Providing greater visibility over fabric management and collection development processes, and guiding companies towards making the right decisions before production, Lectra’s extremely capable PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) platform scored at, or above, the industry average in all of the 43 functional areas WhichPLM measured, achieving the highest-scoring solution evaluated by WhichPLM to date. The WhichPLM benchmark evaluation measures against the industry average (a composite score of over 10 modern PLM solutions’ capabilities), the key product lifecycle functions a prospective PLM customer should seek. The study also probes the vendors’ capabilities, industry knowledge, customer insights, services and support facilities. For WhichPLM, Lectra’s technology, which clinched four four-star ratings, ‘is among the best the industry has to offer; its roadmap is clear; and its extended fashion platform reveals a persuasive vision.’ One of the most significant additions to the Lectra solution is the Material Forecast module. With the cost of raw materials, a pressing concern for the industry, particularly as an average of 60% to 75% of product cost is materials, Lectra’s module provides real visibility into accurate material consumption at the vital early stages of product development. Further key functional areas in which Lectra’s updated Fashion PLM ‘sufficiently improved’ compared to the 2015 evaluation, to earn a higher star rating in 2016, include: creative design (CAM), color integration, material development, sample management, supplier management, auditing & compliance, sustainability, quality auditing, collaboration & integration, mobile applications, user interface and dashboards.
