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the GermanFashion newsletter
Design: early costings better than late modifications
In the product development world there is a lot of talk about digitalisation, often focusing on leading-edge topics and new technology. Obvious improvements, which even small companies can implement right away, are often overlooked. Systematic preliminary costings – realistic, well-thought-out price estimates before new products leave the drawing board – can reduce development costs by a significant margin because important parameters (such as fabric and production costs, sewing times, etc.) are taken into account right at the outset. Get the big picture from our experts' presentation.
The 5-step plan for managing value-added services
Verticalization and expansion of sales with eCommerce partners or via platforms are increasingly confronting companies in the industry with extra requirements for equipment, price labelling, sorting, item surveillance and other services for key clients. This can lead to high costs if the logistics are inadequately set up, which then has a tangible impact on costs and extended throughput times. This can be countered using a 5-step plan.
Change management – potential in the development process
In the product development world there is a lot of talk about digital processes, often focusing on leading-edge topics and new technology. Obvious improvements, which even small companies can implement right away, (a.k.a. "low-hanging fruit") are often overlooked. "Change" is one such area. Change produces cost. However, poor (unchanged) products which are not in line with market demand are much more costly. Therefore, the question as to how many changes are still "good" is not an easy one to answer. However, you can create structures in your business under which, for the most part, only value-adding changes are made, and which enable you to identify (and then avoid) activities that do not add value.
Successful projects through practical change management
Whether you are developing a new product, reorganising part of your company, introducing a new IT system or integrating an entire business – the changes affect nearly everyone in your company and sometimes even impact the corporate culture. Often, these projects fail due to lack of communication or insufficient involvement of those affected – change management issues. We'll show you how you can make change management really work for you in practical settings.
Open costing
The percentage of products procured under an arrangement where the supplier looks after all upstream activities has been rising steadily for years. As nice as it is for the complexities to be the supplier's headache, transparency of how the supplier's prices are arrived at also suffers. As price pressure is also increasing, you and your supplier cannot afford to make any mistakes here. Open costing has proven itself as an approach where the environment is right.
EDI pilot update
The pilot project on electronic data interchange is producing valuable insights for developing tomorrow's flexible, fast, sustainable value chains. The area of sustainability, in particular, is making completely new demands when it comes to automated generation of data. These requirements can only be met if the value chain from cotton production to recycling is viewed holistically, and innovative automation approaches developed.
Key Facs Pilot Project Data Exchange (English)
GMFV Newsletter Article January (English)