Title: A process-oriented framework for PLM implementation in fashion companies

Authors: Elisa D'Avolio; Romeo Bandinelli; Rinaldo Rinaldi

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 40, 50100, Florence, Italy ' Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 40, 50100, Florence, Italy ' Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 40, 50100, Florence, Italy

Abstract: The fashion industry is evolving from the traditional kingdom of creativity to innovative initiatives allowing it to compete in the global market. PLM is becoming crucial in companies focusing on product development in order to design new collections each season. Our proposition is a framework for effective implementation of PLM in the fashion industry. It is based on four consecutive phases: identification of business issues and needs, model process and data, identification of PLM business objects and a scenario analysis to select a PLM solution. This approach was tested and validated in a fashion company managing leather goods and conducting internally all the business processes except for production. The research contributes to enfold literature and it could provide valuable insight for practitioners wishing to enhance product development and successfully implement a PLM in the sector.

Keywords: product lifecycle management; PLM; PLM implementation; PLM framework; fashion industry; fashion business process; PLM data model; PLM KPIs; process-oriented framework.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLM.2017.087571

International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 2017 Vol.10 No.3, pp.191 - 209

Received: 21 Mar 2017
Accepted: 14 Jun 2017
Published online: 19 Oct 2017 *

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