Lectra, one of the leading integrated technology solutions providers for fabrics and technical textile companies, based in France, has launched the latest release of Optiplan, its cutting room optimization solution for apparel manufacturing.
Designed with the specific challenges of fashion and apparel manufacturing in mind, Lectra’s Optiplan applies lean manufacturing principles to cut-planning operations and transforms the cutting room into a competitive advantage—saving time, reducing costs and boosting efficiency.
The latest version of Optiplan builds on an already powerful, cut-planning technology and evolves to further streamline operations, improve efficiency and minimize error risk—the basis of lean apparel manufacturing. By consolidating orders and connecting disparate systems from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to the cutting room, Optiplan facilitates the flow of information and optimizes markers, spreading, and cutting operations, the company said in a statement.
The speed and agility to respond quickly to change are immediate benefits of taking a lean approach to the cutting room. Stock can be replenished based on actual sales and not simply on predicted demand—a far safer bet when it comes to ensuring profitability. With guesswork taken out of the equation, manufacturers can effectively help transform a push to the market into a pull from retail, thus minimizing the risk of unsold or heavily discounted goods.
Manufacturers can now also boost efficiency by running what-if simulations based on different planning and manufacturing configurations, so that they can evaluate their design-to-cost and manufacture-to-cost options. Brands and manufacturers predict the amount of fabric needed for a given production run, so that fabric orders are minimized and raw material inventories are reduced.
The president and CEO of Hong Kong’s TAL Apparel Group, Dr. Delman Lee said, “We get weekly point-of-sale data from the stores and then decide what to manufacture. We plug it into Lectra’s Optiplan and it says ‘Cut it this way’. Then we deliver within a week to replenish the stores.”
Lectra is one of the world leaders in integrated technology solutions—software, CAD/CAM equipment, and associated services—specifically designed for industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles, and composite materials to manufacture their products. It serves major fashion and apparel markets. (GK)
