Dive Brief:
- Product Lifecycle Management technology can help improve profit margins, better supplier relationships, secure the best price and increase supply chain visibility, according to a recent Amber Road white paper.
- An Apparel Magazine and Gartner survey revealed that in 2013 PLM technology helped 38% of retail supply chain respondents reduce product development, allowed 19% to improve margins and facilitated a faster time to market for another 24%.
- PLM technology seeks to connect product development, procurement and suppliers throughout the entire cycle - from source to duty management. The report argues such collaboration can shorten the product design through increased communication and supply chain visibility.
Dive Insight:
At the end of the day, choosing the proper technology for your supply chain is a question of best fit. Product lifecycle management technology is likely a good fit for design-heavy producers looking to upgrade existing solutions with the same list of suppliers.
The process involves metrics that address delivery time, lead time and reaction time to changing consumer trends. Using current technologies to allow in a single location for collaboration with retail clients assists in visibility and tracking throughout the network. The visibility and communication tools in this technology can help reduce costs by increasing part reuse and extending product's economic lifecycle, according to Amber Road.
