Peter Charness
VP-Merchandise Lifecycle Management Aptos
We have been able to engineer our solutions for affordability
Aptos is a large provider of enterprise software focused exclusively on retail. Its cloud-based solutions are trusted by over 1,000 retail brands in 65 countries. With industry-leading omnichannel commerce and merchandise lifecycle management solutions, it helps retailers develop dynamic and responsive assortments, streamline operations and deliver integrated, seamless experience... wherever shoppers choose to engage. Peter Charness, Vice-President for Merchandise Lifecycle Management, talks about the company's solutions for the textiles and apparel industry.
Tell us about the ERP/PLM solutions that your company offers. In what ways are they unique?
Aptos' PLM solution differentiates in the marketplace for the following characteristics:
Specifically tailored to the needs of fashion, it also serves 'fashion-like' sectors such as eyewear or furniture where the design aspect is strong. In this way it offers proven support to all retailers pursuing brand extension strategies.
The solution delivers truly end-to-end capabilities from line planning, design, to sourcing, to product development, sustainability and quality control.
Aptos PLM is deployed through an agile project methodology which accelerates time to benefits.
Aptos counts over 150 PLM customers globally who have recorded benefits in terms of time-to-market reduction and more profitable collections.
IT solutions are expensive, and often out of reach for SMEs that make up an overwhelmingly large chunk of the global fashion industry. Do you offer solutions for them as well?
With the advent of cloud-based solutions, there is greater affordability of advanced functionality to a larger audience. We have been able to engineer our solutions for affordability, and not only does the cost of the solution decrease, but the implementation times are also reduced, further lowering TCO (total cost of ownership). As an example, our Merchandise Management Solution can reliably be implemented in less than six months, a fraction of former implementation time frames. This puts significant capability into the reach of a larger potential audience.
A fast-changing industry also means that the solutions need to stay abreast of the changes. How do you ensure this at your company?
Aptos devotes a significant portion of revenue to product improvement, while also operating Aptos Labs, a pure R&D facility. Aptos Labs gives us early capability to experiment with and bring the right new technologies into our products. Our cloud-based capabilities empower us to quickly deliver these capabilities to our customers.
Could you give us a few case studies of how your solutions have made a difference to companies in the fashion-apparel business?
Example #1: An international leader in baby and health care products has been recording important benefits from implementing Aptos PLM. As their business grew, it required a PLM solution to help streamline processes, establish one version of the truth and accelerate development cycles within their fashion division. Aptos PLM is helping them centralise collection data, carry out quality tests and orchestrate the whole process through advanced workflow management capabilities. The company is reaping benefits in terms of security of data, accessibility of the right information, and errors reduced by 20 per cent. Also, development times have been slashed by 20 per cent.
Example #2: A renowned European luxury brand has successfully implemented Aptos for pre-season and in-season planning and is now focusing on the deployment of Aptos PLM and Aptos SCM to help manage product development and sourcing faster and with greater efficiency. The Aptos Planning project has been very successful, helping the retailer integrate the entire process across functions, geographies and channels. The project is already bringing important results, including a reduction in inventory and greater visibility throughout the supply chain. (SG)
Published on: 06/11/2019
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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