Product News - October 2003

4R Systems Inc. has released IPMax, a new service to help retailers maximize inventory productivity by optimizing the replenishment of their weekly model stock. IPMax enables dynamic inventory modeling by receiving weekly data from the retailer and then performing margin-optimizing analytics on the data. It produces an optimized weekly model stock number that is sent to retailers for them to plug into their existing merchandising systems. These model stocks are used for store allocations, vendor reorders or to update internal model stock levels, allowing the retailer to be more responsive to sales trends, better reflect seasonality and realize hard dollar benefits, the company reports.

Judy Rega . 610-644-1234. ReaderLink #89

ASAP of Georgia Inc. has added enhancements to its Embroidery/Screen Print Processing module. Both of these categories allow for entering design codes during order entry as well as allowing the entering of name drops or positions and the ability to compound the price automatically. The embellishment system also integrates with AS/AP's Critical Path, Stages of Completion, for added flexibility, while the Embroidery Scheduling System can perform machine loading and color sequencing. Machine loading allows the users to develop a schedule of the sales orders and the embroidery machines on which they will be processed.

Carrie Sagel-Burns . 800-272-7838 . ReaderLink #90

Assyst-Bullmer Inc. has released pdm.assystT, product data management software that provides customizable industry solutions that are hierarchical classifications of data objects and re-usable libraries. Data is independent of its presentation to the user. The software comes with built-in merchandising calendar and planning; process and task management with workflow; document management; and change management. pdm.assystT is fully Web-enabled, scalable, easily interfaces with other CAD and ERP systems and is available in multiple languages, the company reports.

Richard Downham . 919-467-2211 . ReaderLink #91

Brookwood Companies Inc. has released REJUVENATE fabric, a bacteriostatic woven nylon fabric focused on the high performance market. REJUVENATE fabric was developed using Meryl Skinlife fiber, an exclusive agent inherent in the fiber. It fights growth of odor- causing bacteria permanently, and it won't wash out or wear out, the company reports. The fabric inhibits bacteria growth and maintains the body's natural balance of bacteria on skin. It is also highly abrasion resistant. The odor control agent will never migrate to the skin, nor will it wash out, because it is inherent in the yarn.

Noris Solano . 212-551-0100 . ReaderLink #92

Flow Systems announced its product information management (PIM) solution for publishing consistent product information across all media, including Web, print and electronic catalogs as well as promotional materials such as flyers. Because most companies have multiple sources of data, they have "difficulty reusing content across channels," explains Martin Le Sauteur. The company's Content Factory, the center of the PIM solution, covers three main areas of information management, including content acquisition, content management and content export, and "gives marketers and merchandisers the tools they need to do their jobs." For example, marketers can do complex data extracts for projects such as tailoring catalogs to specific regions of the country, which is usually price prohibitive, he says.

Martin Le Sauteur . 450-463-8922 . ReaderLink #93

Global eXchange Services Inc. (GXS) has released a new set of services that gives customers visibility, event management and supply chain collaboration capabilities. The solutions are designed to offer proactive alerts, order status tracking and reporting functionality. In addition to providing the connectivity platform for the exchange of business documents, GXS can now provide critical information about the status of those documents. Solution benefits include: functional acknowledgement (FA) management services that facilitate tracking, reporting, and event notification; intelligent collaboration and event management; aggregated supply chain data and shared visibility spanning multiple trading partners, back-office systems and various data formats; and end-to-end order lifecycle management.

Scott Frank . 301-340-4322 . ReaderLink #94

Supply chain management solutions company i2 Technologies and WorldWide Retail Exchange Worldwide Item Mangement (WWRE), an Internet-based B2B trading exchange for retailers, manufacturers and suppliers, announced an agreement to co-market some of their product offerings to WWRE members and their trading partners, says Mike Milton, i2's SRM solution executive.

Offerings will include WWRE's Worldwide Item Management (WIM) solution, powered by i2, which consists of a source and recipient data pool and data synchronization service that enables the search, introduction and maintenance of product information; and i2's Product Content Management solution and services, including i2 Content Exchange, Discovery Knowledge Manager and Syndication, which are designed to enable a company's back-end systems to share data with the WWRE and conduct item synchronization. The i2 solutions will provide manufacturers and retailers with a single, enterprise-wide view of internal product information by allowing users to efficiently cross-reference internal product information from multiple or disparate systems, says Milton.

i2 . Sue Good . 905-752-4071 . ReaderLink #95

WWRE . Keri Phifer . 703-234-5056 . ReaderLink #96

Inside Fashion has introduced two technical books by Laurel Hoffmann, Drafting and Fitting Pants and Skirts and Sewing Pants and Skirts. Drafting and Fitting Pants and Skirts is a step-by-step presentation for producing professional pants and skirts with minimal equipment, expense and time. The text includes instruction in drafting for the asymmetrical figure, as well as for woven and stretch fabrics. Sewing Pants and Skirts presents the entire process of producing high-end sample clothing in a step-by-step format. The book demonstrates how the various patternmaking, cutting and sewing disciplines are interwoven in producing the final product, as well as the importance of considering the production process when designing a garment. This book emphasizes the foresight required to produce and/or adapt patterns so they will work with the chosen sewing techniques.

[email protected] . ReaderLink #97

Island Pacific has launched Einstein in a BoxT, retail management software for newer retailers and those with 15 stores or fewer. Einstein in a Box is designed to deliver fully integrated application capabilities including: item definition, purchase order management, receiving, distribution and inventory control, price management, basic stock and merchandise analysis, sales audit, ticketing, The EyeT Explorer and OnePointe POS. The entry-level package also offers a natural upgrade path to Island Pacific's IPOneT Retail Solutions bundle, providing full investment protection for the retailer as its operations grow.

Additionally, the company has introduced OnePointeT 6.0, the latest version of its point-of-sale (POS) software. The new version has been built on peer-to-peer connectivity technology to support multi-channel retailing and real-time communications. Deployed on Microsoft Windows XP, .NET-centric, it is provided in a thick or thin environment. Features include remote stock lookup, remote special order, gift certificate and store credit authorization, and centralized customer and associate databases for the entire chain. The new version incorporates a terminal simulator to generate and run test scripts and TAG (terminal application generator), a GUI that manages terminal changes. OnePointe 6.0 Plus, a superset of OnePointe 6.0, is a customizable version that includes the same suite of applications as OnePointe 6.0, but is delivered with the development kit.

Jim Phillips . 949-399-3803 . ReaderLink #98

MetroMark International Ltd. has published a new directory of the top 500 British importers of garments. The data comes as a packaged report and a CD containing the same data in database format.

[email protected] . ReaderLink #99

New Generation Computing Inc. (NGC) has introduced the 2003 version of e-SPS, Web-based strategic sourcing software that provides retailers, apparel manufacturers, brand managers and importers with end-to-end visibility and the remote management of global production processes. The new version of e-SPS features enhanced user functions and reporting capabilities. e-SPS allows sourcing executives and vendors to exchange production data and complete steps in the production process, including product-development tasks, in real time via the Internet.

Fred Isenberg . 305-556-9122 . ReaderLink #100

OptiTex USA Inc. (Scanvec Garment Systems) has released OptiTex version 9. OptiTex V9 integrates 2-D and 3-D product development on one user-interface. Flat patterns created in OptiTex PDS, or converted from other CAD systems, can be viewed on physical parametric virtual models, and checked for construction, fit and draping, without having to switch between different applications. The results, including fabric designs, can be shared via standard Web browsers with others in the product development process. This 3-D collaboration tool can also be used in conjunction with conceptual textile design systems to generate virtual storyboards for merchandising.

Mark Mandrano . 212-629-9053 . ReaderLink #101

RedPrairie Corp. has released DLx Warehouse/P 6.0, with added enhancements for consumer goods, food and beverage and retail companies. Highlights of the release include comprehensive support for voice picking for piece and case order picking operations; natively integrated event management to provide real-time alerts to exceptions and events as they occur throughout fulfillment processes; enhanced wave management functionality, enabling users to plan and execute waves within specific material handling system constraints, and to synchronize wave release with actual outbound trailer profiles and load diagrams; improved inventory control; and new capabilities to automate execution of value-added services for both inbound and outbound operations.

James Le Tart . 262-317-2281 . ReaderLink #102

SAP has launched its POS Data Management solution for the processing and analysis of point-of-sale (POS) data, explains Jim McMurray, senior vice president, retail. The application is stand-alone and integrates directly with business intelligence and other enterprise systems, reducing strain on other systems, such as merchandise management, which otherwise must often work through the night processing data. POS Data Management supports trickle polling, providing retailers with immediate visibility into key daily activities affecting the performance of their businesses.

Jim McMurray . 610-661-8463 . ReaderLink #103

Symbol Technologies has released its ImageMate suite of software solutions for managing a company's most profitable retail customers. ImageMate features customer relationship management (CRM) and clienteling software, POS software and a pocket edition for wireless devices, all of which provide specialty and department store retailers with a toolset for guiding salespeople through retail selling best practices, explains Bryan Amaral, vice president. ImageMate gives a retailer's front-line sales force the ability to improve service and customer satisfaction through a variety of activities including the ability to analyze sales activities, update client profiles, check sizes and preferences, conduct product consultations, automate recommendations for up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, allow customers to access their profile and update preferences, track shopping frequency and create wish lists and replenishment reminders, among other things.

Bryan Amaral . 678-385-7247 . ReaderLink #104

Zebra Technologies has introduced its R402 RFID "Smart Label" printer/encoder, for printing and programming 13.56 MHz smart labels, tickets and tags. The compact size of the R402 makes it great for locations where space is limited, says Matt Ream, senior product manager, RFID systems. Additionally, the company offers its high-end industrial R140T for reading, writing and printing labels with embedded ultra-thin RFID transponders, which can be read, programmed and re-programmed using non-contact radio waves and enable users to change and update data repeatedly throughout the life of an RFID smart label. Ream notes that RFID labeling allows retailers and manufacturers to track more accurately what is going out their dock doors, and also contributes to labor savings, because cartons bearing RFID tags do not have to be unpacked to verify their contents.

The company has also released the TLP3842, a thermal label printer for the desktop that includes reduced space symbology (RSS) support and 300dpi high-resolution printing. Additionally, the optional Asian-language fonts make the printers attractive to manufacturers, specialty retailers and other companies with small-parts labeling needs that require high-quality, on-demand printing of bar codes, text and graphics but have limited office or production space. The 3842 encodes RSS-14 bar codes, instead of printing them as graphic images, for faster throughput and productivity. The standard 3842 is equipped with serial, parallel and USB communications interfaces for increased integration flexibility. The optional internal ZebraNet PrintServer II integrates to Ethernet networks and gives users printer-sharing and remote management capabilities.

Leslie Beyer . 800-423-0442 . ReaderLink #105

TRACY HAISLEY is associate editor of Apparel and may be reached at [email protected].