PARIS — March 26, 2012 — Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to
industries using soft materials-textiles, leather, industrial fabrics and composites-is pleased to
announce the adoption of Lectra Fashion PLM at Les Enphants. Les Enphants is one of China’s largest
producers and distributors of apparel, sportswear, and other accessories for children, whose
children’s wear brands include Les Enphants, Disney baby, Barbie, Roberta di Camerino, Peter
Rabbit, Absorba, and Claire Kids.
The recent evolution in Chinese consumer habits has resulted in considerable market growth
for Les Enphants. While good for business, the increased demand put pressure on the company’s
product development process, especially in design.
Rising development costs meant refining product development and supply chain operations were
as crucial for Les Enphants as reinforcing design. Given the company’s potential for expansion in
the Chinese market, they decided to equip themselves with a product life cycle management solution
that would support their growth for the next three to five years. The goal is to reengineer the Les
Enphants process with Les Enphants’ long term development in mind.
“There are many PLM solutions on the market, but Lectra Fashion PLM integrates powerful
professional tools for fashion-specific roles. The Lectra team is very experienced in the entire
design and development chain; this full level of support is exactly what we were looking for,” says
Lily Lin, Apparel Division Senior VP at Les Enphants.
Les Enphants implemented Lectra Fashion PLM to ensure continuous improvement in product
quality and avoid redundant work in the development process. Easier communication has resulted in
significant savings, as well as an accelerated production pace. Celine Yo from Les Enphants’
Apparel Division feels that Lectra Fashion PLM brings order to a chaos of information. “We have
significantly less repetitive work now that we can leverage thoroughly design resources, make
changes we needed quickly, and communicate more accurately within and across teams,” she says.
“This has shortened the overall product planning cycle and made it much more efficient.”
The fashion industry worldwide, and especially in China, is changing at a very fast pace. As
the Chinese apparel scene is shifting rapidly from an export-focused market to a burgeoning
domestic consumer base, it is critical to have both a solid process and rich technology in place.
“It is more important than ever to give teams flexibility and structure, and to fully
capitalize on talent,” emphasizes Daniel Harari, Lectra CEO. “Lectra Fashion PLM, with fully
integrated fashion and textile design, puts creative teams at the heart of development, which
ultimately means a more competitive, targeted product.”
This competitive advantage is one of the main drivers behind the decision to work with
Lectra.
“We sought Lectra out for their industry expertise and ability to infuse our development
process with best-practices,” says Lily Lin. “From big-picture process improvement to day-to-day
operations, they were able to advise us on the best way to get things done.”
Posted on April 2, 2012
Source: Lectra