Product Innovation (PI) Apparel 2016: Day One Highlights

Transcription

1 JULY 7, 2016 Product Innovation (PI) Apparel 2016: Day One Highlights The Fung Global Retail & Technology team attended the Product Innovation (PI) Apparel conference, which organizers describe as a place to discover the technologies disrupting the fashion, apparel and footwear industry. Key themes at the event included innovation, product lifecycle management, 3D technology, supply chain and digitalization. A number of speakers emphasized that 3D technology, prototyping and digitalization are already here that it is not a question of when to implement these technologies, but how. The Fung Global Retail & Technology team attended the Product Innovation (PI) Apparel conference, which organizers describe as a place to discover the technologies disrupting the fashion, apparel and footwear industry. PI Apparel focused on innovation, product lifecycle management, 3D technology, supply chain and digitalization this year. We heard from and met with representatives of large retailers, emerging brands, technology companies and vendors. Key takeaways from day one of the event included: 3D technology, prototyping and digitalization are already here; companies should focus not on when to adopt these technologies, but how. Innovations in the design process are shortening it from months to days. Being a persuasive change agent is critical to implementing organizational change, and changes should be presented as simply and coherently as possible. Technology needs to be transparent, and it doesn t need to be difficult. Opening Remarks: Craig Crawford, IT Strategist, Crawford IT IT strategist Craig Crawford of Crawford IT chaired PI Apparel this year. He opened the event with a presentation covering product innovation, technology, sustainability and the future of fashion. Augmented reality has found its place, he said, pointing to futuristic images of mannequins with hologram faces and the ability to capture user information and data analytics. Crawford highlighted designer Brooke Roberts, a former medical-imaging resident who is currently a digital knitwear designer. Roberts looks to technology for inspiration, and is known for incorporating images of brain scans into her designs. 1

2 Crawford said that technology needs to be transparent, and it doesn t need to be difficult. He concluded his opening remarks by describing a contest called Apps for Good, whose goal is to transform the way technology is taught in schools; to empower students from all backgrounds to seize the opportunities of our digital age and create solutions to the problems they care about, using technology. Students ranging in age from 8 to 18 created apps to submit to the contest. Crawford said that these are great examples of the next generation using innovative technology to find solutions for unique opportunities: One of Brooke Roberts knits, inspired by a digital brain scan Source: Dezeen.com Source: Appsforgood.com Following Crawford s remarks, presenters from a number of companies spoke on the topics of innovation, product lifecycle management and 3D technology. Innovation requires a champion, someone who has courage and is a persuasive change agent. INNOVATION Soon Yu, Global VP of Innovation, VF Corporation Soon Yu, Global VP of Innovation at VF Corporation, presented an overview of why even the most successful companies fail sometimes and he shared a plan for how to effectively enact change at an organization. He said that the three main barriers to change are fear, apathy and disbelief. Therefore, innovation requires a champion, someone who has courage and is a persuasive change agent. Yu cited tips for effecting change from book called Switch, How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: Direct focus on changing behavior. Keep it simple. Motivate win on emotion. Shape leverage the existing routine. Set up reminders. 2

3 Yu said the ideas in the book were instrumental in helping VF a large company with more than 30 brands, 16 offices and 60,000 employees mitigate risk, enable short-term cost saving and avoid insular thinking. He emphasized the importance of the do, feel, think sequence in effecting change as opposed to think, feel, do. Yu also said that, in order to innovate, companies should define one critical move and keep it simple. To illustrate this, he cited a study that asked people to reduce fat intake by making one switch, to 1% milk, from higher-fat versions. The trial worked because it was simple and easy to follow, Yu said. Along the same lines, he encouraged leaders in the audience to shrink the change when presenting ideas. He said that VF had created a onepage document listing critical items, so that necessary changes did not seem too overwhelming. He also said that VF investigates what is working, and then clones it. For example, VF s teams looked at how backpacks were being used today and discovered that people use them for more than transporting books that they are lifestyle bags. Lastly, Yu shared that VF incentivizes its employees to continue to innovate with an innovation fund and a collaboration tool. The company also hosts an outside-in speaker series that helps employees continually learn from the outside and collaborate to gain consumer insights. The innovation fund has resulted in more than 100 new ideas, 97 of which have been completed and 54 of which have been considered successful. VF s innovation model has resulted in over $2 billion of revenue in the pipeline, as well as the creation of a Technical Design Innovation Center in California, a Footwear Innovation Center in New Hampshire and a Jeanswear Innovation Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company also hosts an outside-in speaker series that helps employees continually learn from the outside and collaborate to gain consumer insights. Source: Soon Yu, VF Corporation PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGMENT Cindy Payero, VP of DKNY Wholesale Systems, The Donna Karan Company Cindy Payero of DKNY provided a comprehensive overview of her company s IT transition. She spoke about the importance of language, partnerships, personalities, communication and having a system road map, whether using a product lifecycle management system or any kind 3

4 of IT system. With regard to language, Payero said that organizations should make it a priority to understand the new audience s needs during any transition to a new system. She also recommended gaining as much knowledge as possible about the system s limitations and what can and cannot be done in terms of reporting. Payero recommended building relationships and establishing new alliances with new leaders, noting that: Researching questions that people are asking usually leads to understanding upcoming process changes. It is important to understand the process and what is currently happening manually and automatically to ensure a smooth transition and to understand the impact to standard reporting and key performance indicators. Good training is critical because some teams may be going through a lot of changes, particularly if the company has restructured. Researching questions that people are asking usually leads to understanding upcoming process changes When leaders are asked if a change can be made, Payero suggests that they focus on the possibility, not the challenge. Company changes introduce new personalities, and Payero recommended that IT optimize meet-and-greet sessions to engage with new management and provide a system demo, if applicable. She said that these meetings present a great opportunity to communicate new system capabilities, show how the system can be utilized and enhanced, and support new strategies. She also highlighted that it is important to recalibrate the IT team to support the new company vision and that the team must accept that it is supporting a new company with new solutions. Communication should always be positive, and system updates should contain five bullets summarizing any attachments, she said. When leaders are asked if a change can be made, Payero suggests that they focus on the possibility, not the challenge. She said that her team was often asked, Can this be done, and how long will this take? In response, the team would create a mock-up of the suggested changes to the layouts (to show the look and feel), based on desired results, and explain how the process would change. Payero concluded by talking through her company s system road map. She said that product lifecycle management continues to be a priority and that all DKNY teams are working together toward relying on system tools. She said that all of the building blocks are in place to expand system utilization in the planning process and performance reporting and to enhance development visibility. 3D TECHNOLOGY Lisa Struble, VP of Apparel Development & Quality, Under Armour Jami Dunbar, VP of Apparel & Virtualization, Under Armour Lisa Struble and Jami Dunbar of Under Armour shared insights regarding Under Armour s 3D product strategy. Using the Optitex design software, Under Armour recently changed how it does business. The company decided to redesign its entire collection before its Women s Fall/Winter 2016 sales meeting, but there was not enough time to remake and replace the samples. So, Under Armour used 4

5 Optitex to create virtual samples using 3D visualization. Through this, the company discovered it could reduce product development time by almost 50%. The process also allowed for partners to collaborate earlier to improve fit and make faster decisions. Optitex to create virtual samples using 3D visualization. Through this, the company discovered it could reduce product development time by almost 50%. The process also allowed for partners to collaborate earlier to improve fit and make faster decisions. How can the old and the new designers work together? The designers can choose the shirt they like before they even make a first prototype, which cuts down on time significantly. Another benefit is that color placement, scale and graphics can all be seen immediately and correctly, whereas sketches are often distorted and not to scale. Struble and Dunbar showed how the company is now using 3D digitalization for athletes such as Sloane Stephens, a top-ranked US tennis player. A prototyping tool helps fit garments on a digital prototype (a computerized mannequin), so that Stephens can focus on playing tennis instead of coming in for fittings. Under Armour is also now using body scans to build a library of data. Since athletes bodies change on and off seasons, the data can help enable the correct fit of garments and analyze, in labs, how garments move on the body. Volume and shape are more important than measurements, and body scan data can help inform garment design in ways that traditional metrics cannot. Putting a football jersey on a dress form does not make sense, but, by using 3D technology, Under Armour can see how high or low an armhole is on a jersey. How can the old and the new designers work together? The designers can choose the shirt they like before they even make a first prototype, which cuts down on time significantly. Another benefit is that color placement, scale and graphics can all be seen immediately and correctly, whereas sketches are often distorted and not to scale. And the digital process can be completed in a few hours, whereas samples can take up to 45 days to create. Under Armour is taking 3D into the future with its new Lighthouse innovation facility. It is incorporating design leadership and a local manufacturing model under one roof, which Dunbar referred to as the factory of the future. Lighthouse will be more advanced, project driven and forward looking, and Under Armour is hoping to create an innovative process that can work anywhere in the world to bring products to market more seamlessly while streamlining the front end. Alexis Kantor, VP of Apparel and Accessories Product Development, Target Sandra Gagnon, Senior Group Manager of NIT and 3D Virtual Product Development, Target Alexis Kantor and Sandra Gagnon of Target presented insights on Target s use of 3D technology. They encouraged the audience to revolutionize product development, as it can help provide faster and smarter ways to shop and promote sustainability by reducing fabric and water wastage. They said that Target has used 3D technology in prototyping, product presentation, visual presentation, packaging and in-store visualization, as well as in guest-facing applications. Kantor and Gagnon said Target has reduced its sample creation timeline from 45 days to one week using 3D technology, and that accuracy has improved. Also, designers are now able to view in-store visualization and hang tags before they are printed decisions about such collateral previously had to be made very early due to long printing lead times, but now, with 3D, they can be made nearer to deployment. 5

6 The speakers also highlighted the sustainability benefits that 3D technology presents in apparel production. They said that producing one T-shirt by traditional methods takes up to 700 gallons of water, but that 3D tech allows for much more efficient use of resources. The speakers also highlighted the sustainability benefits that 3D technology presents in apparel production. They said that producing one T-shirt by traditional methods takes up to 700 gallons of water, but that 3D tech allows for much more efficient use of resources. Kantor and Gagnon concluded by describing the future as a threelegged stool industry, academia and retail. In terms of industry, the speakers urged conference attendees to join the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE), an organization working to formulate standards for 3D body scanning and body software. In academia, Target has partnered with Optitex and the Minneapolis Community Technical College to train faculty and students at the college on 2D and 3D software. Target encourages other companies to enlist in similar collaborations. In retail, Target is collaborating with others to connect a product lifecycle management system with 3D CAD and is working on document control and library management. Alison Page, VP of Brand Operations Strategy and Projects, Adidas Group Renate Eder, Senior Manager of Creation Technologies, Brand Operations Strategy and Projects, Adidas Group Alison Page and Renate Eder described the digital creation process used by Adidas, emphasizing how important it is to incorporate 3D into the actual process, and not add it after the fact. Page detailed each step of the workflow process: 3D design, review and presentation, article description, pattern making, and product development. The biggest need is end-to-end integration, the presenters said, as designers do not want to fill out bills of materials. They also noted that it is important to streamline administration, not creativity. Organizational change is the hardest part when transitioning to a new system, Page and Eder concluded. That it is important to streamline administration, not creativity. Organizational change is the hardest part when transitioning to a new system. Source: Alison Page, Adidas 6

7 Source: Alison Page, Adidas Simon Kim, Chief Strategy Officer, CLO Virtual Fashion Simon Kim ended day one of PI Apparel by making the case for why 3D technology needs to be at the center of process innovation. He said that there were four common misconceptions about 3D digitalization: 1. It is time consuming. 2. It does not work on all types of garments. 3. It is not accurate enough. 4. One must be an expert to use it. Kim said that 48% of technical packages are misinterpreted. He said that 3D technology can change this because it allows for a full view of the garment. Kim said that 48% of technical packages are misinterpreted. He said that 3D technology can change this because it allows for a full view of the garment. He also said it allows multiple iterations of the design to be made very easily, and that 3D design is an agile, flexible process. A CLO Virtual Fashion designer demonstrated the tool that CLO uses and highlighted how quickly a shirt could be transformed into a dress, how a ruffle could be added with a few clicks, how darts could be added or removed, and how colors and patterns could be changed, all within a few minutes. Kim said that 3D transforms the process by allowing changes to be seen in 3D on a screen and by allowing designers to make and save iterative changes that can be shown to industry partners. Decisions can therefore be made more quickly through interactive design reviews. Kim highlighted that 3D is not a virtualization tool; it is a new language. He recommended that companies choose the right 3D software and give people enough time to learn how to use it. 3D adoption is here. Embrace the process, he said. 7

8 Deborah Weinswig, CPA Managing Director Fung Global Retail & Technology New York: Hong Kong: China: Erin Shimdt Research Associate HONG KONG: 10th Floor, LiFung Tower 888 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon Hong Kong Tel: LONDON: Marylebone Road London, NW1 6JQ United Kingdom Tel: 44 (0) NEW YORK: 1359 Broadway, 9 th Floor New York, NY Tel: FBICGROUP.COM 8