Centric Software®, the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) market leader is pleased to announce that Ciele Athletics, a high-performance running-wear company has selected Centric PLM™ for efficiency and growth. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source, price and sell products such as apparel, fashion, home décor, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, consumer electronics, cosmetics, food & beverage and luxury to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
Established in 2014 and based in Montreal, Quebec, Ciele has taken the running world by storm with their breathable, moisture-wicking, machine-washable, technical running caps that are becoming the gold standard of hats for runners. The company also recently introduced a full line of running apparel and accessories in addition to opening their first brick and mortar store.
As an emerging brand that was relying on spreadsheets, email and offline design programs to ideate, develop and source new products, getting correct information in a timely manner was becoming a problem. Bertrand Chiariglione, Product Manager at Ciele Athletics tells us, “We began as a small team doing a lot with basic tools. It was fine when Ciele was only doing a few caps. But the collection has been growing very fast; we have roughly 300 SKUs and triple the suppliers even from two years ago. We have reached the limits in terms of using Excel sheets and email for information sharing.”
Chiariglione elaborates, “When we want to get product information, we go on a server where this data is stored, but the data is filled out by different teams based on what each person contributes to the product go to market process. The process results in duplicates and we inadvertently end up with information that sometimes isn’t correct.”
Production Coordinator at Ciele, Ariane Michaud explains, “In the year that I’ve been at Ciele, I have been dreaming of having one place where all data is stored. I was trying to bring everything together in Excel sheets but there were issues because the files got too big. When I started talking to everybody that’s when Bertrand, who had worked with PLM previously in his career, said that these systems already exist.”
Chiariglione details, “When you work in a company, you never know when it is the right time to jump—to make the move to a solution like PLM. We opened the discussion with (co-founder) Jeremy and launched a study of what would make sense. And quite quickly, we came to the conclusion that the time is now, before we get too big. Once we decided on PLM, we didn’t want to go with the first or the cheapest, but with the option that is the best, according to us.”
After talking to friends in the industry and discussions with the Centric team, Ciele decided to implement Centric PLM, prior to other potential system upgrades as PLM drives a whole new level of efficiency but also because “product is king” and products start in PLM.
There were additional reasons to move the project forward including cementing credibility with suppliers as a new entrant in this space; Ciele launched their first high-performance apparel collection in 2022.
Chiariglione explains, “We’re very new in apparel and when you go to suppliers, you ask them for small quantities the first year. At the same time, you request super high-level quality products with amazing fabrics, amazing workmanship and for them to develop and test with you. If there are mistakes in our brief or PO, it doesn’t give the best impression, especially when you want to have credibility with these producers. And without them, we cannot do anything.”
In describing the benefits of Centric PLM, Michaud says that she used to have to gather information from 10 different places and present it in various views according to department. “Then I had to copy and paste data in. But now everybody can do their part. So in the end, I don’t have to wonder if the information is current.” The Ciele team estimates that hundreds of spreadsheets will be eliminated.
Another area that benefits from Centric PLM is sustainability. As a certified B Corporation Chiariglione says, “There are a lot of processes to follow. Centric PLM is definitely going to help us with that; to keep track of every certification and be reminded as certificates expire. Every couple years, you have to resubmit all the documents and provide information to maintain B Corp status.”
Michaud sums, “With Centric PLM, we can work on other things besides just checking and double-checking files, and making sure that everybody has what they need. That’s a big help.”
“Centric is very excited to partner with an innovative, growing brand like Ciele and we are proud that they chose to work with us at this important juncture in their growth as a company,” says Chris Groves, CEO of Centric Software. “Ciele is setting the foundation for their future and we are thrilled to accompany them on this journey.”
