Perform at the speed of fashion: fewer physical prototypes

Prototyping is one of the most expensive and time-consuming phases of product development. Traditionally, three, four or even more prototypes were needed to validate style and fit. With Lectra, that number can be easily reduced by half. Lectra eliminates intermediary paper and fabric prototypes, saving a physical prototype for final validation, where it is needed most.

“Our objective in adopting Lectra’s 3D technology was to ease communication, reduce misunderstanding and errors and decrease the number of physical samples from two or three to a single prototype,” says Simone Mayer, Managing Director at Maier Sports, a German sportswear company. “Our Lectra solutions work well between Germany and China and we are now looking to expand them to our production facilities in Turkey. We are convinced that 3D is the future of our industry and we are happy that we found the right partner to accompany us.”

With 3D prototyping, pattern-makers can also visualize entire size ranges on screen, which makes controlling quality from the smallest to largest sizes—and not just a base size—possible. This is particularly impactful for companies that cater to consumers with diverse morphologies.

Cordeiro Campos, a Portuguese family-owned textile company that produces 300,000 garments a year, believes the benefits of reduced time to market and prototyping costs made possible with 3D have helped them maintain strong business growth despite a difficult economy. “We were recently named one of the best small- to medium-sized businesses in Portugal for the second year in a row. We believe our choice to partner with Lectra has allowed us to stay competitive and expand our business,” says José Augusto Santos, Shareholder and Manager at Cordeiro Campos.

By creating opportunities to see and modify style decisions early in the development process, 3D technology has reinforced links between departments and enabled companies to make profound changes in their product development process. The result is more collaboration between internal teams, but also with external suppliers and sub-contractors. For this reason, Lectra partners closely with every customer that embarks on a 3D project, in order to understand each one’s unique needs and ensure rapid mastery of the solution.

Lectra