Centric PLM App Makes Way for Inspiration
Many fashion companies embraced product lifecycle management software because it offered an orderly, efficient way to track the progress of a fashion line from design to store delivery.
But the holy grail for PLM software designers is finding a way with the highly organized PLM program to increase opportunities for creativity and inspiration for wearing fashion, according to Chris Groves, president and chief executive for Centric Software Inc., the PLM solut ions provider based in the Northern California town of Campbell.
On Aug. 4, Centric announced its Capture It for iPhone app. The patent-pending app will allow users of the company’s Centric 8 PLM to upload photos directly to the Centric 8 PLM system quickly and easily. Centric 8 users who opt to use the app can distribute the art around a PLM system for review and analysis, Groves said.
“The Capture It for iPhone App lets designers and their PLM software collaborate beyond the traditional boundaries of the office and move into the locations where inspiration and product innovation often happen,” Groves said in a statement.
One way the app could be used is for trend scouting. Trend scouts and designers can take blog-style photos of fashionforward people on the street or at fashion shows. After uploading, the photo is added to Centric 8’s storyboard for a quick, inexpensive way to integrate sudden inspiration into a big, ordered system. After the inspiration picture is loaded into the PLM program, everyone associated with that systems project can discuss and critique the new photos, just as they would talk about a trend on Facebook or Twitter. It speeds up a fashion line’s development and customization process, Groves said. Fashion companies using Centric 8 include Balenciaga, Silver Jeans and the Sundance Catalog, according to the company.—Andrew Asch
