Apparel Design

Design Review in the apparel industry has traditionally involved participants from multiple locations and required numerous sign-offs. This demands that either the content be shipped among many locations so those individuals can review the relevant materials, or the participants come together in a common geography for collaborative review sessions.

The 16-week design cycle for a division of a global apparel designer and manufacturer demanded significant team member travel for meetings to achieve the level of collaboration required for success. The process generated foam core mounted cut sheets of prospective clothing lines to provide a format for edits and changes. These boards were then shipped to numerous locations around the globe for additional edits and sign-offs by remote team members.

A Needs Assessment revealed significant time spent in shipping collateral and waiting for sign-off from team members in various geographic locations. Phi Services helped the client identify where collaborative technology solutions could reduce shipping and travel costs, while providing a more dynamic and interactive collaborative experience for all participants.

SMART Technologies interactive displays and Bridgit, a dynamic distance collaboration platform, were deployed. The combination of the two permitted: Remote annotation and editing capabilities for users in off-site locations; elimination of storing and transporting hard-copy foam core cut sheets; digital mark-up of cut sheet content; real time distance collaboration applied to their current design process

Results:

• 25% improvement in time to market, from 16 weeks to 12 weeks

• $15,000 reduction in travel expenses per design cycle

• Reduced shipping costs

• More collaborative and interactive design process

• Team member involvement in the design process for those not able to participate in real time in the past, using distance collaboration technologies