Event Outlook: Tech Conference to Cover PLM, Color Management, More
Staff Report
|
What? Where? Questions? Apparel's Online Tech Showcase |
The 2005 Apparel Tech Conference will feature 28 educational sessions presented by some of the industry's leading suppliers of technology and other solutions, which are sponsoring the event. Each of the conference's 22 sponsors also will showcase their solutions in tabletop displays throughout the event. Here is the full agenda.
Full Schedule & Session Descriptions
8:00 - 8:30 a.m.
Registration, Badge Pick-up & Continental Breakfast --Great Hall
8:00 a.m. -- 4:30 p.m.
Tabletops Open -- Great Hall
8:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Opening Keynote Session -- Katie Murphy Amphitheater
Welcome -- Susan Black, Apparel Magazine
Technology Outlook: The State of Actuality vs. The State of Reality, Dr. Michael Fralix
and Judson Early, [TC]2
In today's world, we often see reports of technology breakthroughs. Such announcements hold great promise, but often are no more than wishful thinking. In our industry, the adoption of new business practices and technologies is often tempered by the realities of investment vs. ROI. These and other factors require focus on the most immediate need, relegating the long-range impact of the proposed change to secondary importance. This review will provide information on what is actually being done by companies using technology and potential for additional change. It also will illuminate some of the topics of management discussions by apparel executives globally. This session's speakers have met with business leaders in several countries and have reviewed current technology levels. This review is a condensed version of their findings.
Presentation of Apparel's 2005
All-Star Awards -- Kathleen DesMarteau, Apparel
9:45 - 10:15 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 1
Learning from the Automotive Industry: Challenges of the Global Supply Chain,
Ram Sareen & Paul Clarke, TUKAtech Inc.
The automotive business model presents some interesting similarities to that of the apparel industry in today's world of global trade. Collaboration, including seamless communication, is the only way to survive. Just imagine the thousands of automotive parts and hundreds of sub-assemblies sourced from all over the world, coming together to be assembled on the production line at the right moment. When the car is complete, there are no leftover materials. That is logistics and collaboration at its finest. If the apparel industry had to make a car the way it makes apparel today, the average car would cost $100,000 instead of $25,000.
During this session, TUKAtech will discuss how its technology, service centers and partnership with FedEx-Kinkos can bring seamless communication and collaboration to the apparel industry. The firm will cover how its systems can exchange data with other CAD systems, run any plotter or drive any cutter. The session will also address the biggest product development challenge -- getting products to market more quickly with the correct fit.
Session 2
The Complete Solution for Global Color Management, Tom Stutts, Datacolor
Brands and retailers are faced with numerous challenges in trying to effectively manage their supply chain. One of these challenges is the management of color without implementing new technology, which may lead to extended development cycles, delayed shipments and a reduction in the bottom line.
Datacolor has provided color management technology for more than 30 years. Datacolor Spectrum is an integrated suite of color management technologies that provides control of the color management process throughout the supply chain.
During this discussion, the firm will focus on innovative technologies in color management that can help companies ensure consistent color quality, reduce the cost of production and accelerate their product's speed to market.
Session 3
Building Your PLM Solution on True
Enterprise PDM, Brion Carroll, PTC
Product lifecycle management (PLM) has come to the footwear and apparel industry in a big way, but what does that mean to the company trying to make sense of what PLM is and getting the most from what PLM seems to offer? This presentation by the creator of the product FlexPLM explains the business and technological realities of PLM in the footwear and apparel industry and what needs to address when building your PLM foundation. The entire PLM process is very different in the footwear and apparel industry than it is in traditional discrete manufacturing industries where PLM has achieved widespread acceptance. There is a unique set of challenges for firms seeking PLM solutions. Full-featured, enterprise product data management (PDM) technology and best practices are the keys to properly laying a foundation for PLM in the footwear and apparel industry. This presentation will explore methods of aligning your organization, business and product development processes and overall technology infrastructure to best leverage this very specific kind of PDM to take full advantage of the PLM technology and business process breakthrough and bring your products' concept-to-consumer process into the 21st century.
Session 4
Active Textiles for Fashion Apparel,
Oliver-Daniel Bogatu, Cognis Corp.
T-shirts that cool and care for your skin -- pantyhose that refresh tired legs -- fashionable jeans that apply cosmetics to the skin just by wearing -- or garments with built-in long-lasting odor protection. These are just a few of the future-oriented concepts powering the global mega trends, based on the deepest consumer desires of well-being and feeling pampered to spice up the individual's everyday life.
This session's speaker will share how active textiles from Cognis can offer established brand owners new technologies that provide added values that are perceptible and not just hot marketing stories. This presentation will focus on several of these new technologies and will include case studies and field test results.
10:45 - 11:15 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 5
Unique PLM Requirements for the Fashion Industry, Holly Beum, Gerber Technology
The majority of PLM implementations have been performed in discrete manufacturing industries. The fashion industry has many fundamental requirements that differ significantly from other manufacturing industries, such as radically shorter product development times. This presentation examines these differences and how they lead to unique requirements for PLM systems in the fashion industry.
Session 6
Managing the Collection and Collaborative Sourcing, Cindy Bahr, Geac
In an industry in which fashion and trends change faster than ever, and where globalization and outsourcing are crucial key factors for success and survival, the need for shortening the time to market from design to production and for systems that support and facilitate collaboration is growing on a daily basis.
Today it is all about getting the right information to the right people at the right time. To stay competitive, companies must be able to communicate seamlessly throughout the entire product lifecycle. They must find ways to shorten the timeline in order to get product to the market while it is still a hot trend and not yesterday's news. To take this one more step into the future, all this needs to be accomplished by spending less time and money on a collection. This presentation will explore why a streamlined, disciplined process is a necessity to being successful in today's ever-changing industry.
Session 7
Empowering Vendors for a Stronger Partnership, Roxy Starr, Shapely Shadow Inc.
With the increase in styles and seasons within the industry, we must use technology to reduce cycle times. To bridge the relationship between vendor and head office, global communication requires visual tools to break the verbal boundary and time zone constraints. Take the steps to be a stronger business partner. This presentation will cover how FastFit technology can empower vendors with a tool to show their recommended corrections before first submit of a sample. This in turn can reduce counter samples and lower costs. The speaker will demonstrate how a single email-able file can allow a 360-degree view of a garment and how this view differs from static jpeg images. The presentation will highlight how visual technology can increase speed to market.
Session 8
Using Information to Produce Top-Line Growth in Your Retail Business, Pierre Renaud, Momentis Systems Inc. (Partnered with NSB Group)
More retailers are selling private label merchandise to consumers. Vertically integrated retailing offers numerous benefits: cost reductions, greater production control and quicker time to market. AMR Research says: "The convergence of strategic sourcing, supply chain visibility and product development management is the last and best hope for fashion-oriented brand managers to return to healthy top-line growth and consumer relevancy."
However, these benefits also bring challenges. How do you ensure information flows seamlessly throughout your business? How do you maintain cost-effective communications with your manufacturers?
In this session, learn how integrated information from wholesale and retail systems can drive business benefits. The presentation will cover how systems can tackle challenges and requirements that are unique to vertically integrated retailers. Discover what interfaces and processes retailers have put in place to help them achieve the benefits of self-sourcing.
11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 9
The Shape of an American Size 8 - Part 1, Janice Wang, AlvaProducts; Dr. Cynthia Istook, North Carolina State University
As every frustrated female consumer knows, there is no quintessential size 8 in apparel. But is there a quintessential size 8 body? During the past two years, new data from landmark size studies have been released. The big question for retailers and brands is: "What to do with this new information?" North Carolina State University teams up with AlvaProducts in this two-part presentation to create a framework for analyzing the data, using seven shape categorizations to show how shape has a major impact on the "American Size 8."
Session 10
Better Integration of Design & Merchandising, Vincent Candela, 3i Infotech
The merchandise planning and design processes have changed significantly over the years. In the past, design teams would kick off a season with a multitude of product designs. Merchandising would then jam them into its line plan, resulting in a large percentage of drops. Communications between the merchandising and design teams were poor at best. More recently, the design team would work its product ideas into a style or SKU plan that would be given to it by the merchandising team. This would give the design team a better focus and reduce the number of drops. The line coordination improved in this model, but it was still not as efficient as it should be. Now many fashion companies are trying to get to a point where design, merchandising and product development teams can all be in sync from concept to approval. They are looking to technology to allow everyone to work from the same set of data, help them manage changes and give them visibility to the line and any related issues from their desktop. This presentation will address how the business process has evolved here and how technology solutions can support the latest trend toward more seamless coordination and management.
Session 11
Color Communication: From Concept to Perception, Jill Simmons, Lectra
Color stimulates, motivates and often is what first appeals to the consumer before either style or price, ultimately affecting purchasing decisions. But, before a garment reaches the retail level, what are the barriers to effectively communicating the "right" color, and how can they be overcome? In this session, explore the world of color management from its beginning stages in design to production through delivery to the customer's mark of approval. Hear how to develop consistent color palettes and effectively communicate with global suppliers and reduce the number of lab dips and time it takes to not only meet your standards but also the consumer's perception.
Session 12
The Evolution of Product Lifecycle Management, Ramsey Walker, Freeborders
This year has been a pivotal one in the evolution of product lifecycle management for the apparel supply chain. With the end of textile quotas driving increased sourcing to China, raw materials and the systems to manage them have never been more important to the bottom line. The speaker will discuss product lifecycle management's accelerated evolution in the post-quota era. He will share why China, traditionally a top manufacturing destination in the world, will also become the No. 1 technology priority for major apparel companies in the coming year.
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Lunch -- Great Hall
1:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 13
Learning from the Automotive Industry: Challenges of the Global Supply Chain, Ram Sareen & Paul Clarke, TUKAtech Inc.
See description for Session 1 for the 9:45-10:15 a.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
Session 14
Unique PLM Requirements for the Fashion Industry, Holly Beum, Gerber Technology
See description for Session 5 for the 10:45-11:15 a.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
Session 15
Aligning PLM for Optimum Business Value, Jerome Johnson, UGS
In today's challenging economic climate and increasingly competitive landscape, apparel and footwear companies face pressures to reduce costs, increase profitability, maintain quality and reduce time to market. The executives of apparel and footwear companies are looking for strategies and initiatives that can help them achieve these objectives without taking their eye off their most important subject -- their consumers. One strategy that is starting to emerge as a real and viable one is PLM. By implementing PLM across key business processes, apparel and footwear companies are able to rapidly react to changing consumer trends, improve the productivity of their global supply chain and deliver on-time, on-budget product that achieves the business' performance and financial metrics.
In this session, UGS will offer strategies for developing best-in-class PLM initiatives that provide optimum value to your business in a timely and risk-controlled manner.
Session 16
Maximizing Selling with Visual Communications, Peter Jennings, Blue Fox Porini
This presentation will explore how apparel firms can create new retail store designs using a 3-D virtual model. Using this technology, you can drag and drop fixtures and your season's hot new products to create store layouts. You also can quickly add in-store visuals and decor. This type of solution also allows apparel companies to easily communicate designs to store teams (hundreds of them if necessary) as planograms or complete 3-D models. The session will cover how these 3-D virtual modeling solutions can offer ROI.
2:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 17
The Shape of an American Size 8, Part 2, Janice Wang, AlvaProducts; Dr. Cynthia Istook, North Carolina State University
See description for Session 9 for the 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. time slot. This session is Part 2.
Session 18
Better Integration of Design & Merchandising, Vincent Candela, 3i Infotech
See description for Session 10 for the 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
Session 19
The Evolution of Product Lifecycle Management, Ramsey Walker, Freeborders
See description for Session 12 for the 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
Session 20
Tighten Your Supply Chain to Accelerate Your Success, Pierre Renaud, Momentis Systems Inc. (Partnered with NSB Group)
Consider how many people and organizations make up your supply chain. Think about how much time and money can be wasted when they don't communicate well: when quotes are delayed, orders are miscued, changes are not made, or processes are not coordinated. Now imagine how much more profitable you would be if you could eliminate all these errors, to get your products from the shop floor to your store shelves more predictably and fast.
In this session on advanced supply chain collaboration you'll learn how to reduce days, dollars and stock-outs by collaborating online with your suppliers and logistics partners, and how improved data sharing can tighten all your critical supply chain processes.
3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 21
Managing the Collection and Collaborative Sourcing, Cindy Bahr, Geac
See description for Session 6 for the 10:45-11:15 a.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
Session 22
3-D and Its Impact on Past, Present & Future Developments in the Apparel
Industry, Ilona Foyer, Shapely Shadow Inc.
With the advent of laser scanning technologies, the U.S. Army began the CEASAR project in 1988 to collect 3-D anthropometric data to ensure garments fit astronauts. In 1997, Shapely Shadow pioneered the commercial use of 3-D body scanning by creating dress forms. Size USA applied this idea to the U.S. clothing industry in 2003 to conduct a comprehensive analysis of body shapes and sizes. But industry companies have realized that they must target their market for brand loyalty to ensure that their garments fit customers. Can we make patterns with this 3-D data? How in the future can scans help the manufacturing process? The speaker will discuss this technology and how it can improve speed to market and manufacturing quality.
Session 23
Business Intelligence for Improved
Visibility and Results, Kirk Feldman,
Blue Fox Porini
Everyone wants faster access to information and more effective tools for analyzing performance. In this presentation, you can learn how to more effectively set priorities, monitor and motivate performance improvements, gain insight to hidden issues and quickly act on critical trends. Whether you are managing sales, product lifecycle or supply chain activities, business intelligence improves results.
Session 24
Aligning PLM for Optimum Business Value, Jerome Johnson, UGS
See description for Session 15 for the 1-1:30 p.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
4:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 25
Visualizing Color: From Design to Display, Bob Karpowicz, Datacolor
Electronic color approvals are a fact of life in the apparel industry, and have proven to reduce the costs and time related to color development. Digitizing the lab dip process has smoothed the task of communicating color ideas over long distances and through cultural walls.
Much of what we perceive as color is influenced by texture, finish and environment. Color visualization technology lets us see color on different materials and constructions, before they are produced, in a variety of environments. This technology has proven itself for electronic lab dips and is spreading up and down the development chain into design and store merchandising.
This talk will focus on the applications of color visualization in palette development, design, color development, line review and store display. It also will cover how the technology can offer an important step toward a consistent color trail throughout the product development process.
Session 26
Building Your PLM Solution on True Enterprise PDM, Brion Carroll, PTC
See description for Session 3 for the 9:45-10:15 a.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
Session 27
Active Textiles for Fashion Apparel, Oliver-Daniel Bogatu, Cognis Corp.
See description for Session 4 for the 9:45-10:15 a.m. time slot. This session will be a repeat of the earlier presentation.
Session 28
PLM/PDM: A Collaborative Technology for Today's Global Marketplace, Pascal Denizart, Lectra
Competition, speed to market, increasing production levels, reducing product development costs and achieving transparency over the entire supply chain are key challenges facing apparel companies in today's global marketplace. Managing the lifecycle of a product calls for an interactive relationship between top-level managers and each player in the product development chain, from in-house departments and including outside partners, subcontractors and retailers. In this session, learn how PLM and PDM solutions can help track, coordinate and manage each step in the process from design to technical development, manufacturing and merchandising of a collection through accelerating the product's market launch and increasing its reactivity across the entire process.
5:00- 7:00 p.m.
Apparel Tech Conference &
All-Stars Reception
Amuse Restaurant, 108-110 West 18th St.
for more information
Visit www.apparelmag.com.