What are the advantages of using WFX PLM for your fashion brand

A $2.3 trillion industry, fashion is truly global. From New York to Shanghai, the industry has fashion designers, brands and manufacturers collaborating and competing in a truly borderless market.

This, of course, has been made possible due to vastly improved technologies that enable better methods of communication and collaboration, allowing brands to extend their creativity to a broader audience. In order to stay up-to-date with the times, many in the fashion industry are now looking for an even more efficient way to expand their business.

Today, it’s no longer about what you do alone but all about what you can create with others. How you can connect with your customers, how you can grow your business and ultimately, how you can take the industry to the next level.

As you might know, quality product development is everything for a fashion brand. From sourcing, design, manufacturing to logistics, and marketing – all of it exists to support it. To succeed, brands need the agility to respond rapidly to ever-changing trends while remaining competitive with their peers. And they need technology to help them plan ahead, manage inventory and execute efficiently.

An agile, affordable, and easy-to-use PLM software is the best companion for a fashion brand’s journey to growth. The WFX (World Fashion Exchange) fashion PLM was designed keeping the fashion industries unique challenges in mind.

From line planning, sample request to purchase order management and shipping, WFX PLM ensures that all the critical activities of your fashion business are managed on a single centralized system. The world’s top brands (including Skims, Gorjana, Everlane, Forever New, Belstaff, OKA, Bewakoof and 600+ more) are already reaping the benefits of implementing WFX’s fashion PLM solution.

Wondering what makes our apparel PLM software the best choice for fashion brands? Well, here are some straightforward reasons.

1. BUILT BY FASHION EXPERTS

As a company whose core business is fashion, WFX understands the challenges of the industry. WFX PLM has been designed and developed by fashion technology experts—people who truly understand the problems of the business.

The platform combines our decades of experience working in the fashion industry with the technology expertise necessary to satisfy the industry’s demands.

Other PLM systems are built with a generic focus and lack out-of-the-box functionalities required for fashion brands. You will have to add these specific functionalities to the system by customizing it and this will incur additional costs. In contrast, WFX PLM is built specifically for fashion and fashion-adjacent (footwear, accessories and home goods) brands. It accommodates various production stages exclusive to these businesses, empowering them to focus on creativity and efficiency.

As a WFX PLM customer, you can count on a user interface that’s intuitive and covers all aspects of your product development.

2. SEAMLESS INTEGRATIONS

We have the experience and expertise to ensure that WFX PLM works seamlessly with your existing technology stack. This means that the process of adopting the WFX PLM will be seamless with minimum disruption to team’s workflow. You won’t have to worry about issues arising from conflicting systems or data loss.

It’s easy to get started: we work with you to determine which of your systems need to talk to each other and then analyze your business processes in order to see how they can benefit from using a PLM system.

You may work with your current ERP system or, use our leading WFX ERP solution designed specifically for fashion and consumer goods companies. We have developed standard integrations with most major accounting and ERP systems, including Adobe Illustrator, NetSuite ERP, AIMS360 ERP, GT Nexus, Fast React, Shopify, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics among others.

3. ROI-DRIVEN IMPLEMENTATION

WFX PLM’s intuitive and user-friendly interface helps you to get started with the system quickly. But that’s not all. Unlike other heavy legacy PLMs, we can get you up and running in as little as 6-8 weeks with WFX PLM. Wondering how? Our PLM system is built in modules that allow for a phased implementation. For you, this means that you can automate processes in a staggered manner so that your team workflow faces no disruption.

The implementation process is led by a dedicated Implementation Manager who will work with your team to ensure the system is configured in line with your business processes and procedures. Once the system has been implemented, we offer comprehensive training for all users, delivered by experienced technical consultants or experienced user trainers. This training takes place on-site or via webinars, depending on your preferences and the location of your team.
We’ll help you understand how to maximize the benefits of your PLM system, from storing the right data to automating the right processes. For example, if your team uses spreadsheets to manage design data, you can start by implementing the collection management module. This will allow you to create a central repository of your product and raw material information and share it with your team or suppliers.

4. ACCESS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

In today’s busy world you need to be able to access your data on the go. The WFX PLM can be accessed from anywhere via a desktop computer or mobile device. That means no matter where you are or what time zone you are in, you can always check in on your inventory or design new products. We have customers in over 50 countries that use our software every day (and night).

Since WFX PLM is a cloud-based solution, you don’t have to worry about installation or deployment, and pay only for what you need – add additional users, extra storage etc. as needed. It also means you are always using the latest version of the software.

You also won’t need to spend any money on servers and IT staff to maintain the software. You can opt for a payment plan that works for you. We base the fees on the number of users who use the software, which allows you to have more control over your costs.

5. SCALES WITH YOU

Flexibility is the name of the game. One of the cool things about WFX PLM is that it’s designed to grow with your fashion brand. We offer scalable solutions that can even integrate with existing legacy systems. This means you can use it when you’re a small startup or growing fashion house.

The PLM is also built for higher capacities and can handle a high volume of users, orders and products. WFX PLM takes care of everything from initial order management, design and development, quality assurance and testing, through to production, shipment and invoicing.

Regardless of the size of your business, WFX PLM can be easily customized for your business goals. We also allow you to scale up or down depending on your needs at the time — so, if you are a large company with a large number of SKUs, you can easily go from 1,000 to 10,000 SKUs and back again.

And now we even help you conduct sales and reach new buyers through the WFX Virtual Showroom. You can connect your PLM with the Virtual Showroom to upload collections for sale with just a few clicks. Find out more here!

6. LEAD WITH ANALYTICS

When it comes to business intelligence, reliable data is key. Our solution gives you a complete overview of your entire fashion business operations from design to delivery. This makes it easy for you to track milestones, communicate better with vendors, monitor progress, manage approvals, resolve issues and avoid delays.

The WFX fashion PLM solution comes with a built-in, real-time analytics engine that gives you the insights you need to make better business decisions. The access to advanced analytics capabilities also gives you a competitive edge. You can track each step of the product development and production process with real-time reports, dashboards and get alerts for any critical or time-sensitive actions.

The best part about WFX PLM is that it helps you build on the success of your previous products by learning from the data you collect. For example, the software can show you which products are selling well, so you can use that information to make smart decisions about future projects. It makes it easy to see how your products are doing in different sizes, colors, materials and price points.

7. SERIOUS ABOUT SECURITY

We take data security very seriously and we’ve worked hard to ensure our platform is secure. Our product development lifecycle management software complies with the latest industry standards and we’re continuously testing and improving our security measures to keep our users safe.

WFX PLM has achieved the ISO 27001 certification, which shows that WFX follows the best global practices in information security. The data we host within our platform is your property and it is only available to you and those users that you’ve invited to use the system.

We also work to make sure that you don’t have to worry about backups or scaling your system. This means your data is always secured and inaccessible to unauthorized third parties.

8. VENDOR COLLABORATION

As a fashion brand, you may need to work with multiple manufacturing companies and vendors. Depending on the type of product and material you use, each manufacturer may have different requirements for your data. WFX PLM can help you streamline this process through its dedicated vendor portal.

All product information such as fits, fabric types, materials and colors are stored in a standardized way. And you can choose who gets access to which information. You can share product data and send sample requests and share feedback all on one platform.

Vendors can see the samples they need to produce, send their feedback and check production status on a dedicated portal. The system also keeps a log of all design iterations and changes as well as records of who was responsible for approvals. This eliminates the need for endless emails back and forth with vendors, while making sure that everyone has all the information they need.

9. SAMPLE FEEDBACK SIMPLIFIED

Quality management and sample approvals go hand in hand. And we don’t have to tell that an unorganized sample approval process can get pretty overwhelming pretty quickly.

WFX PLM simplifies the process of requesting samples for inspection, allowing you to choose your inspection agent and set quality parameters. You can easily request samples for inspection from PLM with just a single click.

You won’t have to open your email because you will be able to upload feedback directly into the application. You’ll include comments, annotated images, with exact errors and revised measurements. This will help you speed up the turnaround time for your vendors, and reduce iteration on samples.

If you want to know who read a particular sample or requested a change, you can check the inspection logs at any time. You can also extract this information to figure out how long the sample approval process took.

10. CATCH INSPIRATION ON THE GO

When we say a PLM connected on the go, we truly mean it. Inspiration can strike at any moment. That’s why the designers on really anyone on the design and development team rely on WFX Click, our mobile app that makes it easy to capture and share high-quality images from anywhere you want. Click, share and get feedback from your team.

WFX Click is ideal for capturing everything from design details to new fabrics, accessories, color palettes and more. Quickly create a photo storyboard or share as a single image. With WFX Click, you’ll always have a visual inspiration catcher in your pocket, so you never miss an opportunity to capture an idea or inspire your team.

To summarize, the benefits of WFX PLM to fashion brands are fairly clear: it streamlines workflow, helps eliminate design errors and double work, and frees up designers’ time which can be better spent on improving each product.

With WFX PLM, we want to help you navigate the process of product design and development more efficiently, and with greater control over the whole production process. And that can translate into higher quality products for your customers and a better bottom line for you.

If your business is looking to grow, to get products to market faster and improve relationships, then WFX PLM might be a good solution for your brand. Sign up for a free demo to find out more!