Cutter & Buck Implements Yunique Solutions' plmOn
Upscale Sportswear Company ‘Goes Live' with Web-based PLM in Only 120 Days
New York, NY — Yunique Solutions Inc., a leading developer of product lifecycle management (PLM) and digital asset management (DAM) solutions for the fashion and related industries, announces that Cutter & Buck has implemented its plmON software solution in their Seattle, WA headquarters. The golf-inspired sportswear and outerwear brand successfully trained and custom-configured the system in its design and product development teams over a short four month period.
"The key driver for moving to Yunique's plmOn was the need to reduce product development cycle times", stated Jody Crow, Director of PDM Implementation and former Director of Product Development. "We also wanted to eliminate duplication of effort and improve visibility and accessibility of product information across our company and with our suppliers. We can already see that plmOn is going to help us not only achieve these goals, but allow us to sustain higher levels of collaboration and consistency."
Case in point, Cutter & Buck is currently preparing to send its new electronic tech packs to vendors in Thailand, China, Korea, India, and Peru. "We expect our sample approval rates to go way up as a result of having more accurate tech packs", noted Crow. "We also anticipate a substantial reduction in tech pack creation time and an equally significant reduction in courier costs directly related to tech pack communication.
We used to spend days creating and checking Excel spreadsheets, printing and compiling them with the Illustrator images, and preparing shipments for the factories. Now it is all done in one system and communicated online. The consistency in our new tech packs is also a big benefit. Not only do our teams benefit from the consistency, but so do the vendors. Our Thailand agent, for example, supplies multiple product categories for us. They will now receive tech packs that are consistent across all of our products, saving time and reducing errors."
Cutter & Buck's business comprises multiple product categories. Its golf and fashion businesses include two seasons per year with more than 500 different style/color options. The corporate product lifecycle is 12-18 months, but the line is refreshed and some new styles and colors are added every 6 months. "Most PLM systems do not address the basics business. With Yunique, we now have the capability to quickly make the necessary changes and easily carry over styles to new seasons."
The company cites its resolute commitment to the PLM project as a key reason for their quick success. "We made certain that we had both management and user buy-in for the project, added Crow. "We established a dedicated project management team and our user group was also very involved in the decision making process. After a two month evaluation of a number of systems, we determined that Yunique plmOn was the clear winner for us. It gave us 85% of what we wanted right out of the box, and the rest they have been able to configure or customize for us. Not only does it work with our PC's, Mac's, and our SQL database platform, the user group found it very easy to understand and use. The fact that the Yunique team comes from our industry and ‘speaks our language' was an important factor in our system selection."
SOURCE: Yunique Solutions