Gerber Technology is showcasing its Digital Solution at the Texprocess Americas show in Atlanta.
Apparel and industrial companies are under significant competitive pressures to design, develop and produce their products faster and more efficiently while ensuring they get the right products to market at the right time and at the right price. Whether producing volume for the masses or customizing small lots, companies are struggling because of an inability to move data from process to process and machine to machine. At Texprocess, Gerber will demonstrate each step of its Digital Solution to illustrate how companies can network their software and smart machines to form an end-to-end solution to help meet the workflow challenges of mass production and mass customization.
"Regardless, if you're producing 10,000 shirts a day or personalizing jerseys for a sports team, the key to success is a digitized network that allows you to move information throughout your supply chain down to the equipment level and back," said Mike Elia, CEO of Gerber Technology. Elia continued, "Integrating the flow of data and leveraging IoT technology provides companies with the valuable insight they need to remain agile and optimize their supply chain."
The hub of Gerber's Digital Solution is YuniquePLM® product lifecycle management software. Serving as a central repository of critical data, YuniquePLM eliminates problems companies often face when using multiple Excel® spreadsheets or tracking documents to communicate throughout the stages of product development and management. YuniquePLM creates a single version of the truth, connecting a company's creative process with their supply chain and production processes.
YuniquePLM transfers data to AccuMark® and AccuPlan™, Gerber's industry leading intelligent pattern design, grading, marker making and production planning software. At this critical design stage, global teams can leverage Gerber's AccuMark 3D to collaborate in a virtual environment, annotating and making revisions to a design to create a virtual sample – eliminating cost and time associated with making physical samples. Once the design is finalized, the data from the design files is run through AccuPlan to generate a marker and optimize material utilization.
Since Gerber's Digital Solution architecture uses common file structures, data can easily be passed to the cut room, where smart machines, like the GERBERspreader™ XLs series and Paragon® line of multi-ply GERBERcutters®, can process the order with a simple barcode scan. A closed looped, end-to-end Digital Solutions like Gerber's that integrates software and smart machines, allows companies to automate their entire process and streamline data and workflow necessary to provide insight, maximize throughput, minimize errors and reduce labor costs to be competitive in mass production environments.
While many segments of the garment industry utilize this mass automation approach, Gerber also sees continued growth in personalized apparel around the globe. To successfully address this trend, manufacturers will need to leverage digitized networks to meet the challenges of mass customization, or made-to-measure environments, while optimizing their inventory levels. Here again, closed-loop networks like Gerber's Digital Solution make it possible to transfer data from the design room to smart machines capable of executing print-to-cut, completed made-to-measure and matching operations. At Texprocess, Gerber will demonstrate how AccuMark software integrated with Gerber's ContourVision™ and the GERBERcutter Z1 can execute scan-to-cut operations.
To learn more about Gerber's vision:
- Visit Gerber Technology at booth 733 to see their Digital Solution in action, integrating software and smart machines for mass production and mass customization.
- Visit SoftWear Automation at booth 749 and take a factory tour to learn how Gerber and SoftWear's vision of the "Factory of the Future" empowers automation.
- Attend the SPESA Texprocess Symposium on Tuesday, May 3 between 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. to hear Todd Rhodes, Gerber Technology's vice president and general manager of automation solutions, speak about "Managing Data and Integrating Technologies to Achieve Optimum Results."
