Centric Software® is pleased to announce that ZAJO has selected Centric PLM™ to fuel smarter, more sustainable product development. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source, buy, make, price, allocate, sell and replenish products such as fashion, outdoor, luxury, footwear, outdoor, home and related goods like cosmetics & personal care as well as multi-category retail to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
Founded in 1996 by Juraj Králik, ZAJO began with a simple mission: to create high-quality hiking trousers that were much needed but unavailable in Slovakia. Over the years, it has grown into one of Europe’s most respected outdoor brands, renowned for its functional, durable and timeless design. With two retail stores in Slovakia and an e-commerce platform serving customers in 27 European countries, the brand continues to expand. It maintains production in Slovakia and the Czech Republic and is experiencing rapid growth in key markets such as Germany and Poland.
Facing fierce competition and a surge in customer demand for high-quality gear at lower prices, ZAJO embarked on its PLM journey. It needs a solution to power efficiencies to create sustainable, quality products whilst decreasing time to market.
“The market is getting more crowded with major international fashion brands starting to offer outdoor, athleisure gear,” explains Marcela Čanakyová, Head of Design and Development at ZAJO. “Customers are price conscious and one of our biggest challenges is to convey the complexity and value of our products.”
Peter Juhas, Production Manager at ZAJO adds, “We need a system to better organize our processes and information. We were using multiple sources of data and different spreadsheets which was making daily tasks like a puzzle.”
As climate change and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns continue to reshape the outdoor industry, ZAJO recognizes the need for enhanced agility to evolve its product strategy and stay aligned with the changing needs of its consumers.
“With snowfall levels decreasing in our core market of Slovakia, it’s clear that portfolio diversification will be essential moving forward,” explains Čanakyová. “Tools like Centric PLM give us the insight and flexibility to adapt—helping us respond quickly and make smarter product decisions in the face of shifting environmental conditions.”
ZAJO selected Centric SMB, Centric’s cloud-based PLM solution for small to medium-sized businesses, for its impressive customer references, scalability and rapid implementation time. Juhas comments, “Centric PLM is used by most of our competitors, and its customer references are impressive across the board.”
The PLM implementation is near completion and will be rolled out to ZAJO’s design, product development and production teams. It expects to significantly reduce errors and improve cross functional collaboration.
“We will be able to deliver tech packs and BOMs much more quickly with PLM,” comments Čanakyová. “Because we’ll be tracking all data throughout each step in PLM, the system will alert us when we run into issues. The entire product development process will be smoother and more automated.”
Juhas adds, “We’ll also be able to reduce mistakes when we are calculating the materials needed per season and collection and when it comes to negotiating with suppliers, we can be confident that the product information in the system is accurate and ready to use.”
Centric PLM will also reinforce ZAJO’s commitment to sustainability through data-led product development.
“We create timeless, versatile, quality products so our customers can use them for a long time—we like it when we see that someone’s been using our products for 10 years or more,” explains Čanakyová. “Longevity is the basis of our sustainability strategy and with PLM we’ll be able to make better decisions that will ultimately improve product quality.”
“We are excited that ZAJO, our first customer based in Slovakia, has selected Centric PLM to empower adaptability and resilience in a rapidly evolving market,” says Fabrice Canonge, President of Centric Software. “We’re proud to provide ZAJO with a digital foundation that strengthens data-driven decision making and enhances operational efficiencies across the product lifecycle.”
