Interviews
News Flash
Pacific Alliance to monitor color consistency
04 Jul '08
6 min read
In 2005 it selected TradeStone's Merchandise Lifecycle Management (MLM) suite, a flexible system that enables manufacturers to improve work-in-progress visibility by tracking and monitoring a variety of processes.
TradeStone's software is web-enabled and can be accessed via web browser by anyone with security access, anywhere in the world - all that's needed is an Internet connection.
With TradeStone's assistance, Pacific Alliance customized the system to meet its needs, and now uses it throughout much of the company.
After the sales department creates a new style in the system, the production and quality assurance departments enter all the steps they need to perform and the deadlines for those steps.
For the color management process, the TradeStone system generates calendars showing dates for approval of lab dips, shade bands, trim colors and other events.
While most of the steps are standard across styles, the company has the flexibility to add or delete events for a particular style. Test criteria can be established, and submissions can be monitored.
Managers can easily set up alerts to let them know if, for example, the samples received don't match what was expected. And when a sample is rejected, the system automatically schedules a resubmit and marks it as pending, so no one has to manually notify the mill.
Mills and factories can view and enter information about the styles they are assigned. "They definitely find it helpful," says Stoothoff. "They get real-time information and don't have to wait till the end of the day."
The "snapshot" management report, work-in-progress reports, and ad hoc queries make it easy for managers to see what's outstanding or what deadlines are in danger of being missed.
"If we're getting close to the deadline date and there's no package [from the mill], we can follow up with them," Stoothoff says. "It lets us manage by exception."
One of the biggest changes, according to Stoothoff, is the reduction in the number of e-mails that participants send one another.
Everyone who needs access to information gets that information in real time; the process can't come to a halt because a message is languishing in the inbox of a participant who is on vacation.
The TradeStone software helps the company maintain color consistency because it reduces errors and makes it easy to identify and review all the styles that use a particular color. "You want to make sure you pull up the t-shirt information when you're reviewing the sweater dip," Stoothoff explains.
But Pacific Alliance had always maintained high standards of consistency. The biggest difference is that it's much easier to perform all of the steps within the allotted time frame.
"The lead times are getting shorter and shorter," Stoothoff says. "Customers want products faster. We need to make sure we don't lose production space at the factory.
TradeStone is a huge help in making sure that critical dates aren't missed. Everyone has access to critical dates, and we can make sure everything is kept on schedule."
TradeStone's software is web-enabled and can be accessed via web browser by anyone with security access, anywhere in the world - all that's needed is an Internet connection.
With TradeStone's assistance, Pacific Alliance customized the system to meet its needs, and now uses it throughout much of the company.
After the sales department creates a new style in the system, the production and quality assurance departments enter all the steps they need to perform and the deadlines for those steps.
For the color management process, the TradeStone system generates calendars showing dates for approval of lab dips, shade bands, trim colors and other events.
While most of the steps are standard across styles, the company has the flexibility to add or delete events for a particular style. Test criteria can be established, and submissions can be monitored.
Managers can easily set up alerts to let them know if, for example, the samples received don't match what was expected. And when a sample is rejected, the system automatically schedules a resubmit and marks it as pending, so no one has to manually notify the mill.
Mills and factories can view and enter information about the styles they are assigned. "They definitely find it helpful," says Stoothoff. "They get real-time information and don't have to wait till the end of the day."
The "snapshot" management report, work-in-progress reports, and ad hoc queries make it easy for managers to see what's outstanding or what deadlines are in danger of being missed.
"If we're getting close to the deadline date and there's no package [from the mill], we can follow up with them," Stoothoff says. "It lets us manage by exception."
One of the biggest changes, according to Stoothoff, is the reduction in the number of e-mails that participants send one another.
Everyone who needs access to information gets that information in real time; the process can't come to a halt because a message is languishing in the inbox of a participant who is on vacation.
The TradeStone software helps the company maintain color consistency because it reduces errors and makes it easy to identify and review all the styles that use a particular color. "You want to make sure you pull up the t-shirt information when you're reviewing the sweater dip," Stoothoff explains.
But Pacific Alliance had always maintained high standards of consistency. The biggest difference is that it's much easier to perform all of the steps within the allotted time frame.
"The lead times are getting shorter and shorter," Stoothoff says. "Customers want products faster. We need to make sure we don't lose production space at the factory.
TradeStone is a huge help in making sure that critical dates aren't missed. Everyone has access to critical dates, and we can make sure everything is kept on schedule."
TradeStone software
Popular News
Leave your Comments
Editor’s Pick
Esteemed Clients
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
