Oxford Industries adopts STYLEprm for true Product Range Management capability

• STYLEprm to oversee Oxford Industries' Product Development Process
  
  
• Option Systems Limited solution chosen ahead of established PDM application suppliers

Options Systems Limited (OSL), a leading global specialist in the provision of IT solutions for apparel companies, has announced a major order from Oxford Industries for its Product Range Management solution, STYLEprm. Oxford is a leading US producer and distributor of branded and private label apparel whose brands include Ben Sherman, Tommy Bahama, Indigo Palms, Island Soft, Ely and Walker and Oxford Golf. OSL will provide Oxford Industries with an initial 120 user license of the STYLEprm solution for the first implementation which will involve the four divisions that make up Oxford's Menswear Group. In total, this would represent more than 15,000 unique styles per year. STYLEprm goes beyond traditional Product Data Management (PDM) solutions to ensure that Oxford Industries will always have the control and visibility necessary to plan, develop and manage its entire range of products at any given time.

STYLEprm replaces Oxford Industries' incumbent PDM systems - a well-known commercial package, an "in house" developed solution and the customary office products - and offers unrivalled control over its clothing ranges all the way from initial sketches through to production for real-time range revision. Unlike many other PDM systems available on the market STYLEprm has been specifically designed with the needs of the apparel and footwear industry in mind

and the fact that it is Internet-based means that users can have access to the system anywhere in the world via a standard web browser.

"We needed to replace and improve our existing PDM applications and evaluated all the leading solutions in the market before choosing Options Systems," commented John Baumgartner, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Oxford Industries. "There is no question on our part that we selected the best product and we greatly appreciate the manner in which OSL conducted the evaluation and accompanying negotiations. We look forward to a long and meaningful relationship."

"This order from Oxford Industries is another significant step for Option Systems and comes on the back of a number of exciting orders from other leading apparel companies such as Hunter Rubber Company and Profile Bodywear in the last quarter. We are finding real traction in the marketplace and have become a de facto alternative to the established competition in the PDM arena, complementing our position in the ERP area," concluded Tony Parkinson.

STYLEprm's workflow engine features a powerful range calendar that drives production around key dates such as shows, meetings, exhibitions and first deliveries. STYLEprm then uses these key dates to build events in the range cycle that need to be tracked - these can be varied by product type, country of origin, and the specific individuals, groups and suppliers that own each action. STYLEprm's workflow engine then tasks the people responsible, if necessary reminding them of imminent activities and alerting development management.

STYLEprm also acknowledges that ranges never stay the same and that, as development progresses, new styles may be added, revised versions created and some dropped. With STYLEprm, range developers can view their style mix graphically and structure their range by style attributes to progress towards an optimum style/colour/size balance.

STYLEprm takes full advantage of STYLEman's flexibility, with a browser-based architecture that means it runs equally well on Mac, PC or Linux clients, it can be accessed from anywhere in the world, is available in a range of different languages, and can be integrated easily with third party ERP, CAD and merchandise systems for true end-to-end supply chain management.

About Oxford Industries, Inc:
Oxford Industries, Inc. is a producer and marketer of branded and private label apparel for men, women and children. Oxford provides retailers and consumers with a wide variety of apparel products and services to suit their individual needs. Oxford's brands include Tommy Bahama®, Indigo Palms®, Island Soft®, Ben Sherman®, Ely and Walker® and Oxford Golf®. The Company also holds exclusive licenses to produce and sell certain product categories under the Tommy Hilfiger®, Nautica®, Geoffrey Beene®, Slates®, Dockers®, and Oscar de la Renta® labels. Oxford's customers are found in every major channel of distribution including national chains, specialty catalogues, mass merchants, department stores, specialty stores and Internet retailers.

Hunter Rubber Company orders STYLEman ERP solution to cope with 50 per cent sales growth

• Can view order status in real-time from the sourcing of raw materials to location of finished product

Option Systems Limited (OSL), a leading global specialist systems provider for the apparel and footwear industries, has announced a major new order for its STYLEman Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution from Hunter Rubber Company Limited, the market leading manufacturer of quality wellington boots.

STYLEman ERP provides Hunter with the ability to monitor and track orders across the entire production process, thereby accurately monitoring progress throughout. Hunter has 60 lines of boots and 35 lines of clothing and accessories, which it supplies to 18 countries worldwide. The company is reporting a year on year growth to the end of February 2005 of 41 per cent, as market leader in the quality end of the wellington market (Hunter has a 60 per cent share of the £50 plus market).

Hunter has recently changed its business model from a traditional manufacturing focused operation towards the sales and distribution market. This shift has led to an increased demand for a more customer-centric planning system. STYLEman was developed by OSL expressly for the apparel and footwear industry, and is a fully Internet enabled import, distribution, production and retail application. STYLEman will provide Hunter with the ability to view an order's status in real-time, from the sourcing of raw materials to the location of the finished product.

"STYLEman replaces the incumbent Movex application, which wasn't designed with sales and distribution in mind," explained Mark Sater, Chairman, Hunter Rubber Company. "STYLEman is a tried and tested formula, supported by a strong development team. It made sense to use OSL. Since the transition from a manufacturing business a year ago, our sales have increased dramatically. Sales are expected to grow by a further 50 per cent when STYLEman is fully installed."

ERP monitors the performance, management and results of a company's processes on an enterprise-wide basis to highlight where efficiency gains can be made. STYLEman, from OSL, is the leading ERP solution developed specifically for clothing and footwear companies. Completely web enabled, and offering unparalleled industry functionality, STYLEman allows organisations worldwide to maximise the potential of their operations by simplifying processes, and effortlessly delivering the operational and management information they require.

About Hunter Rubber Company Limited:
Hunter Rubber Company Ltd has been a leading manufacturer of Wellington Boots in Scotland since 1856. They were originally designed for walking in Scotland's rugged terrain and combating its unpredictable weather due to their performance, durability and comfort. Each pair of Hunter Boots is made entirely by hand and Hunter develop various ranges, with innovative technology inside the boot and out, to cope with various types of weather. The company is currently experiencing a strong growth in worldwide sales.

OSL announces order from Profile Bodywear for STYLEman ERP solution

• Underwear and Sleepwear manufacturer will manage entire production of 450,000 items a month from order through to manufacture and distribution

Option Systems Limited (OSL), a leading global specialist in the provision of IT solutions for the apparel and footwear industries, has announced that Profile Bodywear has selected the STYLEman enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to streamline its entire order fulfilment processes. Profile Bodywear sources underwear and sleepwear at a rate of 450,000 items per month for a large number of leading UK high street brands including Topshop, BHS and Ann Summers. It will use the STYLEman ERP solution to streamline its import and distribution processes.

STYLEman is OSL's fully Internet enabled import, distribution, production and retail application specifically designed for the apparel and footwear industry.
In any given season Profile produces approximately 600 lines of underwear and STYLEman will enable Profile to have complete control and visibility of the entire logistical process. It will oversee the ordering of materials from the Far East, monitor the production to allow Profile to know which items are at which stage of production and then match the products to the correct distributor channel.

"The reason we chose Option Systems is simple - experience," explained Robert Ferguson, Joint Managing Director, Profile Bodywear. "We wanted to replace our old ERP system, which was not designed specifically for our area of expertise and delivered limited functionality that was impacting our ability to move the business forward. Having looked at the solutions on offer, STYLEman from Option Systems stood out. Option Systems' experience in our particular market was unmatched. The fact that so many other companies in our sector utilise the solution gave us real confidence that STYLEman was the correct choice for Profile."

Ian Forsyth, Operations Director at OSL added: "The integration of our system offers tangible business benefits to Profile right the way from the initial order through to the actual delivery of the goods to the client. We already have a strong presence in the underwear market and this order from Profile further increases our reputation in this sector. Recent orders, such as that from Profile and other leading brands in the apparel and footwear industry, have seen OSL firmly entrench itself in the market and experience continued growth."

ERP examines the performance, management and results of a company's processes on an enterprise-wide basis to highlight where efficiency gains can be made. STYLEman, from OSL, is the leading ERP solution developed specifically for clothing and footwear companies. With unparalleled industry functionality and completely web enabled, STYLEman allows organisations worldwide to maximise the potential of their operations by simplifying processes, and effortlessly delivering the operational and management information they require.

OSL launches market's first specialist Product Range Management (PRM) solution for apparel and footwear businesses

• New STYLEprm solution goes beyond traditional PDM to enable true Product Range Management (PRM)
  
  
• Web-based PRM solution supports international supply chain

Option Systems Limited (OSL), a leading global specialist in the provision of IT solutions for the apparel and footwear industries, has launched STYLEprm the market's first specialist range management solution for apparel and footwear businesses. The new STYLEprm - Product Range Management (PRM) - system is a powerful, web-based collaborative range lifecycle management application and the first solution to go beyond traditional Product Data Management (PDM) to ensure that designers and suppliers have the information and control they need to plan, develop and review an entire product range as it evolves, creating the right mix of designs and products - on time and on budget.

Designed from the outset to meet the specialist needs of apparel and footwear producers, STYLEprm delivers a complete solution for the entire product development process, including range calendars, grading tables, material usage, budget costing and pre-production critical path. It provides design teams and manufacturers with a single repository for all their style or range-related information - such as sketches, drawings, photographs, scanned images and documents, measurements, manufacturing instructions, development history, sampling details and test results. Because STYLEprm is entirely web-based, authorised users can access this essential information from a standard web browser anywhere in the world.

"Today's product and range lifecycle is a continuous process and we've moved away from traditional Summer and Winter collections to a world of smaller production runs and increasing development costs," commented Tony Parkinson, Managing Director of Option Systems Limited. "With STYLEprm we're for the first time providing apparel and footwear businesses with a comprehensive view of the global critical path across the entire lifecycle of their range, from initial product and range planning right through design, sampling and into production.

"With STYLEprm, businesses can also allocate, manage and automatically track internal and external activities, and supply chain partners can share visibility of range and sampling milestones, as well as receive automatic, configurable status notifications by e-mail or fax," he continued. "This means we can give range developers and management the ability to manage the lifecycle of an entire range and provide comparisons to pre-agreed range calendar milestones. We also provide a true, task-driven collaborative environment that allows organisations and their partners to ensure on-time completion of all aspects of a collection."

STYLEprm's workflow engine features a powerful range calendar that drives range production around key dates such as shows, range meetings, exhibitions and first deliveries. STYLEprm then uses these key dates to build events in the range cycle that need to be tracked - these can be varied by product type, country of origin, and the specific individuals, groups and suppliers that own each action. STYLEprm's workflow engine then tasks the people responsible, if necessary reminding them of imminent activities and alerting development management where necessary.

Real time range revision
STYLEprm also acknowledges that ranges never stay the same and that, as development progresses, new styles may be added to the range, revised versions created and some dropped. With STYLEprm, range developers can view their style mix graphically and structure their range by style attributes such as 'how many tops versus bottoms?', 'what's the colour balance?', 'how many sizes are being run?', and progress towards an optimum style/colour/size balance.

STYLEprm takes full advantage of STYLEman's flexibility, with a browser-based architecture that means it runs equally well on Mac or PC networks, can be accessed from anywhere in the world, is available in a range of different languages, and can be integrated easily with third party ERP, CAD and merchandise systems for true end-to-end supply chain management.