created for retail, footwear, and apparel; TradeStone Software names its solution Merchandise Lifecycle Management (MLM) (instead of PLM) and focuses on helping retailers to design and develop private label merchandise. No matter how vendors describe their solutions, it seems certain that now PLM manages not only “trees” but also “grass.”
Here’s what I mean: A tree is much more complicated than a blade of grass in terms of its physical structure. Not only that, but a certain size of land surface accommodating ten trees is able to grow a thousand times the amount (if not more) of grass. This situation is similar to the difference between the industries (such as aerospace and automotive) in which the PLM methodology originated, and the industries (such as fashion and retail) in which the PLM methodology has received increasing attention during the past few years.
Product Structure: Complicated versus Simple
A tree has numerous branches and leaves. So do products such as airplanes, automobiles, and industrial equipment; its branches and leaves are called components and parts. Actually, managing a complicated product structure is one of the major reasons why people started to adopt product data management (PDM) systems—the predecessor of PLM. On the contrary, within the fashion and retail sectors, products are more like grass. Their structure is usually flat and simple.
Product Variety: Small versus Large
A tree requires many more resources (quantities of soil, space, sunlight, water, etc.) than a blade of grass does. It is also true that a complicated product requires more resources than a simple product. As a result, companies that produce “trees,”such as General Motors, may develop and manage only a handful of different products. But companies that produce “grass,” such as Spain-based apparel company Zara, may introduce up to 11,000 different styles in a single season.
Here’s what I mean: A tree is much more complicated than a blade of grass in terms of its physical structure. Not only that, but a certain size of land surface accommodating ten trees is able to grow a thousand times the amount (if not more) of grass. This situation is similar to the difference between the industries (such as aerospace and automotive) in which the PLM methodology originated, and the industries (such as fashion and retail) in which the PLM methodology has received increasing attention during the past few years.
Product Structure: Complicated versus Simple
A tree has numerous branches and leaves. So do products such as airplanes, automobiles, and industrial equipment; its branches and leaves are called components and parts. Actually, managing a complicated product structure is one of the major reasons why people started to adopt product data management (PDM) systems—the predecessor of PLM. On the contrary, within the fashion and retail sectors, products are more like grass. Their structure is usually flat and simple.
Product Variety: Small versus Large
A tree requires many more resources (quantities of soil, space, sunlight, water, etc.) than a blade of grass does. It is also true that a complicated product requires more resources than a simple product. As a result, companies that produce “trees,”such as General Motors, may develop and manage only a handful of different products. But companies that produce “grass,” such as Spain-based apparel company Zara, may introduce up to 11,000 different styles in a single season.
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