Accenture announced it has helped Vivienne Westwood, a global fashion company, design and deploy a new retail product lifecycle management (PLM) platform from PTC.
Vivienne Westwood is deploying the platform based on PTC’s FlexPLM retail solution to improve and accelerate its product development and sourcing processes. FlexPLM integrates data sources relevant to the design and development of products, enabling Vivienne Westwood to understand where a product is at each stage of its lifecycle.
This digital thread complete visibility for design and development-related activities across several product categories, including women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, shoes, leather goods, jewelry and accessories.
The PLM platform allows for seamless and secure communication and collaboration related to the design and production process, both internally and with supply chain partners.
Previously, these processes were manual and time-consuming. The brand’s design and merchandising office in the U.K. and production office in Italy used to create tech packs — i.e., product blueprints for manufacturing — and exchange data mainly through email and spreadsheets. These manual practices could lead to duplicate data entry, poor collaboration with international factory partners, and missed deadlines.
“We chose PTC FlexPLM for its supply chain and product development capabilities, its visual user interface, and its information security and system stability. Accenture’s expertise and proven track record in the fashion industry and with PLM were instrumental in launching and having it deliver business value,” Antony Calabro, Vivienne Westwood’s CIO, said.
Alberto Codrino, managing director for Industry X at Accenture, said: “Working closely with their IT and business teams, and with the support of the PTC team, we were able to help the brand quickly take advantage of data and digital to redefine how it develops products.
“We look forward to helping this iconic brand further optimize its digital product creation strategy and support its go-to-market operations,” Bill Brewster, senior vice president and general manager of PTC’s Retail business unit, said.
