Proenza Schouler has purchased the Product Specification, Material Management, and Calendar Management modules of the Centric 8 PLM system for apparel and luxury goods companies.
At Proenza Schouler, the Centric PLM software will provide a flexible system to support growth, says Patrice Lataillade, COO/CFO of the company. "We have a young, fast-growing company, known for exceptional design work. We need a systematic approach to our processes that will not compromise or stifle our creative focus." The Centric PLM system will provide Proenza Schouler a level of business process sophistication equivalent to the level of design sophistication the brand has achieved, adds Lataillade.
Allowing Proenza Schouler to maintain its focus on design, the Centric 8 PLM software for fashion and luxury goods companies will result in significant reduction in the myriad of Excel sheets that staff has been using to manage the business. "Getting to a single version of the truth about the product means our teams will not be sidetracked from their creative contributions by tedious inefficiencies," Lataillade explains.
Proenza Schouler selected Centric 8 PLM for fashion and luxury companies for several key reasons.
Flexibility: Centric's PLM system meets the apparel industry's specific and unique need for flexibility, says Lataillade. "The iterative, collaborative design process that is characteristic of the apparel industry demands a PLM system that is designed to incorporate that fluidity," he explains. "Centric provides exactly that. It is clearly designed for the apparel industry."
Ability to focus on artistic vision: "Artistic vision is built into the heart of all decisions at Proenza Schouler," says Lataillade. "Centric 8 will allow our technical design team to focus its time on the artistic, creative process—not on managing spreadsheets."
Integration of rich design graphics: The Centric 8 PLM system is flexible enough to allow Proenza Schouler's design teams to continue working with their current pen-and-ink methods for graphic design. "It was music to our designers' ears to hear that they can continue to work with their current method rather than forcing them to work in a different way," explains Lataillade.
Advanced material management: High-fashion makers like Proenza Schouler work with rich and expensive materials. Centric's PLM software will give the company the ability to completely manage material selection, sample development and production integration. The Material Management module will allow the company to intricately track raw materials and trims. The Product Specification module will manage grading variations between consumer fashions as well as the bold lines and styles of the runway, adds Lataillade.
"Proenza Schouler is a company that is shaping—not following—consumer demand," says Lataillade. "The flexibility that Centric's PLM system provides to approach design is absolutely key for Proenza Schouler's position as a consumer driver."
Centric 8 PLM will help Proenza Schouler free its creative teams from tedious and burdensome distractions, so they can remain focused on delivering visionary, top-quality products to their customers, says Chris Groves, Centric CEO. At the same time, Centric will allow the business team to be more productive and keep the company moving forward. "Centric's Agile DeploymentSM methodology, which quickly delivers return on investment for fast-growing customers like Proenza Schouler, will assure the company achieves its business goals swiftly."
Proenza Schouler is a New York-based womenswear and accessories brand, founded by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez in 2002.
Centric Software is a leading provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software for apparel, luxury goods and consumer goods companies.
