Founded in 1946, Westmoor Manufacturing began by selling their trademark pearl-snap western shirts. Today, the values of individuality, intelligence and style permeate the company’s successful western apparel brands. True to their authentic western spirit, Westmoor proudly sponsors a number of rodeo professionals as well as various events – including the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. https://panhandleww.com/meet-the-team/ https://panhandleww.com/event-sponsorships
The company was using email, spreadsheets and pdf files in product development and were looking to improve efficiencies, standardize processes, and modernize throughout. Liz Enoch, Technical Design and Production Manager at Westmoor says, “Some of our main business challenges are communication and speed-to-market.”
Initially Westmoor was looking to upgrade their ERP and did not have PLM on the radar. Mike Kelly, an independent consultant at the time, says, “I was originally engaged to lead an ERP upgrade vs. replace evaluation. However, during my overall technology review I identified the absence of a PLM solution. As Westmoor is so heavily fashion and design focused, my recommendation to senior management and ownership was that PLM would have a much greater impact than a new or upgraded ERP. The return on technology dollar and overall “bang for the buck” was clear. The owners decided to invest in both, but PLM was definitely where we saw the most potential positive impact on the company.”
A comprehensive PLM search was conducted with the help of an internal selection team comprised of members from Westmoor’s Design, Technical Design, and Import / Supply Chain teams. “We initially screened a field of eight PLM vendors as well as one PLM module offered as part of an ERP platform we were considering. We used a detailed RFP and scorecard demo evaluation methodology and put significant effort into determining our needs so that our recommendation would be the absolute best fit. We didn’t skimp on any steps; we took our time and each team member had a voice,” says Kelly. “We whittled the candidates down and eventually chose Centric Software, who in addition to having what we felt was technologically the best solution, took the time to understand Westmoor’s needs and our goals. The team’s choice of Centric was pretty much unanimous.”
Westmoor is now working closely with the Centric team in taking a step-by-step approach to their implementation. “In utilizing Centric’s agile implementation methodology, I’m very optimistic that we’ll have a timely and successful implementation.” says Kelly. “So often with change, there is some passive resistance. Fortunately, that’s not the case at Westmoor at all. We have a comprehensive cross-functional team comprising of design and technical design talent spanning multiple career stages, and people are excited across the board!”
Says Enoch, “We are looking to Centric PLM to be the system of record. All information will be entered in PLM and flow through to our newly upgraded eComm and ERP systems.”
Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software says, “I am so pleased that Centric is partnering with Westmoor Manufacturing Company. We are proud to play a part in their digital transformation and look forward to our continued association for years to come.”
