CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
30 November 2004
Implementation Investments
Cutter & Buck, Upscale Sportswear Designer, to Use Freeborders PLM Suite
Freeborders PLM announced that upscale sportswear designer Cutter & Buck Inc. will use Freeborders PLM Suite to speed products to market as it grows its business.
Cutter & Buck, which primarily sells its products through golf pro shops, resorts, corporate accounts and upscale specialty retail stores, will use Freeborders PLM Suite to shorten the lead time for the design-through-procurement phase of its production cycle. The company will use FB Product Manager, FB Line Optimizer, FB Fabric & Trim, and FB Workflow to cohesively link its supply chain and collaborate better internally and externally with suppliers. All of the modules are 100% browser-based to enable seamless, real-time communication with supply chain partners.
"We evaluated several vendor products but found that Freeborders PLM Suite best meets our current and future needs to manage data more effectively throughout the organization and accelerate the time to market to meet the growing demand for our products," said Kenneth Stringer, CIO of Cutter & Buck.
"Increased efficiencies and improved visibility of information across functional groups were key motivators for us in selecting the Freeborders PLM Suite," added Jody Crow, Product Development Manager.
FB Product Manager, the flagship product development infrastructure module within Freeborders PLM Suite, will enable real-time coordination between Cutter & Buck and its supply chain and shorten the product lifecycle.
Using FB Line Optimizer, Cutter & Buck will be able to more easily design and develop line concepts and product assortments within the parameters of the company's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Merchandise Resource Planning (MRP) and Product Data Management (PDM) systems. Line Optimizer assists in planning the right products at the right time by providing the critical link between ERP, MRP and PDM systems.
FB Fabric and Trim enhances the development process for fabrics, labels and trim elements. By improving upon standard product data management systems, FB Fabric & Trim helps designers and developers to map the correct fabrics, labels, zippers and buttons to the right garments. It extends the degree of management control in the product specification process, improves collaboration internally and externally and enables retailers and brands to accelerate how they define and develop products.
FB Workflow will provide Cutter & Buck with a powerful web-based tool for managing the global critical path throughout the entire lifecycle of a product, from product planning through design, production and delivery. Using this product, Cutter & Buck will be able to more easily allocate, revise and automatically track internal and external activities. Workflow will also provide Cutter & Buck supply chain partners visibility to product and order milestones, as well as automatic, configurable status alerts.
Freeborders PLM software and services are used by over 500 brands and retailers globally, including C.J. Banks, Cutter & Buck, DuPont, Gap, INVISTA, J. Crew, J.Jill, Jos. A. Bank, L.L. Bean, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Saks, Target, Williams-Sonoma and Woolrich. Freeborders is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
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