Blutsgeschwister, unique women’s clothing and accessories brand based in Germany, has chosen Centric Software’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution to modernize their design & production processes and allow their team to work from anywhere, on any device, at any time. Centric Software® provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source and sell products such as apparel, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, home décor, cosmetics, food & beverage and luxury to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
Founded in 2001 by Karin Ziegler in Stuttgart, Germany, Blutsgeschwister brought together a small group of visionaries to create ‘Feel Good Wear’ for the individual and empowered woman. The designs are known for their eye-catching prints created exclusively in-house. Each year, the Blutsgeschwister develops 350 to 400 styles, totalling to around 1,500 colorways and designs. The brand sells to its customers through its 400+ retail partners across Europe, its 15 flagship stores located in major German cities, as well as via its e-commerce channel.
As one of the leaders of the Fair Wear Foundation, the company places a strong emphasis on social standards, one of several reasons why their product development process and supply chain has been increasing in complexity. Because of this, compliance is a significant challenge for Blutsgeschwister, and until recently has been handled through aging tools such as Excel spreadsheets and manual file exchanges. Due to their unique approach of developing all their fabric and styles themselves, instead of using measurement charts from manufacturers, their production workflow is even more complex.
“One of the reasons we decided we needed a PLM system is due to the supply chain legislation and increasingly stringent regulations,” says Stephan Künz, CEO of Blutsgeschwister. “Another factor is the increased number of employees who worked from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. This especially meant that we needed very structured process workflows and organized data repositories, even more so than before, when people were all working in one big office, and could just ask their co-workers questions spontaneously.”
Blutsgeschwister wanted a standard, out-of-the-box solution, which they could then add to or deviate from in minimal ways as needed for their own operations. The broad functionality Centric offers to the fashion industry appealed to the company, including the fact that the platform is available across a wide range of devices. This means that the solution can be used anywhere, at any time, both in the office and for team members working at home.
“When we started looking for a PLM system, we had a list of ten vendors, three of which we shortlisted,” says Künz. “We finally decided to go with Centric because the functionality was simply the best fit for our company and because the technological platform is future-proof.”
Künz continues: “We hope to free up resources for tasks with more added value. Additionally, we will be able to save a lot of time for data management and will benefit from the single source of truth Centric PLM® provides.”
Blutsgeschwister’s overall aim is to streamline the day-to-day work of employees, optimizing the resources that are available to them. In addition to providing regular certifications to other Fair Wear Foundation leaders, the brand is GOTS certified, and the company looks forward to creating an online portal for suppliers to upload compliance information and download tech packs, among other streamlined processes made possible by Centric.
“We are delighted that Blutsgeschwister has chosen Centric PLM to help streamline their processes and manage compliance,” says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. “We look forward to deepening this promising partnership with the unique, sustainable and cutting-edge womenswear brand and for what is to come.”
