Portugal companies join hands for digital acceleration

02 Mar '21

3 min read

Pic: PlatformE

PlatformE International has acquired Portugal-based Springkode. PlatformE, headquartered in Portugal, is the end-to-end platform solution accelerating fashion’s digital transformation and on-demand manufacturing. Springkode is a factory-to-consumer marketplace and e-commerce company, which offers ethical fashion and products from various manufacturers.

The acquisition will allow PlatformE to enhance its offerings and spearhead Industry 5.0 technology, connecting in real-time functional dimensions that were never connected before at scale; Points-of-sale (e-commerce, stores, e-tailer, and so on) directly interconnected with manufacturers. This will enable the shift to an Industry that is more customer-centred and capable of acting on pull-model, a system that is far more sustainable, that reduces uncertainty and augments efficiency and profitability of operations, PlatformE said.

The strategic combination of PlatformE and Springkode creates a powerhouse for all the brands and retailers that want to be directly in sync with the entire supply-chain. End-to-end connectivity and visibility is absolutely a paramount to achieve smarter ways of developing, launching and monitoring fashion collections, capsules or drops, according to PlatformE.

Consolidating the two companies’ intellectual property, development capabilities, and networks will enable PlatformE to accelerate the scale of the number of brands, retailers, and manufacturers that focus on sustainable growth, both on the financial and environmental aspects, PlatformE said.

The integration of technology, processes and teams has started already and PlatformE will be powering end-to-end inventory-less launches this same quarter, namely in the ready-to-wear and footwear categories.

“It has been an amazing journey, bridging ethical fashion between end-consumers and manufacturers. Springkode’s values and vision are in perfect alignment with PlatformE’s. We see this move as the best way to achieve our purpose faster, which is to reduce fashion’s environmental footprint, remodel the way the fashion industry works and deliver more value to all parts involved in the supply-chain. We’ve accomplished a lot in the past two years but in order to have a bigger impact this is clearly the best next-step possible and feel incredibly fortunate to join PlatformE’s team,” Reinaldo Costa Moreira, co-founder and chief executive officer, Springkode said in a PlatformE press release.

“We’re delighted to welcome Moreira and Springkode’s talented engineers to the PlatformE team. Cracking formulas to find breakthroughs in the Fashion Industry has been historically one of the hardest things to do, especially due to the lack of evolution that the industry has suffered when compared with others. We’re very confident that our combination of software and industrial engineers, alongside data scientists, puts us in a superb position to lead the incredible evolution that we will see in the next decades,” Gonçalo Cruz, co-founder and chief executive officer of PlatformE said.

PlatformE has been a key catalyst in the digital acceleration of the fashion industry, helping brands, retailers, and manufacturers to adopt digital tools and processes to ultimately reduce physical utilisation of resources throughout the entire value chain and drastically reduce Fashion’s biggest problem: excess inventory and overproduction.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)