PI Apparel 2018 | Speakers

Many fashion and consumer goods brands have a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. But do you find yourself asking questions like, “is my PLM growing with my business or is it adding more complexity? Does my PLM integrate with the new solutions and technologies I need to remain competitive? How do I know my PLM is modern enough to drive product innovation and performance? Is my company due for change?''

Whether you're looking to drive business growth, get your head above the data madness or be more efficient, it’s time to understand how modern PLM can work for you. Hear directly from industry experts who have asked themselves these same questions and have already lived through a PLM implementation, switch or upgrade.

Make the right choice by understanding the 5 fundamental questions that everyone should ask about PLM.

The Retail industry is undergoing a massive transformation, fuelled by the way digital consumers now buy products and a ‘need for speed’ — shortening the concept-to-consumer product lifecycle. With a focus on omni-channel delivery and improving the consumer experience, retailers and brands are challenged to deliver the right products to market, at the right time and at the right price –  all of this in an era when the supply chain is becoming more global and complex than ever.

This session will explore new innovations in product design and development and provide insights that enable companies to overcome these market pressures and remain competitive. 

The Retail industry is undergoing a massive transformation, fuelled by the way digital consumers now buy products and a ‘need for speed’ — shortening the concept-to-consumer product lifecycle. With a focus on omni-channel delivery and improving the consumer experience, retailers and brands are challenged to deliver the right products to market, at the right time and at the right price –  all of this in an era when the supply chain is becoming more global and complex than ever.

This session will explore new innovations in product design and development and provide insights that enable companies to overcome these market pressures and remain competitive. 

Many fashion and consumer goods brands have a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. But do you find yourself asking questions like, “is my PLM growing with my business or is it adding more complexity? Does my PLM integrate with the new solutions and technologies I need to remain competitive? How do I know my PLM is modern enough to drive product innovation and performance? Is my company due for change?''

Whether you're looking to drive business growth, get your head above the data madness or be more efficient, it’s time to understand how modern PLM can work for you. Hear directly from industry experts who have asked themselves these same questions and have already lived through a PLM implementation, switch or upgrade.

Make the right choice by understanding the 5 fundamental questions that everyone should ask about PLM.

Many fashion and consumer goods brands have a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. But do you find yourself asking questions like, “is my PLM growing with my business or is it adding more complexity? Does my PLM integrate with the new solutions and technologies I need to remain competitive? How do I know my PLM is modern enough to drive product innovation and performance? Is my company due for change?''

Whether you're looking to drive business growth, get your head above the data madness or be more efficient, it’s time to understand how modern PLM can work for you. Hear directly from industry experts who have asked themselves these same questions and have already lived through a PLM implementation, switch or upgrade.

Make the right choice by understanding the 5 fundamental questions that everyone should ask about PLM.

Imagine you have been using the same car for years; right up until a recent upgrade, it did everything a car should do and you were content. When the new car arrived all shiny and new, you notice that it comes equipped with a whole host of new buttons and functionality but, as is human nature, you continue to use the new model just as you had done the old. But then one day a passenger riding shotgun starts asking you what all the buttons do and it suddenly dawns on you that you have no idea and start to investigate; it is only this outsider questioning that finally leads to you realizing exactly what this new car can do. It was more efficient, came with bundles of additional functionality and overall allowed for a much more enjoyable ride.

Jill likens this experience to what she has seen countless times with PLM adoption by industry; a brand has a challenge, targets PLM as a solution, invests huge amounts of resource into it's integration, achieves the prime goal and then hits a wall of technology fatigue, never realizing the true potential and return across the supply chain.

In this session, Jill challenges you to think honestly about what your PLM is doing for you today and then to ask yourself, in the face of everchanging market demand, business models and global complexity, what more could it be doing?

The Retail industry is undergoing a massive transformation, fuelled by the way digital consumers now buy products and a ‘need for speed’ — shortening the concept-to-consumer product lifecycle. With a focus on omni-channel delivery and improving the consumer experience, retailers and brands are challenged to deliver the right products to market, at the right time and at the right price –  all of this in an era when the supply chain is becoming more global and complex than ever.

This session will explore new innovations in product design and development and provide insights that enable companies to overcome these market pressures and remain competitive. 

Lyle and Scott, a UK based niche brand, began a journey to transform its entire supply chain processes to be 100% digitally based by starting at the initial product concept stage. They have now expanded this into their entire business – right through to final product sale.

Understand how fashion companies can exploit today’s technology to deliver compelling results and the opportunities and challenges involved.

The Safariland Group, like many companies, has grown aggressively over the years by acquisition. The result? A 26-brand organization, each with it's own individual processes, systems and culture.

The variance in data capture and reporting means that an internal team has to normalize this information for corporate-wide visibility and comparison, which is an unnecessary and unwanted strain on resources and capital.

To maximize business efficiencies and profitability, Walter Wilhelm was brought in to standardize these processes: creating a model that fits all purposes, means no overburdening of individual brands/teams, captures the right data at the right times and ultimately feeds that data back into the value chain effectively and productively.

Thanks to his background in both industry and consultancy, Walter leads a discussion on best practices in consolidating and standardizing many processes into one model, balancing the needs of corporate-wide brands and teams and facilitating a transparent data-led business strategy.

Custom shoes have been an integral part of Vans heritage since its founder, Paul Van Doren opened up shop in Anaheim, CA back in 1966. In the early days, Vans offered customers the ability to use their own fabric in the design of their Custom shoes. Off the back of this and to celebrate their 50th anniversary, Vans built and launched a completely new Customs platform putting new tools of creativity in its followers’ hands. Vans enables users to create a truly one of a kind pair of shoes that utilizes their own images, designs and most importantly imagination.

The new Vans Customs platform cements the brand’s commitment to enabling creative expression and youth culture. It features an industry first, highly interactive 3D configurator, which allows customers to visualize and manipulate their shoe in a photorealistic way. It also allows them to customize up to 19 different styles, selecting from over 95 different colors, prints and materials. In addition to these options, customers can upload their own original artwork and photography to be immortalized on their very own footwear, effectively using the shoes they wear as a canvas for their artwork.

Vans designed this platform from the ground up, looking at what has been done in adjacent industries like automotive, apparel, furniture and gaming. They incorporated state of the art visualization technologies like WebGL to a carefully designed user interface and an optimized order management and fulfillment workflow. When it launched in August 2016, no other online customization platform offered this level of configuration, design and interactivity on mobile, tablet and desktop.

In this session, Safir Bellali will discuss:

• Why is 3D technology such a strategic priority for VFC and how are they going about developing a roadmap ready for formal adoption?
• How his past experience with digital tools in the auto industry is helping shape their 3D strategy
• How have 3D tools evolved over time and why is now the most opportune time for investment?
• The 3D Footwear Pilot - curating the right team and going live with a successful customer-centric buying platform
• How does the fully 3D, fully interactive consumer platform work and how has it re-defined the way Vans approaches and offers product?
• The Next Steps - Now that the pilot is live and successful, what is the next phase in 3D rollout and adoption?
• What are the wider implications of 3D for Vans and the entire VFC umbrella?

Visual development artist Neysa Bové will share the research and process behind costume design at Walt Disney Animation Studios and how it helped shape the unique looks of Academy Award®-nominated Moana.

How do you utilize pre-competitive collaboration to unlock business potential? Applying new technology and ways of working can drive faster development cycles, ensure smarter decisions, and solve challenges. Perhaps even more importantly, working collaboratively generates enhanced creativity, innovation and ultimately provides for bigger industry gains.

Come and learn new ways to work with technology to drive gains for your own business and product categories – and discover how working collectively is more sustaining -- and fun!

In this session, Ed Gribbin explores:

• the challenges that fashion retail is facing from both non-traditional competitors and start-ups with new business models, and from consumers who are more interested in value and sustainability than disposable fashion
• the innovations that will enable the industry to survive and thrive in the face of these challenges.

The evolution of consumer buying behavior and the advent of Industry 4.0 has created a new urgency for fashion and apparel companies to transform digitally in order to compete.

Industry 4.0 is not just about manufacturing – it concerns the entire fashion ecosystem, from high-end brands to fast fashion retailers. It will reshape the entire marketplace and change how companies work and respond to customer demands. This new digital era will require fashion and apparel companies to become more creative, agile and efficient in order to meet the market’s design, fit and price expectations.

Luckily, new innovations in fashion technology are giving companies the ability to drive creativity, efficiency and speed to market by connecting teams and integrating design and product development onto a single platform. This renewed focus on the streamlining of processes and the seamless sharing of information throughout the entire product lifecycle is empowering forward-thinking companies to deliver the right product to the right consumer at the right time.

Join industry experts for a discussion on the future of connected design and product development and review an industry case study showing the benefits of connected processes.

During the session you will learn:

• How to leverage technology to address key challenges for creative & development teams
• How connectivity can drive efficiency and speed-to-market
• How to implement a single platform to oversee, optimize, and manage digital workflows

How do you utilize pre-competitive collaboration to unlock business potential? Applying new technology and ways of working can drive faster development cycles, ensure smarter decisions, and solve challenges. Perhaps even more importantly, working collaboratively generates enhanced creativity, innovation and ultimately provides for bigger industry gains.

Come and learn new ways to work with technology to drive gains for your own business and product categories – and discover how working collectively is more sustaining -- and fun!

3D virtual product development has made its way into California design rooms, with the promise of unlimited instant design visualization, and minimal expense and time investment. It’s no surprise considering the “fast fashion” business for which the region is known comes with pressure to design hundreds of new styles every month. Fast fashion has made California a hub of influence both in personal style and in production style, with some of the most efficient product development processes that are mimicked by apparel companies all over the world.

With so many brands trialing and learning how best to utilize 3D technology to speed up the design process, it seems fitting to learn from those who are already well-versed in “doing fashion fast.”

In this session, Stephanie Kleinjan, designer and owner of the California-based brand Socialite, will share her experience, successes, and learnings from integrating 3D virtual sample-making into a fast fashion business model.

In a prior life, Sarah Krasley led an emerging product group at Autodesk, investigating and developing new technologies for mechanical engineers, architects, and factory owners. It was during this time that Sarah became interested in Apparel; if simulation, automation and product creation platforms could gel so seamlessly with the creation of a car or with the realization of an architectural design, why could these learnings not transcend to apparel?

Sarah set about choosing her product muse: she needed a challenging garment that was worn skin-tight, is highly dependent on fit, requires a very high level of technical design and a garment group that generates some of the highest levels of consumer dissatisfaction. Rightly so, she chose swimwear. Despite setting about investing in the best in class software the industry had to offer Sarah was underwhelmed; why had other sectors stormed ahead with technology whilst fashion had fallen so far behind? And so she set about developing her own software, leveraging the swimwear as a proof of concept opportunity.

In this session, Sarah will leverage her 'outsider' position to lead a discussion around technology and specifically:

• How is the move into digital being dragged down by an antiquated and resource-heavy workflow?
• How can we automate the measurement of garments so product creation can focus more on delivering a well-fitted product to the consumer and less on redundant activity?
• Increasing data and metadata capture by both brands and manufacturers and how can this be better leveraged to be more consumer-centric
• What can be learned from other sectors that have gone through a similar transformation?

It is evident that digital technologies can be leveraged to advance sustainable innovation in the apparel and footwear industry, and we are already witnessing significant disruption of existing processes, material innovation, products, business models and product end-of-life solutions, often pioneered by designers and creative entrepreneurs. This paradigm shift brings about exciting opportunities as well as responsibilities for designers and is likely to affect their job roles in the future.

Following conversations with sportswear and fashion designers, both with those new to digital technologies and those already embarked on their digital journey, it becomes clear that in order to utilise digital tools, technologies and processes to their best effect, the role of the designer will need to be deliberated.

In this this session Anne will lead a discussion on:

• Up-skilling of traditional design roles v creation of additional technical design roles to bridge the gaps
• How much technical knowledge do designers need; could multi-disciplinary teams be the answer to a more collaborative and seamless approach? 
• Whether the industry can expect a transition period from traditional to digital design and what this could look like 
• Considering whether the constantly growing ‘need for speed’ and subsequent adoption of digital tools will affect the quality and authenticity of designed products 

The evolution of consumer buying behavior and the advent of Industry 4.0 has created a new urgency for fashion and apparel companies to transform digitally in order to compete.

Industry 4.0 is not just about manufacturing – it concerns the entire fashion ecosystem, from high-end brands to fast fashion retailers. It will reshape the entire marketplace and change how companies work and respond to customer demands. This new digital era will require fashion and apparel companies to become more creative, agile and efficient in order to meet the market’s design, fit and price expectations.

Luckily, new innovations in fashion technology are giving companies the ability to drive creativity, efficiency and speed to market by connecting teams and integrating design and product development onto a single platform. This renewed focus on the streamlining of processes and the seamless sharing of information throughout the entire product lifecycle is empowering forward-thinking companies to deliver the right product to the right consumer at the right time.

Join industry experts for a discussion on the future of connected design and product development and review an industry case study showing the benefits of connected processes.

During the session you will learn:

• How to leverage technology to address key challenges for creative & development teams
• How connectivity can drive efficiency and speed-to-market
• How to implement a single platform to oversee, optimize, and manage digital workflows

Emerging technologies that impact business are proliferating at a rapid pace, with a dizzying number of applications (and acronyms!) creating challenges in assessing which ones are implementation ready versus passing fads. Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Big Data, Smart Materials, Sensors, Blockchain  -- what does it all mean and how do I figure out what's right for my business? 

Technology standards activities provide an objective, consensus driven view of the state of new technologies for issues such as integration, scalability, interoperability and other business impacting considerations. IEEE, best known for its WiFi and related communications protocol standards, has launched new programs across a multitude of technologies that will shape our future - this presentation provides a glimpse of what's happening to accelerate these new technology introductions and how to engage in these programs to benefit your own business imperatives.

Custom shoes have been an integral part of Vans heritage since its founder, Paul Van Doren opened up shop in Anaheim, CA back in 1966. In the early days, Vans offered customers the ability to use their own fabric in the design of their Custom shoes. Off the back of this and to celebrate their 50th anniversary, Vans built and launched a completely new Customs platform putting new tools of creativity in its followers’ hands. Vans enables users to create a truly one of a kind pair of shoes that utilizes their own images, designs and most importantly imagination.

The new Vans Customs platform cements the brand’s commitment to enabling creative expression and youth culture. It features an industry first, highly interactive 3D configurator, which allows customers to visualize and manipulate their shoe in a photorealistic way. It also allows them to customize up to 19 different styles, selecting from over 95 different colors, prints and materials. In addition to these options, customers can upload their own original artwork and photography to be immortalized on their very own footwear, effectively using the shoes they wear as a canvas for their artwork.

Vans designed this platform from the ground up, looking at what has been done in adjacent industries like automotive, apparel, furniture and gaming. They incorporated state of the art visualization technologies like WebGL to a carefully designed user interface and an optimized order management and fulfillment workflow. When it launched in August 2016, no other online customization platform offered this level of configuration, design and interactivity on mobile, tablet and desktop.

In this session, Safir Bellali will discuss:

• Why is 3D technology such a strategic priority for VFC and how are they going about developing a roadmap ready for formal adoption?
• How his past experience with digital tools in the auto industry is helping shape their 3D strategy
• How have 3D tools evolved over time and why is now the most opportune time for investment?
• The 3D Footwear Pilot - curating the right team and going live with a successful customer-centric buying platform
• How does the fully 3D, fully interactive consumer platform work and how has it re-defined the way Vans approaches and offers product?
• The Next Steps - Now that the pilot is live and successful, what is the next phase in 3D rollout and adoption?
• What are the wider implications of 3D for Vans and the entire VFC umbrella?

Words like "big data" and "machine learning" are often used to allude to a mysterious technological solution to all sorts of problems in the apparel industry. For design, these concepts are often particularly vague and abstract. While designers and product developers often implicitly delegate the use of data to specialists, in many ways the best-case solution relies on a close collaboration between designers/developers and engineers. If successful, data may be the key to painlessly reducing waste in the system, a win-win for both the producer and the consumer.

In this talk Lucy will discuss a vision for what strategically-applied machine learning techniques can do for design and development (and what engineering needs from design in order to make this possible), including:

• Sources of error, inefficiency, and waste in the garment life cycle
• The data we have and the data we need
• Understanding the clothing system from a consumer-centric perspective
• Consumer decision-making in managing the clothing system
• Moving beyond single-garment, point-of-purchase recommendation
• The role of design knowledge in artificially intelligent systems
• The unique challenges of the apparel domain for machine learning

Gap Inc. is a major global retailer delivering American style to the world. Over the last 46 years, the company has grown from a single store to a global fashion business with iconic brands — Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta and Intermix.

As the global retail context changes rapidly, Gap Inc. is also changing. One of the most exciting examples of change at Gap Inc. (and the industry as a whole) resides at the intersection of great products, advanced technology, rapid innovation, and responsible interaction with the environment.

This discussion will share industry-relevant learnings from Gap Inc.’s journey to build compelling products that are increasingly sustainable. Points of discussion will include:

• What changes are occurring in the industry?
• What is the evolving role of talent?
• How are supplier and partner ecosystems evolving in response to the acceleration of technological innovation?
• How are retailers evolving to become better participants in technical innovation?

Gap Inc. is a major global retailer delivering American style to the world. Over the last 46 years, the company has grown from a single store to a global fashion business with iconic brands — Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta and Intermix.

As the global retail context changes rapidly, Gap Inc. is also changing. One of the most exciting examples of change at Gap Inc. (and the industry as a whole) resides at the intersection of great products, advanced technology, rapid innovation, and responsible interaction with the environment.

This discussion will share industry-relevant learnings from Gap Inc.’s journey to build compelling products that are increasingly sustainable. Points of discussion will include:

• What changes are occurring in the industry?
• What is the evolving role of talent?
• How are supplier and partner ecosystems evolving in response to the acceleration of technological innovation?
• How are retailers evolving to become better participants in technical innovation?

The global supply chain is being crushed by labor unavailability, rising wages and shorter lead times.  

Instead of chasing cheap labor, build a scalable, local, digital supply chain that can supply customers garments in 1 to 3 days. We will not only show you the technology that is breaking down the barriers to local manufacturing, but the business model that will create the American garment factories of the future.  

When you create the ability to SEWLOCAL™, you can on-shore manufacturing with labor costs that are on par with or cheaper than your global supply chain. 

Join us to discuss:

• Why SEWBOTS®, not robots, are succeeding in apparel
• How patented machine vision technology and full sewing automation can eliminate the need to chase cheap labor
• How your brand can improve sustainability, increase skill sets, and return textile manufacturing to the USA

The advent and advancement of 3D digital capabilities for product creation has highlighted inefficiencies of material rendering. The onus of scanning materials for use in a virtual environment is a resource-intensive exercise and is duplicated within each and every company. A year ago, a group of innovative minds from across the footwear industry got together to discuss a vision: could a central platform be created that served as a digital library of materials; a one stop shop where the vendors scanned and fed materials data in and the industry could log in and search, extract, select and/or export materials from, to better serve their move to digital product creation?

In this session, the three leading groups - Deckers Brands, PTC and the FDRA - lead a session discussing the needs of such functionality and to showcase the development of their realized Material Exchange platform.

Specifically:

• What are the existing limitations of scanning materials and creating their virtually-rendered avatars for use in digital product creation?
• Who is behind the Materials Exchange and what roles are each playing in its development?
• Creating an easy to communicate and useable experience that moves away from anonymity and supports a fully trackable and traceable operation
• Facilitating a form of conversation between industry and vendors that has never been possible with an added bidding feature and real-time costing 
• A cultural shift - how can industry get the vendors that sell the materials to take responsibility for their scanning?
• What impact does this novel platform have on the average time and cost of product development?
• The Material Exchange and advancement of colour management processes
• How will this impact the accuracy of product visualisation and the speed of decision making?
• How will the Material Exchange integrate with 3D and PLM software platforms?
• What does this herald for the future of materials management and selection? 

The advent and advancement of 3D digital capabilities for product creation has highlighted inefficiencies of material rendering. The onus of scanning materials for use in a virtual environment is a resource-intensive exercise and is duplicated within each and every company. A year ago, a group of innovative minds from across the footwear industry got together to discuss a vision: could a central platform be created that served as a digital library of materials; a one stop shop where the vendors scanned and fed materials data in and the industry could log in and search, extract, select and/or export materials from, to better serve their move to digital product creation?

In this session, the three leading groups - Deckers Brands, PTC and the FDRA - lead a session discussing the needs of such functionality and to showcase the development of their realized Material Exchange platform.

Specifically:

• What are the existing limitations of scanning materials and creating their virtually-rendered avatars for use in digital product creation?
• Who is behind the Materials Exchange and what roles are each playing in its development?
• Creating an easy to communicate and useable experience that moves away from anonymity and supports a fully trackable and traceable operation
• Facilitating a form of conversation between industry and vendors that has never been possible with an added bidding feature and real-time costing 
• A cultural shift - how can industry get the vendors that sell the materials to take responsibility for their scanning?
• What impact does this novel platform have on the average time and cost of product development?
• The Material Exchange and advancement of colour management processes
• How will this impact the accuracy of product visualisation and the speed of decision making?
• How will the Material Exchange integrate with 3D and PLM software platforms?
• What does this herald for the future of materials management and selection? 

How Digitization Can Elevate the Utilization and Business Opportunities Found in Material Collections and Archives

Textile Hive is a historic collection of over 40,000 textiles spanning fifty countries; it was founded to engage and preserve the rich history, intricate techniques, and stunning visual beauty of the Andrea Aranow Textile Design Collection. The collection, started in 1987 by Andrea Aranow, earned a reputation as a highly prized resource for design industry professionals worldwide and clients included designers like Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, and Alexander McQueen. In 2009, a project to digitize and catalog the collection was undertaken to expand the audience and use cases for the collection.

Since launching Textile Hive online in 2014, the small family business has had to evolve rapidly to stay efficient, profitable and relevant. Textile Hive’s small unhindered size has allowed for the investment in emerging digital capabilities and supported its transformation. The virtualization of its huge physical materials library with 3D technology into a nimble, easy-to-navigate visual database has realized new and faster use cases within textile design, product design as well as in other parts of the industry and education.

Most companies have, over the years, invested in physical sample libraries and archives which are under utilized and almost impossible to leverage and navigate. Rather than think of these investments as sunk costs new models of management are emerging that realize the benefits of embracing material digitization. As the focus of innovation turns more and more on textiles and materials, Caleb Sayan, cofounder of Textile Hive, leads a wider conversation around how textiles and archive collections can be elevated across the design process and supply chain through immersive physical and digital technologies and their subsequent experiences.

Through innovative technologies and a host of eco-based materials, Reef continually delivers instant comfort, style, and versatility for the active-minded consumer who loves to celebrate the fun and freedom of beach life. 

In this session, Reef's Joel Barrie leads a discussion on:

• How is technology changing consumer experience?
• How are vertical retailer capabilities altering consumer expectations (quick reaction to fashion and trend)?
• Quality: reviews / social listening – Do you know what is being said about your brand and your products? Are you part of that conversation?
• The importance of quality and speed at the same pace

Customers' quality focus is shifting and now manufacturing excellence is a must for market leaders; procurement and quality management must be part of this shift. In this session, Pivot88 will present the Quiksilver story of how they have re-thought traditional concepts of quality control with the disruptive opportunities offered by new and emerging technology.

• Gaining added efficiency by moving from a model of reaction to pro-action and prediction
• Capturing data at the source to help ensure compliance and the closing of the supply chain loop
• Building better partnerships with suppliers through collaborative innovation
• Learning from business cases of different industries

Through innovative products and experiences, retailers have historically harnessed change to their advantage. However, there has been a paradigm shift, and retailers are now undergoing a phase of disruption of their own that is forcing them to change how they do business.

Many forces have contributed to this shift, including technology, demographics, and changing consumer purchasing habits. Although AI can unlock enormous business value, it is crucial to have a clear objective so that an AI investment is made for the right reasons.

In this session, Parsons Professor José P. Chan will discuss what AI is, why it has enormous business value and how to best leverage it.

Every day there are new stories about a retailer closing their doors, fashion companies that are struggling and even entire malls closing. For the past few years, this has been the trend – and without reaction, this trend will continue. 

The internet is continually taking a bigger bite out of brick and mortar sales, and this is often blamed for the decline of foot traffic. But the fact of the matter is that the internet still only counts for about 9% of total retail sales in the US, so it can’t be the only reason. 

Millennials live a different lifestyle then their predecessors and different shopping habits. By 2020, Millennials will account for about 30% of all retail sales in the US and as they adopt a more “less-is-more” attitude towards life, they prefer smaller and more intimate environments compared to big box retailers. They are looking for specialized products and as such, higher personalized brands are beating out large impersonal competitors daily and the idea of luxury is replaced with individuality. It is no secret that Customization and Technology are key to attracting these customers. 

So what does this mean for fashion companies? 

The process chain from design and development to manufacturing and selling need to take a different approach and react much faster to changing trends. The standard design and development process – 18 months – is too long and leaves companies struggling to react. 

Through digital design and one-off manufacturing, companies big and small can reinvent their entire strategy to be more flexible, cut down development time and react quicker to their consumers. The result gives customers, not just millennials, the shopping experience they are craving. 

Join On Point Manufacturing and Human Solutions to learn about these strategies and how they can be implemented into new and existing brands. Current problems facing retailers and solving them by incorporating one-off manufacturing and a new design process into development and sales will be discussed.

A discussion about how the technology behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies can contribute to security, reliability, and social compliance in the fashion and apparel space. Learn about this disruptive technology and how it may be used to streamline and enable a new level of supply chain transparency and authenticity.

Points of discussion will include:

• What is blockchain?
• Overview of cryptocurrency
• Pros and cons of distributed and decentralized models
• How can this technology be leveraged?
• Ideas for applicability in the fashion space including Sample Tracking, Social Compliance, Materials traceability and more…
• Existing blockchain applications in our space
• A blockchain case study 

For far too long, paperwork in the auditing process has been responsible for extreme inefficiencies and lack of oversight in the supply chain. New developments in technology and its widespread use has enabled Triple Tree Solutions to transform the way quality is managed. Triple Tree helps digitize the global supply chain by collecting data efficiently, presenting validated information to the right users, and employing smart algorithms that prompt corrective action.

Triple Tree will discuss the value of its primary products:

• QUONDA: Quality Inspection and Management System
• VMAN: CSR & Compliance Inspection and Management System

These systems have matured and been developed from over 25 years of sourcing operations experience and a diverse engagement with over 150 clients. They deliver on transparency, accuracy, and speed with real-time monitoring and customization for the client.

Mr. John Frazier, Senior Technical Director of HOHENSTEIN Institute America, will offer his insights into HOHENSTEIN’s own experience with the advantages, challenges, and opportunities while adopting QUONDA.

Mr. Azfar Hasan, CEO & Founder of Triple Tree Solutions, will demonstrate the features and tools that are built into these systems that help manage production and vendors in your supply chain with greater transparency and efficiency.

For far too long, paperwork in the auditing process has been responsible for extreme inefficiencies and lack of oversight in the supply chain. New developments in technology and its widespread use has enabled Triple Tree Solutions to transform the way quality is managed. Triple Tree helps digitize the global supply chain by collecting data efficiently, presenting validated information to the right users, and employing smart algorithms that prompt corrective action.

Triple Tree will discuss the value of its primary products:

• QUONDA: Quality Inspection and Management System
• VMAN: CSR & Compliance Inspection and Management System

These systems have matured and been developed from over 25 years of sourcing operations experience and a diverse engagement with over 150 clients. They deliver on transparency, accuracy, and speed with real-time monitoring and customization for the client.

Mr. John Frazier, Senior Technical Director of HOHENSTEIN Institute America, will offer his insights into HOHENSTEIN’s own experience with the advantages, challenges, and opportunities while adopting QUONDA.

Mr. Azfar Hasan, CEO & Founder of Triple Tree Solutions, will demonstrate the features and tools that are built into these systems that help manage production and vendors in your supply chain with greater transparency and efficiency.

A deeprooted obsession with being insular and a comparatively poor adoption of technology has, over the years, realised a broken RFA supply chain. The associated infrastructure has grown to be complex and clumsy, and mindsets are intensely unadaptable. So what happens then when this antiquated global beast is confronted with a digital revolution, an unprecedented speed of technological development, and an everchanging and unrelenting marketplace?

Nothing good.

Kaltex is in the unique position of having teams/companies actively involved in all aspects of the aforementioned supply chain and as such, a somewhat unique perspective on the bigger picture. In this session, Hebe Schecter, Kaltex's hands-on President, explores the downfalls of a siloed value chain and the changes needed now to survive in the future.

A deeprooted obsession with being insular and a comparatively poor adoption of technology has, over the years, realised a broken RFA supply chain. The associated infrastructure has grown to be complex and clumsy, and mindsets are intensely unadaptable. So what happens then when this antiquated global beast is confronted with a digital revolution, an unprecedented speed of technological development, and an everchanging and unrelenting marketplace?

Nothing good.

Kaltex is in the unique position of having teams/companies actively involved in all aspects of the aforementioned supply chain and as such, a somewhat unique perspective on the bigger picture. In this session, Hebe Schecter, Kaltex's hands-on President, explores the downfalls of a siloed value chain and the changes needed now to survive in the future.

We know that the RFA sector has been historically hesitant when it comes to technology uptake and adoption. As such, there is a significant disparity between the technologies making waves in industry and those creating headline buzz. 

Off the back of a new and never before seen record pace of technology disruption, Stacey Shulman of Intel explores the incredible changes pulsing through the industry and how emerging capabilities such as Robotics, Driverless Cars, AI, ChatBox, RFID and more will realize an unrecognisable supply chain tomorrow. That is, if we embrace it. 

Every day there are new stories about a retailer closing their doors, fashion companies that are struggling and even entire malls closing. For the past few years, this has been the trend – and without reaction, this trend will continue. 

The internet is continually taking a bigger bite out of brick and mortar sales, and this is often blamed for the decline of foot traffic. But the fact of the matter is that the internet still only counts for about 9% of total retail sales in the US, so it can’t be the only reason. 

Millennials live a different lifestyle then their predecessors and different shopping habits. By 2020, Millennials will account for about 30% of all retail sales in the US and as they adopt a more “less-is-more” attitude towards life, they prefer smaller and more intimate environments compared to big box retailers. They are looking for specialized products and as such, higher personalized brands are beating out large impersonal competitors daily and the idea of luxury is replaced with individuality. It is no secret that Customization and Technology are key to attracting these customers. 

So what does this mean for fashion companies? 

The process chain from design and development to manufacturing and selling need to take a different approach and react much faster to changing trends. The standard design and development process – 18 months – is too long and leaves companies struggling to react. 

Through digital design and one-off manufacturing, companies big and small can reinvent their entire strategy to be more flexible, cut down development time and react quicker to their consumers. The result gives customers, not just millennials, the shopping experience they are craving. 

Join On Point Manufacturing and Human Solutions to learn about these strategies and how they can be implemented into new and existing brands. Current problems facing retailers and solving them by incorporating one-off manufacturing and a new design process into development and sales will be discussed.