 3D CAD and 3D simulations
Adopting and integrating 3D systems and enhancing accessibility
Facilitating the sharing of projects at various levels (in sourcing/outsourcing)
What are the impacts and benefits of 3D CAD systems on cost and time?
3D in allowing access to critical early development stage information by a larger number of stakeholders
How are market pressures for new products leading to a reorganization of processes in order to achieve higher efficiency?
Andrea Piras, VP, Retail Operations, Pittarosso Retail Chain
Understanding the Dramatic Impacts of Color Lifecycle Management from Initial Color Selection Right through to Final Sale
The Library
Understanding the Dramatic Impacts of Color Lifecycle Management from Initial Color Selection Right through to Final Sale
The Library
Color is Not Just an Attribute – it’s a Science!
Most product development systems treat color as a simple product attribute and largely ignore the science behind it. There are huge benefits to be derived from being able to select a color that will work from the outset, on the desired substrates, and will meet the rigorous aesthetic demands of design, merchandising teams and eventually consumers. Product color is one of the most important criterion when consumers select a product, so being able to control and manage color scientifically deep into the supply chain and removing the room for human error is a key requirement to shorten development timelines and ensure that the chosen color is the one delivered.
Find out how Kohls have deployed such as system to:
Eliminate manual color matching, saving 7,000 man hours per year
Improve color accuracy to within 1 delta E tolerance between fabric to paper printed chips (best in class)
Reduce fabric standards ordered by 30%
Create a single master color library shared throughout all of product development
Enhance collaboration by implementing printed color management allowing all design offices to print identical color regardless of geographical location
Discover how DeSL is pushing the boundaries of Color Lifecycle Management by:
Extending Colour Management deep into the supply chain to ensure consistency from initial sample to final delivery
Delivering total color collaboration between all internal departments and external vendors
How color management can be built into 3D design technologies
How Visual Merchandising can benefit from Total Color Management
Charlie Holmes, VP, Product Development Analytics & Operations, Kohl's
2:15pm
Boosting Supply Chain Efficiencies with Modern Technology
Lincoln Hall
Boosting Supply Chain Efficiencies with Modern Technology
Lincoln Hall
When evaluating modern enterprise tools, half the battle is navigating the unnecessary complexity of industry jargon and acronyms. This is especially prevalent in long-standing companies built on a legacy system architecture, such as Obermeyer, a Colorado-based skiwear company.
Recognizing that they were having to contend with avoidable challenges and limitations related to their outdated systems, Obermeyer hired our speaker, Greg Bannister, to lead the move to a more modern enterprise suite.
This session will discuss:
What did the former systems architecture look like?
Understanding the daily challenges faced by Obermeyer across process efficiency, cost, production cycle time, inventory and 3rd party communication
What impacts had this model of working had on profitability, transparency and ultimately, growth?
Starting from scratch - interviewing every employee to better understand the root-cause of these problems
Evaluating potential technology partners for an enterprise tool suite of ERP, PLM and SCM
Exploring the aggressive 11-month deployment roadmap
Modernizing company mentality to facilitate this change
What have been the impacts of this modernization re-haul on company operations?
Gregory Bannister, COO, Sport Obermeyer
A 3D Call to Action - Working Collaboratively for a Better Tomorrow
Main Lounge
A 3D Call to Action - Working Collaboratively for a Better Tomorrow
Main Lounge
Alexis and Sandra of Target attended and presented at PI Apparel 2015; the presentations, networking and smaller breakout discussions that they attended with other brands left them inspired and excited. But then they returned to their offices and that conversation stopped.
Drawing a parallel with past major movements in areas including safety and sustainability, the Target team see PI Apparel as an opportunity to form a cross-industry coalition: the potential of 3D is huge but without a platform for open conversation and collaboration, how can you expect to develop quick enough to ensure you best benefit from 3D and its promise of improved speed and accuracy, and how can you ensure you avoid unnecessary mistakes?
This session is a Call to Action and will discuss:
Where are we missing a trick?
What is Target doing today with external parties to better the standardization and development of 3D? How could that be extended?
How could we be working together collaboratively to bring about change?
What could this kind of conversation and collaboration look like and how would we get around the IP issue?
Creating an industry standard metric for 3D
What would the role of the vendors and academia be?
Making this a reality
3D has the potential to disrupt and transform the fashion industry but today, there is no outlet to facilitate the required conversation. This is a Call to Action - let's collaborate for a better tomorrow!
Sandra Gagnon, Director - 3D Virtual Transformation, Target
Supply Chain Optimization & Data Intelligence in Staying One-Step Ahead of Customer Demand
The Library
Supply Chain Optimization & Data Intelligence in Staying One-Step Ahead of Customer Demand
The Library
Made up of 123 companies and operating across 23 countries, Otto is one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. Because of its size and breadth, Otto includes both third-party and private label lines and there is thus added complexity to efficiently coordinate the overall supply chain network. Important to any fashion brand, but more so to those in the expectantly fast mail-order operation, this session will discuss the supply chain optimization strategy being adopted by Otto to maintain its market share.
More specifically:
Why is SCM optimization a massive focus for Otto beyond your broad range offering?
How can the assortment offered to the customer be optimized, keeping in mind the need for added products with shorter lifecycles being demanded at lower prices?
Starting from the beginning - focussing on the Far East first as the company production centre
Understanding the role of data in better managing the 3rd party logistical flow from partners to customers
Creating multiple supply chain models to manage product variation but ensuring one common process when dealing with the customer
How can data be leveraged across:- the daily business to personalize the assortment offering to the customer- the back-office operation to understand what the right products, right approaches and right prices should be
How has BI evolved from its initial use 20 years ago to now and how that impacts market understanding, operations and supply chain response
Oliver Klinck, Senior Vice President Fashion+Sports, OTTO
Focus Group - As We Look for Tighter Integrations and Leaner Processes How Has the Architecture Model Changed, If at All?
Blair Room
Focus Group - As We Look for Tighter Integrations and Leaner Processes How Has the Architecture Model Changed, If at All?
Blair Room
With the focus of many companies shifting to align with Omni channel initiatives on the commercial side, it’s important to make sure that systems and processes are in place from PLM to Supply Chain/warehousing to enable proper data integration and residence. Aligning upstream business process flows and systems is becoming more and more important as downstream processes are becoming more and more complex.
As we are looking for tighter integrations and leaner processes how has the architecture model changed, if at all?
In this session, Jens will lead a collaborative discussion on looking at how businesses are viewing best-of-breed vs. all-in-one systems in the design, production, merchandising and procurement segments. What are the difficulties and advantages of both? And what is the impact for the rest of the system architecture (customer facing).
Jens Abbariao, Director - Enterprise Applications, Eileen Fisher
Focus Group - What is the End Game for Wearable Technology in the Fashion/Apparel/Footwear Sector?
Chase Room
Focus Group - What is the End Game for Wearable Technology in the Fashion/Apparel/Footwear Sector?
Chase Room
In this session, Frank Furlan, Former CEO, The Swatch Group, will lead a discussion on the vision of wearable technology. Be prepared to answer questions and discuss your company's specific investments and developments in the wearable technology sphere, including:
On a scale of 1-5, 5 being most important, how important is the development of wearable technology for your companies?
At what stage are your companies in their development of wearable technology?
What technologies are being created and what issues/needs are they addressing?
What consumer insights and research have your companies done to gauge the interest/need by your consumers in/for wearable technologies?
On a scale of 1-5, 5 being most important, how important is tethering a device to a traditional data device and platform - desktop, iPad, smartphone? Do consumers prefer tethering of devices for data or do they prefer an all encompassing device/platform set up independent of of traditional devices and platforms?
What specifically are the "smart" functions being requested by consumers?
Are the primary requests more related to need or lifestyle, where need includes personal health, lifestyle being shopping assistance, etc,.,?
With substantial data being gathered over many hours in monitoring devices (potentially 24/6/365), what types of data analytics platforms are required to support wearable technologies?
Do you see your company investing in, controlling and operating your data analytics platforms 100% or do you see outsourcing to top data platform companies as a more logical approach?
Frank Furlan, Former CEO/President, The Swatch Group USA
2:55pm
Afternoon Refreshment Break
Main Dining Room
3:05pm
Networking 121's
Main Dining Room
4:05pm
Making Virtualization Technology an Integral Part of the Product Design Engine
Lincoln Hall
Making Virtualization Technology an Integral Part of the Product Design Engine
Lincoln Hall
In 2004, the adidas Group launched virtualization as part of their strategic initiative. adidas started with the creation of photorealistic images of footwear and apparel as a part of their product and sales lifecycle. To date, this technology has led to savings of more than 1 million samples and has been integrated throughout the entire supply chain.
This session will discuss:
How is adidas exploring the next challenge of 3D implementation to the product creation process – especially Design?
How to best confront a completely heterogeneous group of people with a paradigm change
Balancing creativity and technology of traditional drawing and computer graphics?
Evaluating the benefits of 3D throughout the most important product creation process steps
What do designers say after their first 3D Design season?
Alison Page, Vice President – Brand Operations Strategy and Projects, adidas Group
What can be done to better identify and break down Departmental or process-related silos?
How can we create an environment where all parties' work is appreciated and their effect on the Supply Chain is understood by all?
How can we create an open, accountable, and transparent organization where issues that cross departments can be resolved quickly and permanently before they become actual roadblocks to success?
How has the continuing expansion of requirements for Social and environmental compliance affected the Supply Chain and the need for SRP (“Socially Responsible Procurement”)?
Lee Goldenberg, VP and CIO, John Varvatos Enterprises
Art Krulish, Director, Setlog Corp.
Richard Kramer, President, Hengrun USA
Daryl Brown, Former VP Global Business Ethics and Compliance, Kate Spade & Company
As is the case with many companies, Abercrombie & Fitch has been successful using PLM across their Design and Tech Design teams. They have also integrated their vendor base into the system to an extent. Across other parts of the business, namely Production, Planning, Merchandising, Graphics, they are struggling with information redundancies and disconnected communication across too many mediums.
Their proposed strategy to streamline the information into “one source of the truth” is not always easy. Communicating the benefits for a new internal way of working, influencing behavior changes across multiple aspects of the business, and further integration of external parties adds up to a rather complex journey.
In this session, Brandy will lead a collaborative discussion on extending PLM capability beyond the traditional PLM Design zone: why is it needed, what are the proposed benefits and finally, how to execute such a strategy from a technical, business and cultural standpoint.
Brandy Hansen, VP of Tech Design, Abercrombie & Fitch
4:45pm
PI Keynote - Why does 3D Need to be at the Center of Process Innovation?
Lincoln Hall
PI Keynote - Why does 3D Need to be at the Center of Process Innovation?
Lincoln Hall
Most apparel companies are now investing in, or at least examining, a 3D technology adoption within their development processes. Whilst those who have adopted 3D are already enjoying its known tangible benefits of cost savings and lead time reduction, its potential implications are far greater when it is perceived as the center of all process innovation.
3D is not merely a tool that fits into the current process to make it a little more efficient, but rather it should lead to a complete change in the way we currently design, produce, communicate and merchandise.
With specific examples, this keynote will address the true power of 3D and how it should be perceived in apparel companies to realize exponential return on investment.
Isabel Crosby, 3D Designer, CLO Virtual Fashion
5:30pm
Chairman's Closing Remarks
Lincoln Hall
Craig Crawford, Digital Transformation Strategist, Crawford IT
5:35pm
Networking Drinks Reception Sponsored by Accenture
Main Dining Room
Day 2: 28 June 2016
8:30am
Think Tank - 'Insight Without Hindsight Will Never Give You Foresight'
Think Tank - 'Insight Without Hindsight Will Never Give You Foresight'
The American Customer Satisfaction Index’s Benchmark for Apparel suggests customer satisfaction actually fell 2.6% between 2014 and 2015. PLM, as the vehicle that moves us from concept to consumer and back again, should really be about looking between both planning and execution, i.e. between both today’s and yesterday’s performance, but in reality focuses predominantly on product development.
The simple fact is that if we fail to connect design, development, our suppliers and the consumer into a loop that keeps these points (and more) in sync, we will never achieve the best possible results. And connecting to consumer demand isn’t magic – it’s simply about listening and responding.
Given today’s consumers are more demanding than ever and want their desires met quickly, it is obvious that ‘Planning’ for their wishes is just not enough; if you’re not connecting the plan to supplier execution you may miss the mark and disappoint.
In this session we will discuss how to put the Lifecycle Back into Product Lifecycle Management.
More specifically:
How to look into the past and the future
How to achieve sustainability from planning through execution
How to use demand forecasting, budgeting, line planning, and critical path management
How to work from concept though to commercialization - clear to the consumer and beyond
How to use supplier collaboration and global commerce networks to achieve a better product lifecycle solution
Bob McKee, Senior Director of Product & Industry Strategy – Fashion & Retail, Infor
Think Tank - The Value of Data Exchange between Product Development Stages in the RFA Industry
Think Tank - The Value of Data Exchange between Product Development Stages in the RFA Industry
In today’s challenging Retail, Footwear and Apparel industry (RFA), it is becoming more and more important to embrace state of the art technologies to gain competitive advantage. The adoption of new technologies including 3D virtual prototyping, virtual sampling in product development and shop floor machine data, leads to a bottleneck in handling large volumes of streaming data from various enterprise systems and devices, not to mention the complexities and integration challenges we face between cloud and on premise systems to achieve synchronized business process.
Although having a single source of data can be a solution to counter this problem, how we approach the unification of data sources matters. It becomes critical to orchestrate the business processes meaningfully to integrate the relevant data sources with targeted use cases.
But are businesses able to do so? If yes..
How successful are they in utilizing the data captured to reduce the time-to-market?
What are the challenges faced by companies in getting meaningful insights from this information?
Are business units equipped to handle cross-platform integration brought about by company acquisitions?
Think Tank - Going to the Source: Supplier Relationship (Micro-) Management
Think Tank - Going to the Source: Supplier Relationship (Micro-) Management
Across the world, sourcing, supply chain, and global trade executives are under intense pressure to streamline their processes in order to stay ahead of the competition and keep their companies in the black. But let’s face it, it’s not easy in an environment of light-speed business, stringent compliance regulations, and consumer demand for more agility than a squirrel on a bird feeder.
Studies show that it is those top organizations that have successfully aligned with their key suppliers that have reduced risk factors and improved innovation, quality, reliability, and costs/price reductions[1]. Both sides of the business can achieve greater value, which is difficult to achieve if operating independently.
Amber Road customer, Dick’s Sporting Goods, has adopted new technology to automate and simplify the SRM process, making it easy for sourcing executives to make quick, informed decisions about their suppliers.
In this Think Tank session, Dick’s Sporting Goods, will discuss:
How they implemented a successful supplier on-boarding program to streamline social compliance, product testing and other supplier activities
New technology that provides full and unparalleled visibility into its supplier base providing a detailed picture of what is impacting their supply chain
Cost-effective and painless best practices to mitigate risk
Attend this Think Tank to learn how a supplier management solution can build strong links in your supply chain through collaboration and visibility.
[1] CIPS, The Five Secrets of Supplier Relationship Management, February 2015.
Ryan Miller, Director, Business Systems and Sourcing, Dick's Sporting Goods
Gary Barraco, Director, Global Product Marketing, Amber Road
9:30am
Chairman's Opening Remarks
Lincoln Hall
9:40am
PI Keynote - Collaboratively Redesigning the Fashion Industry Supply Chain for the 21st Century
Lincoln Hall
Bob Bland, CEO/Founder, Manufacture New York
10:25am
Digital Business Transformation - The Five Pillars of Success
Lincoln Hall
Digital Business Transformation - The Five Pillars of Success
Lincoln Hall
The manufacturing industry has been traditionally poor at harnessing new technologies and this is no different when it comes to the digital revolution that is already well-established across other sectors including media and finance. But, given the impressive volume of data that the industry generates and collects, the mentality around digital is changing drastically and rapidly as companies begin to better understand the beneficial implications it could have across the value chain and ultimately, in their product offering.
Now that the value is understood, companies now want to understand how to best invest and harness this opportunity. Leslie Hand joins PI Apparel to discuss:
- What are the implications of a digital revolution across the fashion/apparel industry?
- Understanding the Five Pillars of Digital Success:
Strategy & Leadership - adapting company culture and mindset to become a disruptor, making the change rather than responding to it
Information - centralizing functions and data across the multiple layers of your business to maximize operational efficiency and transparency
Operations - best leveraging sensors and automation to optimize production, speed and execution
Workforce - preparing for and responding to the cultural implications of creating a new working experience and the talent gap of new roles and functions
Omni-experience - faciliating a new radical way of approaching the multi-mode fashion model to capture performance and understand real-time market needs
- Benchmarking your digital transition against a qualitative maturity model
- How have other companies achieved digital success - examples and case studies
Leslie Hand, Vice President Research, IDC
Revolutionizing the Product Design & Customer Retail Experience - The YR Store Story
Main Lounge
Revolutionizing the Product Design & Customer Retail Experience - The YR Store Story
Main Lounge
YR Store was started in 2013 as a pop-up store in London. With a streetwear focus, the store allowed customers to create a design and then watch as it was printed live on t-shirts, tanks and sweatshirts. Developing the concept further, a collaboration with Liberty, London and then Selfridges was followed by permanent stores in Topshop, London and New York. Now, the business focusses on live events and developing customised experiences with brands and retailers.
YR Store has succeeded in bringing truly exciting mass customization to consumers with instant results whilst delivering a high-end product at a variety of quality levels depending on target market. Tim Williams is one of the founders and has just launched the company's New York office.
This session will cover:
How to create live custom experiences that customers understand
Why the pop-up model works for YR and what it could do for you
The gamification of design - the secret to making the in-store experience fun
Case study: Story x Pepsi x YR New York - how we worked with a brand and retailer to bring a campaign to life
Challenges of customization and live design
What results does customization in-store give a retailer or brand
Thoughts on future of customization online and in-store
Tim Williams, CEO, YR Store
Focus Group - Forming an Industry 3D Technology Coalition
Chase Room
Sandra Gagnon, Director - 3D Virtual Transformation, Target
Achieving Tangible Innovation Results and Maintaining Brand Relevance
Lincoln Hall
Achieving Tangible Innovation Results and Maintaining Brand Relevance
Lincoln Hall
L.L.Bean is a 100-year old heritage company that was born out of a single product, the L.L.Bean Boot, which is still in production today. In an attempt to remain competitive and to adhere to the fluctuating demands of their consumer base, L.L.Bean has nurtured an ad hoc innovation culture across their complete product line. Fifteen months ago it was decided that this was no longer enough.
Mike Gawtry was brought into the company to tackle a very difficult challenge: how to take the existing ad hoc process, that was then underlying the creative innovation process and culture, and align this with a much more formal systems architecture, without stifling creative thinking. And so began the development of L.L.Bean's Innovation Process that would act as a facet of creation and would interface with the company's more deadline/results-orientated Mind-to-Market Process without impeding design.
This session will discuss:
How was the existing ad-hoc approach to innovation, and its misalignment with the Mind-to-Market process, failing L.L.Bean?
What is the Innovation Process and in what way does it interact with the rest of the product lifecycle?
What were the incentives and vision of the Innovation Process?
How does the alignment of the Innovation Process, the Mind-to-Market Process and PLM work at L.L.Bean?
How was the process and its team planned and executed?
What have been the major challenges of this transition, especially in terms of culture?
What benefits are been realised so far? - time to market, competitiveness, relevance, sales and costs
Mike Gawtry, Director of Sporting Equipment, Travel and Innovation, L.L.Bean
Targeting Digital Process Disruption to Yield Better Efficiencies
Main Lounge
Ana-Martinez Glickson, Director, Visulon Inc.
Powering Fashion Apparel Consumer Insights with Cloud BI Solutions
The Library
Powering Fashion Apparel Consumer Insights with Cloud BI Solutions
The Library
Fashion apparel retailer companies are challenged more than ever to stay relevant, competitive, and profitable in this very dynamic retail economic climate. Through the transformative power of a cloud based BI solution, fashion apparel retailers are empowered to optimize their business operations, manage inventory, maximize margin, drive comp sales growth, and most importantly, have a greater understanding of their consumers across all shopping channels.
Through specific examples of the challenges that both fashion and luxury retailers are encountering today, this session will show how Visionet has solved them strategically leveraging the power of our business intelligence solution.
More specifically:
Driving enterprise business intelligence to enable a 360-degree perspective of your customers, optimize your merchandising & assortment planning processes, and to enable a truly unified commerce experience
Integrating data from disparate retail solutions to analyze, gain insights and to get a comprehensive, and accessible perspective of your entire Unified Commerce retail operations
Delivering an interactive solution to the front line decision makers, across all retail selling channels to enable quicker action on retail insights, regardless of location
Providing insight access to all employees without investing millions in expensive hardware to reduce overall implementation timelines and to obtain a faster ROI
Empowering your teams to independently harness the power of BI to optimize, enhance and improve their reporting capabilities
Holistically managing and leveraging your omni-channel, commerce-channel, supply-chain, customer and social analytics
Brandon Rael , Vice President, Retail Professional Services , Visionet Systems
Asad Mahmood, AVP Business Intelligence & Data Management, Visionet Systems
Mir Sultan, AVP Business Intelligence & Delivery, Visionet Systems
12:55pm
The Social Enterprise - Collaboration is King
Lincoln Hall
The Social Enterprise - Collaboration is King
Lincoln Hall
Our offices and our workers are changing.
The new workplace is Social—it’s as much about personal connections as it is about productivity. Intention, sharing, experience and collaboration make better thought leaders. Empowered employees drive for results as they engage, share and create. The best product comes from teams not individuals. How Social is your PLM?
For 7 years Craig Crawford was a driving force behind the digital transformation at Burberry, with the Social Enterprise at its core. Now as a London based boutique consultant, he is helping other global brands harness the power of Social to be as digital on the inside as they are on the outside.
In this session, Craig will explore:
A new type of management that involves all employees and partners
How technology connects the brand to all employees and partners to foster emotional engagement and purpose
How developing a rich connected culture focused on the brand above and beyond all else brings best in class results
Craig Crawford, Digital Transformation Strategist, Crawford IT
Building 3D Capability into your Organization
Main Lounge
Building 3D Capability into your Organization
Main Lounge
The Columbia Sportswear Company is gearing up for significant growth in the next 4 years and as such is investing heavily in four core areas: supply chain optimization, PLM, intelligent data and lastly, 3D capability.
This session will explore how 3D is being treated as a manufacturing tool for Columbia with the goal of maximizing enterprise-wide digital assets, creating more accurate and earlier-on prototyping and driving operational speed and flexibility. More specifically:
Gaining project buy-in from the C-level
Evaluating and selecting a 3D technology partner
Pilot I - piloting 3D capability in the outerwear and down-jacket style lines where digital rendering is particularly challenging
Pilot II - evolving Pilot I learnings to focus in on prototyping areas that would be the most successful
Taking the pilots to the operational level across business, process and technology
Scaling-up 3D capability to support global deployment
Involving regional partners and global factories in the journey early to best justify investment
Exploring the training and roll-out strategy
Preparing to transition 3D from the development space only and into the wider supply chain
Sean Lane, Founder, A42 Innovations
Gina Patterson, Fit Engineering Manager, Columbia Sportswear
Panel Discussion - What is the End Game of Wearable Technology for the Consumer?
The Library
Panel Discussion - What is the End Game of Wearable Technology for the Consumer?
The Library
What do you think has had the most profound impact on recent growth in the smart fabrics market?
What technology sector of consumer products do you view as being most vital - need, lifestyle or need/lifestyle?(Where a need product is an EKG or medical device, a lifestyle product is a smart technology to assist in shopping and sizing for fashion possibly, and a need/lifestyle product such as a smartphone is one that was a lifestyle product until we were made to believe it was needed
What is more vital - the product (conduit hardware for the technology) or the platform (software) it feeds into?
What do you consider to be the most exciting development in wearable technology in the last year or two?
Where do you see wearable technology going in the next five years?
What is the number one thing holding wearable tech back from being adopted widely by the general public?
With the potential to accumulate massive amounts of data, up to 24/7/365, should companies create their own data platforms for algorithms and predictive analytics or should this be outsourced?
Will wearable technology with data analytics eventually replace human assisted sales help?
Michael Reidbord, Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology
Frank Furlan, Former CEO/President, The Swatch Group USA
Bob Bland, CEO/Founder, Manufacture New York
Heidi Lehmann, COO, Kenzen
Focus Group - Motivating Vendors & Strengthening External Partnerships
Blair Room
Focus Group - Motivating Vendors & Strengthening External Partnerships
Blair Room
It is sales 101 that a salesman will always tell you, the customer, exactly what you want to hear. So when you're seeking a new PLM platform and are confronted with multiple companies, each offering a very similar product and each promising you the world and more, how can you ensure you make the right choice and beyond that, ensure the partnership is sustainable and fruitful?
Keith Krystofolsky has worked in the fashion/apparel sector for many years and in this time, has worked with many of the key technology players. To ensure a long-term, impactful deployment, it is not enough to make a one off platform purchase and to facilitate the occasional dialogue between the consumer and the vendor. Instead, it needs to be a partnership. This is nothing new but fostering this kind of union in practice can be challenging.
In this session, Keith will lead a discussion on how best to:
Understand what motivates your vendors - what is going on behind the scenes and how may this impact your interaction?
Tap into the aforementioned motivators and leverage them to maximize your return
Negotiate with your vendors
Armed with real-life and first-hand success and horror stories of vendor partnerships and interaction, Keith is well equipped to help you approach new and existing vendors in a way that will ensure long-term value and return.
Keith Krystofolsky, Founder, Konsult NYC
Focus Group - Quantifying the ROI of Sustainable Decision Making in Fashion/Apparel
Chase Room
Focus Group - Quantifying the ROI of Sustainable Decision Making in Fashion/Apparel
Chase Room
The rise of disposable and fast fashion supply chains have today made the fashion/apparel sector the second largest offender to the environment after the oil and gas industry.
It wasn't always this way.
Ann Cantrell is Assistant Professor of Fashion Business Management at FIT and her current research focus is on developing a method by which companies can measure and benchmark how sustainable their supply chain really is. By generating one industry-wide score card, the idea is that companies should be able to better monitor their sustainable progress in a standardized manner, identify the best tools to help guide the process and finally, work collaboratively to improve.
Ann leads a discussion on how to best evaluate how sustainable your current practices are and where to go from there in an attempt to be more environmentally friendly and reverse the damaging threats the fashion/apparel sector currently poses.
Ann Cantrell, Assistant Professor, Fashion Business Management, Fashion Institute of Technology
1:35pm
Networking Luncheon
Main Dining Room
2:35pm
Evaluating & Defining a Complete End-to-End Pre-Production Development Process and the Tools Needed to Realize It
Lincoln Hall
Evaluating & Defining a Complete End-to-End Pre-Production Development Process and the Tools Needed to Realize It
Lincoln Hall
The set out of the exhibition hall of PI Apparel is much like the thought process of many companies when it comes to technology; there is some technology over here that does one thing and another over there that does something else. Whilst they ultimately all work together to create a more efficient pre-production landscape once deployed, they are initially kept separate in consideration and strategy. Why is this?
Bob Stevens, Sr Director, Pre-Production Systems at Nine West Holdings, joins PI Apparel to discuss the need for companies to take an entire holistic pre-production view on all of the different tools available to them and to discover early, which elements you really need and how these might talk to eachother to reduce the overall product development timeline.
This session will discuss:
Evaluating today's process against tomorrow's plan
What are the limitations of the current siloed model of evaluating pre-production technologies?
Setting the table and creating a technology map that allows for holistic multi-tech evaluation versus a disjointed approach
How might 3D and PLM be integrated collaboratively?
How does each technology fit into the organisation and is each one really needed or could an existing platform simply extend its functionality?
Developing an effective check process for each technological consideration
How then should pre-production and production interact through systems integration?
Bob Stevens, Sr. Director Pre-Production Systems, Nine West Holdings
3D Apparel 2.0 - Connecting 3D and PLM
Main Lounge
3D Apparel 2.0 - Connecting 3D and PLM
Main Lounge
3D technology has made huge strides within the fashion/apparel space over the last few years with most major brands either having already made a solid investment or indeed, planning one. But whilst the siloed benefits of digital product creation are already being realized, the true disruptive potential of these tools is only possible if an end-to-end digital ecosystem is created.
As 3D continues to grow, its functionality has largely overlapped with, and in some instances overtaken, the same functionality within PLM. Add to that, that the long-term business vision of 3D would be sooner achieved if these tools had access to the stores of data within PLM and it is obvious that work is needed to bridge these two worlds together.
Joshua Young, Former 3D Studio Director with Nike, uses the metaphor of building a car (3D ecosystem) with one hand tied behind your back (lack of PLM). It is of course possible, but difficult.
He joins us to discuss:
How are the worlds of PLM and 3D colliding and interacting?
What are the implications of keeping these separate?
What work are the vendors doing in both spaces to aid integration?
What can be realized by such an integration in terms of creating a digital ecosystem and the benefits that would create?
What should companies be doing to facilitate this alignment in terms of software, culture and team structure?
Joshua Young, Digital Product Creation Consultant, Joshua Young Consulting/Thought Provoking Consulting
Wearable Technologies, e-textiles: Opportunities and Challenges in the Fashion/Apparel Industry
The Library
Wearable Technologies, e-textiles: Opportunities and Challenges in the Fashion/Apparel Industry
The Library
In the past few years we have seen a renewed interest in wearable technologies and e-textiles; with signifiant government investment in e-textiles and constant media attention there seems to be a groundswell. But separating fact from fiction is sometimes hard, and even harder for established brands to assess the opportunity and explore market demand. And that is even before considering what it actually takes to merge apparel and electronic engineering mindsets. At the same time, expanding mindsets and disrupting established modes of production can have a great pay-off.
In this session we will look into the current state of affairs, address some of the key barriers, as well as opportunities, and suggest some of the ways in which brands can explore the brave world of wearable technologies.
More specifically:
Key barriers and un-explored opportunities
Moving from design to design “systems”
What is the role of Innovation in wearable tech for the apparel industry
Forming strategic Partnerships
Materials, Processes and Rapid Prototyping
Despina Papadopoulos, Founder, Principled Design / NYU
Focus Group - Combining Technology & Sustainability to Create Amazing Products
Blair Room
Focus Group - Combining Technology & Sustainability to Create Amazing Products
Blair Room
In the 20th century the priority for all businesses was growth and expansion above all else. The model worked and business flourished but at the expense of the environment and now in the 21st century, the same businesses are being pressured to undo this damage.
The mistake many make when it comes to sustainability is that it is often an after-thought; the 'think about the product first and deal with its impacts later' model is however completely counter-productive. Sustainability needs to be embedded deep within the culture and mantra of a brand, needs to be built into the very beginning of product design and is often complemented by technology, though the latter often comes as a surprise to many.
Debera Johnson, joins PI Apparel to discuss how the rich and fabulous combination of technology and sustainability is possible, how you can embark on that journey, how you can make it a manageable endeavour and how, when done correctly, it can result in amazing and novel product creation.
Supporting Competitive Product Development through Analytics
Lincoln Hall
Supporting Competitive Product Development through Analytics
Lincoln Hall
Most companies are looking to data analytics as a way to provide their executives the transparency they need to run an agile, flexible and profitable business. At Kohl's, they are taking this one step further.
As a multi-brand organization, their focus is brand clarity, brand alignment and customer-centricity, and data analytics lends itself nicely to this. By exploring, mining and developing existing data as well as incorporating new data from customers and their competitors, they aim to enhance visibility and in doing so, better support effective decision- making around product development and innovation.
This session will discuss:
Examining existing datasets and their access and consolidating this into one central place
Re-evaluating how changes in data infrastructure might make business better
Exploring existing brand and customer profiles and putting a data mining process in place
Understanding the team-specific siloed nature of data collection and re-defining this
Building a data analytics team and fostering the right culture
Supporting a 'less-time mining, more-time decision making' policy
Creating a centralized data organization that is visually presentable and circles back to innovation
Tightly aligning the data analytics strategy with the product development process
Charlie Holmes, VP, Product Development Analytics & Operations, Kohl's
Panel Discussion - 3D Technology for Fashion/Apparel
The Library
Panel Discussion - 3D Technology for Fashion/Apparel
The Library
3D is of interest, but where do I start?
How can we inspire trust in brands investigating/using 3D given how late the fashion sector is to adopt?
Who should the users of 3D be within the fashion organization?
Training traditional designers to use 3D digital design – the learning curve
Is interoperability a given between 3D and existing systems and is there any pre-requirement of existing systems before 3D can be started?
How can 3D technology be leveraged to promote social innovation?
How can 3D digital models accelerate the timeline from concept to consumer?
Leveraging the 3D Master Model for enhanced digital omni-channel marketing
How to streamline the integration of 3D and PLM systems
What are the challenges of rolling out 3D beyond design?
What can we expect from an apparel company who have successfully adopted 3D in 5 years time?
Steven Madge, Vice President Industry & Global Affairs, Dassault Systemes
Bill Brewster, Vice President & General Manager, Enterprise Software Solutions, Gerber Technology
Luis Velazquez, Director of Business Consultancy, DeSL
Asaf Landau, CEO, Optitex
4:05pm
PI Keynote - Revolutionizing the Clothing you Wear by Making it Smarter, More Comfortable and More Efficient
Lincoln Hall
PI Keynote - Revolutionizing the Clothing you Wear by Making it Smarter, More Comfortable and More Efficient
Lincoln Hall
Ministry of Supply, a trio of MIT graduates, is a forward-thinking yet practical fashion brand with three main goals: innovation, functionality and consumer-centricity.
Striving to solve the problems that have been inherent to everyday clothing for far too long, like poor fit and sweat stains, they look to ensure that their products alleviate the pain points consumers have been facing in their garments for years. And they aren't afraid of failure and see no design cycle as a wasted endeavor, designing, building, and field-testing each product before implementing feedback and starting again.
By relentlessly challenging the expected, they’ve developed a process to produce garments that are better made, better performing, and better suited for modern life.
As the lines between work, play, and downtime continue to blur, we need essential garments that keep up with our entire day. Ministry of Supply have set out to achieve that versatility through capable garments that actually fit the human body and are easy to care for and wear, no matter what you choose to do in them.