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Buyers look for value during the economic downturn
If the world before seemed difficult, the latest economic downturn hasn't helped, with buyers placing even greater demands on their suppliers, both in terms of price and lead times. Various significant retailers have recently faced criticism in the press for placing unreasonable demands on their vendors. The response is not surprisingly 'Our customers expect us to seek best value from the supply chain on their behalf'. ertainly with the fierce competition on the high street the situation is unlikely to improve dramatically. !ith sales volumes down, not only are suppliers facing price reductions, but also a fear of unfilled order books. "uyers themselves are only too aware of the risks of placing too much pressure on the supply chain. #ome suppliers will simply not survive. Others will place the buyer at significant risk by regularly breaking compliance rules. If identified by the media, such compliance violations can cause real and significant damage to a retailers reputation and trading volumes. QUESTION: So when the ressure comes on! who are the "uyers most likely to lace "usiness with## $NS%E&: Su liers who can demonstrate a high degree of fle'i"ility and control and who! through efficiency gains! are a"le to "e com etitive on "oth rice and lead times( In a difficult business environment, many fashion companies hold back, uncertain of investment decisions and some of this caution is $ustified. %et, it is important also to be able to identify those specific investments that enable you to leap forward and stand out against the competition. &or most businesses, achieving improvements in VI#I"I'IT%, OO()I*+TIO* +*) O*T(O' is essential to competing in the current climate. )et the right tools for the *o"(((( &ast (eact is the O*'% fully proven planning solution for the fashion industry. %,#... %our people can use &ast (eact, easily%,#... It can be interfaced to your existing systems.,(/. %,#... It is affordable, including structured payment options. %,#... +chievable benefits are proven with a return on investment in typically 0 months or less. *o... %ou don't have a good reason to delay... #tanding still is not a recipe for survival-

&isks in the fashion su ressures

ly chain due to rice

The fashion industry is under tremendous price pressure from both the highly competitive retail marketplace and from 1lobal currency fluctuations. The effects of these are2 • • • • • • • • a dramatic negative impact on margins in many cases, a significant shift in 1lobal supply base to achieve better prices e.g. "angladesh huge price and lead time pressure on vendors as a result, potentially weak suppliers 3financially4, where those suppliers are not efficient and 'geared up' to cope a higher risk of failed orders as vendors try to achieve more than they are capable of poor 5uality product, as higher risks are taken social compliance issues, again as risks are taken to meet price points and delivery an increase in air6freight, missed shipments and delivery penalties

!hilst some significant 'promiscuity' in the supply base will exist as companies search for best prices, ma$or buying offices also have to consider stability in the supply chain. They will look to work with proactive suppliers who can consistently respond and perform, in all areas of lead time, 5uality and price. The good news is that huge opportunities exist to improve supply chain efficiency, for those companies prepared to change the excessively manual, typically spreadsheet based systems that are still used by 789 of all companies, both vendors and buying offices alike. ,xisting working practices are a key factor in the creation of excess costs 3excessive style change, overtime, air freight, delivery penalties etc4, many of which could be avoided through better coordination and visibility of priorities. ,xcessively manual systems severely hinder visibility and the ability to respond and manage priorities. To maintain an effective supply chain in this environment, excellent visibility and coordination are essential. The real risk for many companies is carrying on with the inefficient methods they have now but some how expecting a different result. 1et the right tools for the :ob... TOT+' VI#I"I'IT%, OO()I*+TIO*, O*T(O'... with &ast (eact.

Trade in $sia +td im rove visi"ility through ,ast &eact-s .ision
,stablished in ;88<, Trade in +sia 'td is a fast growing =one6stop> global sourcing provider of ?en>s, 'adies and hildren>s clothing. &rom the companies @ead Office in @ong Aong and their sales office in 'ondon, the business provides supply chain management solutions for leading retail chain operators. /,ast &eact0s .ision rovides a clear and uncom licated riority list of 1the tasks in hand0 to manage even tighter deadlines((( Over the ast 23 years I have evaluated many solutions availa"le on the market that all tend to over com licate the rocess and in fact hinder rather than hel ( In choosing ,ast &eact0s .ision! I am roviding "oth my staff and su liers the o ortunity to see

clearly where they are and remain in control so that all rocesses u until delivery may "e erformed accurately and on time(/ $ndrew +ever! 4hief E'ecutive Officer

5anache im lements the .ision solution for e'tra su ort
+s a global lingerie specialist with brands such as /anache #wimwear, leo by /anache and ?as5uerade 'ingerie, the company provides innovative designs ma$oring on cup siBes ) to AA. !ith offices in *ew %ork, 1ermany and @ong Aong, /anache products are constantly improved and developed to make sure that they are leaders with fit and 5uality as well as sourcing and production. /To have a system which "oth su orts the e'isting rocesses that work and "rings new ideas along with a more focused way of working is a refreshing a roach( The true "arometer for us is the high user "uy in and ositive feed"ack we have already received(6 $udrey 7arris! 7ead of Technical 8 5anache +ingerie

9$S $ctive introduce ,ast &eact lanning solution
?+# +ctive, part of the #ri 'ankan based ?+# @oldings, has chosen &ast(eact to provide its production planning and control functions, including both capacity and critical path management, working with and interfaced to its #+/ business system /,ast &eact was the only tool on the market! which we found ca a"le of meeting all our re:uirements and the im lementation timescale is im ressive( This allows us to "e o erational with ,ast &eact e'tremely :uickly! delivering immediate "enefits to the "usiness/( 9r( 5rasanna ;ayasekera! <irector of 5lanning = Strategy

Increasing customer loyalty in the fashion su chain

ly

In the current economic climate, many vendors are worried about the risk of a drop in their order book, even if they have not yet felt much direct impact from the downturn. To strengthen your position as a vendor, consider the facts2 6 ,ven in the very worst case, C89 of industry order volume will remain 6 people still need clothes. D2 !ho will "uyers place their orders withE +2 Vendors they can rely on, who are2

• • •

(esponsive and flexible 6 in full control of their capabilities '',+*' enough to hit price points &inancially stable by being efficient

6 ,xcessive risks are being taken as many vendors accept orders without all the necessary information to do so and then fail to perform. 6 ?any vendors are currently struggling to hit prices, but at the same time haemorrhaging expense due to excess costs. To maintain an effective supply chain in this environment, excellent visibility and coordination are essential, not $ust 'nice to have' options. ,xcessively manual systems severely hinder the ability to respond and manage priorities e5ualling increased risk of non performance and errors, resulting in even more fire6fighting and excess costs. Increasingly, companies are concluding that they cannot continue with their existing methods. There has to be a better way. 1et the right tools for the :ob... TOT+' VI#I"I'IT%, OO()I*+TIO*, O*T(O'... with &ast (eact.

%in 7anverky >Bowker $sia +td? selects ,ast &eact-s Evolve solution
The !in @anverky 1roup has a long history as an industry leader in manufacturing sportswear for leading global brands. The @ong Aong head5uartered group has manufacturing facilities in mainland hina and Vietnam with sales in ;8<< reaching @AF;,7GH million. In this latest initiative, "owker has partnered with &ast (eact #ystems to implement the ,volve solution for improved capacity management, visibility and control. /,ast &eact will ena"le us to res ond :uickly to the ever8changing market demand "y allocating resources effectively((( $fter research we can see ,ast &eact offer the "est su ort for our industry to give total visi"ility of the whole rocess from initial sales forecast through roduction to finished goods delivery(6 Ian +ee! 4hief O erating Officer

Sourcing(((Near vs( ,ar#
There are many views on how sourcing will change in ;8<G, ranging from the efficiency of the product development and approval process, to improved vendor performance, cost efficiency and increased speed to market. One 5uestion that still hangs in the balance for many, is whether and to what extent to source closer to home. !hatever your strategy to achieve a competitive edge, it>s vital to make sure your product is at the right price, arrives on time, in the correct 5uantity and with the best 5uality. !ith a distinct trend towards increased styling and order fragmentation, keeping track of all of the above is hard enough when you

have to rely on spreadsheets, manual based systems and emails. This can only get worse as your lead times reduce and your product range.business grows. &ast (eact provides a solution that can harness this process from new style development through to the delivery of your finished goods. I!e welcome the new &ast (eact system, with its user friendly set up which is uni5uely tailored to meet the needs of the /anache business model. Jsed by other well established businesses akin to our trade, we welcome what it can do for us. To have a system which both supports the existing processes that work and brings new ideas along with a more focused way of working is a refreshing approach. The true barometer for us is the high user buy in and positive feedback we have already received.I +udrey @arris, @ead of Technical 6 /anache 'ingerie 3JA4

4rystal )rou ado ts ,ast &eact
The 4om any @ong Aong based rystal 1roup is one of +sia>s largest garment manufacturers producing a full range of products from sweaters, to cotton knits, woven and intimate garments. rystal 1roup employs about G8,888 people and has its own manufacturing facilities in 0 locations. The 1roup produces over <C8 million pieces ofgarments per annum for world6renowned fashion brands and with annual sales over J# FC88 million in %ear ;88K. The 4hallenges I!e face both external market challenges and internal systems challengesL, says ?r. Aenneth 'o M hief ,xecutive Officer of rystal 1roup. I,xternally, our ustomers strive for speed, 5uality and increased numbers of 5uick response orders, with reduced production lead6times and order lot siBes. Internally, a lack of integrated production planning and control tools has caused us, until now, to rely heavily on inefficient spreadsheet and paper6based methods for order pro$ection and planning processesL. The Solution This combination of internal opportunities for improvement and strong market need, caused rystal to undertake a prudent evaluation in the market and finally to select &ast (eact as their production planning N control solution to integrate at the front6end with their #+/ ,(/ #ystem and with 1/ro shop6floor control system at the back. I"y selecting &ast (eact to work with our #+/ business system and 1/ro shop6floor system, we have selected the best of breed applications to work together to provide the total solution for all our business needs. &ast (eact provides a highly visual, flexible and interactive means of manipulating all the essential planning elements of capacity, raw materials availability and critical path, in a single integrated solution,L says ?r. #herman 'au, /resident of ,legance Industrial ompany 'imited. IThe pro$ect started in +ugust ;880 and piloted in the otton Anit )ivision 3,legance Industrial ompany 'imited4. "y adding &ast (eact to our existing systems, we intend to be second to none as far as any manufacturer anywhere in the world to meet reduced lead times, whilst ensuring profitability and growthL, says ?r. #herman 'au. The 4onclusion #imon 1ibson, ?anaging )irector of &ast (eact +sia comments IIn the modern +pparel environment, improved visibility, coordination and flexibility are essential. @igh 5uality, industry specific solutions can

help apparel manufacturers to =rise to the lead time challenge> and to respond much more effectively. +s specialist providers only to the garment industry and related sectors, our ongoing, industry specific investment in &ast (eact ensures that our solutions evolve continuously to meet the ever changing needs of the industry. !e are delighted to work with rystal 1roup and look forward to identifying real business benefits through this exciting pro$ect.L

4o ing with changes in "uyer "ehaviour
In the current climate retailers are protecting capital and cash6flow. This leads to2 • • • • minimising of stockholding by customers 6 aimed at reducing write downs increased options and delayed commitment by "uyers O more styles, smaller orders increased change to existing styles.orders in response to market trends severe pressures to respond more 5uickly 6 dramatically reduced lead time

The above conditions combine with huge pressure to hit 'price points'. This typically leads to2 • • • • huge work pressures on merchandising and sourcing teams, working with excessively manual systems 3an estimated 789 of companies still use spreadsheets4 excessive fire6fighting to cope with the failings of disparate manual systems a total lack of any coordinated, business level visibility and 'early warning' system increased risk of failure, additional expense e.g. poor coordination O delayed production start and ultimately cancelled orders, excessive air freight costs, lack of product on shelf.

To maintain an effective supply chain in this environment, excellent visibility and coordination are essential, not $ust 'nice to have' options. ,xcessively manual systems severely hinder the ability to respond and manage priorities e5ualling an increased risk of non performance and errors which results in even more fire6fighting and excess costs. Increasingly, companies are concluding that they cannot continue with their existing methods. There has to be a better way.

)u ta E'im leading <elhi manufacturer chooses ,ast &eact-s Evolve solution
)elhi based 1upta ,xim have selected &ast (eact #ystems latest ,volve planning solution to provide vital capacity management, critical path and materials control, working with and fully interfaced to the 1upta ,xim in house ,(/ solution. /The Evolve solution is a owerful management tool that rovides the visi"ility and control to su ort every stage of the rocess! including ca acity management! re8 roduction control and order tracking(/ 9r )u ta! 4hairman

@ey 5erformance Indicators: The Im ortance

+ll businesses must continually improve in order to survive. The improvement process can be described as2 P )efine the ob$ective.goal. P ?easure the current situation 3define the A/I4. P +nalyse the way to improve. P Implement improvement measures 3e.g. a new process or method4. P ontrol by setting a #tandard Operating /rocedure 3#O/4 and measuring 3using A/Is4. P (epeat. !hy are A/Is so importantE !ell put into simple terms2 P %ou can>t manage what you don>t measure. P Jnless you measure something you don>t know if it is getting better or worse. P If you know accurately what you are achieving now, it will help you make a more accurate forward plan. !hilst it is important to see and understand a single A/I, it>s also important to understand the whole picture. &or example, is one of your suppliers constantly delivering lateE Is this because your approval process took longer than expectedE @ow easy is it for you to analyse all this informationE 'ate delivery is $ust one issue that could affect your business as there are many potential root causes. !ith lead times across the industry reducing, the risk of performance issues and the cost that follows in terms of manpower, time and money to fix these is high. +voidance is key. ?onitoring all stages from design adoption rate through to on time delivery could benefit your business by a reduction in excess costs and overtime hours. There are many ways to measure these different stages but it>s essential you get the basic principles right. *"2 A/I should be =free> information as a by6product of your normal business process. &ast (eact can provide you with the tool and additional support re5uired to establish good processes. &ast (eact>s Vision provides the re5uired data easily, with a firm focus on regular A/I analysis along with the understanding of where opportunities exist to improve.

)lo"al a arel manufacturer! Es:uel )rou ! ado ts U@ system to su ort growth lan
,s5uel produces nearly <88 million cotton shirts every year and turned to &ast (eact in order to centralise its capacity management and production planning capabilities across its manufacturing facilities in hina, ?alaysia, ?auritius, #ri 'anka and Vietnam. !ork has already begun on rolling out the software across the group>s @ong Aong head office and worldwide facilities that cover its production lines, multi6stage manufacturing processes as well as pre6 production activities. /%e are very e'cited as we recognise ,ast &eact0s otential as much more than *ust lanningA it is a owerful management tool that hel s Es:uel to o erate more effectively at all levels(((,ast &eact can streamline our "usiness communication and coordination! allowing us to easily centralise information from our worldwide o erations(/ Bridget 4han! )rou <irector Information Technology

+atest ,ast &eact version release for footwear
+s specialist providers to the apparel and textiles marketplace for many years, the first version of ,volution for &ootwear was launched in ;88K when the software made a successful debut in the footwear industry. #everal innovative developments have since been made, specifically with footwear in mind. The most significant enhancement has been additional automatic last planning and control features. &eedback from the footwear industry highlighted that it was often the lack of availability of the re5uired last or mould that caused an order to be delayed. !hilst superficially this problem can be solved in the same way as material planning, it should be appreciated that because lasts.moulds are re6usable material they must be treated 3and planned4 differently. The latest version of the &ast (eact software expertly achieves this in con$unction with the coordination of effective critical path management, capacity planning and materials planning. /The ,ast &eact a roach to lanning has rovided us with much "etter visi"ility and ena"led us to effectively lan the roduction rocess and also "ecause we now have forward visi"ility of material re:uirements! we have "een a"le to significantly reduce our material stockholding! whilst still "eing a"le to meet lanned deliveries( %e are now a"le to :uickly lan >and re8 lan? around all roduction constraints! material availa"ility and lasting restrictions to o"tain a realistic and achieva"le lan! whilst "eing a"le to ensure that we meet customer delivery e' ectations(/ $ttila @urdash! 9anaging <irector at )ina Shoes

9adisonBB select ,ast &eact-s .ision
+s a leading supplier of private label accessories, the company are experiencing huge growth which is to continue over the next few years. ?adisonCC design and develop their own products, have direct manufacturing capabilities in hina and strategic partnerships in Italy and throughout. /%e chose ,ast &eact after numerous conversations with their com etitors( %e "elieve ,ast &eact is the most knowledgea"le in understanding our industry! "usiness model and our ro"lems( They offered what we feel should "e the "est solution for 9adisonBB(/ 4hris 4antasano! 4hief O erating Officer! 9adisonBB

;S5 CDE! a local Indonesian cor oration with glo"al .ision
The business employs around <K88 people as well as a significant subcontractor network, reaching a capacity in ;8<< of approximately G,788,888 pieces of knit fabrics 3Q894 and woven and denim 30894. /roducer of children garments for boys and girls, H89 export and G89 for local market under :#/ 70; brand and some licence brands ie. #piderman, #uperman, @ello Aitty, which is distributed throughout Indonesia in the ?atahari and %ogya )epartment #tores plus their own outlets. /%e lan to grow our "usiness "y BFG in EF2E! so sim ly maintaining control will "e a real challenge and we can already see that using manual systems will not "e ractical( ,ast &eact Systems have a track record in the fashion "usiness and with the Evolve solution! we are confident that we can grow in a controlled way "ut at the same time im rove our delivery erformance! reduce o erating costs and serve our customers "etter(/

9r( ;ose h Soegandhi! ;S5 Owner

Te'tured ;ersey )oes -+ive- with ,ast &eact lanning solution
Textured :ersey 'anka, one of #ri 'anka>s largest !eft knit fabric manufacturers is a $oint venture between /acific Textiles in @ong Aong and "randix 'anka. Its state of the art manufacturing facility of over 088,888 s5 ft, located in the #eethawaka Industrial Bone, has the capacity to knit, dye and finish approximately ;.K ?illion metres of weft knit fabric per month. !ith a vision to be the *umber < preferred supplier of weft knit fabric with a turnover of J# F<88 ?illion by the year ;8<8, the ompany continues to invest in both dramatic growth and in high 5uality technologies, including #+/ ,(/ and a fully automated colour kitchen for the dyehouse, using +rel (ecipe ?anagement #ystem and olour #ervice software. The latest addition to this ="est of "reed> investment strategy is =&ast (eact> planning, a specialist planning and management tool specifically designed for the +pparel and Textiles sector. &ollowing the system =go live> in early *ovember, the Textured :ersey team is excited about the potential benefits from a planning tool that is integrated with their #+/ system, to provide total visibility across the entire organisation. +vailable features include the proactive management of customer pro$ections and order receipts vs. available capacity, vertical knit and dye planning, including full raw materials visibility, and actual production status of all orders at a glance. ?r. (ohan 1oonetilleke, ?anaging )irector commented2 IOne area that had previously been a headache for us was the coordination between marketing, planning and production 6 numerous meetings were needed to accurately 5uote delivery dates for customer in5uiries. !ith &astreact we>ve already been able to bring all these functions together in one centralised system and respond to customers with an accurate delivery date in half the time it used to take us previously. (eaction from our staff in all areas has been great. Their =buy in> to the process and willingness to embrace the solution has been fantastic. I!e have identified ways to reduce our lead time within a few weeks of going live and will continue to challenge existing practices. The ability to use our available capacity well and to respond 5uickly, yet accurately to en5uiries gives us a competitive edge M we>ve made a huge investment in the very best machinery, and with &ast(eact we can ensure that we utilise that investment well.I +dded (ohan. ?r. #hehan !itharana, 1eneral ?anager Operations added2 I!e researched our options for planning before concluding that &ast (eact was the best tool on the market by far. ?ost importantly, it is not $ust a planning and scheduling tool, but also a business wide tool for improving visibility and coordination. The linked planning boards for knitting and dyeing mean that each department knows exactly what was re5uired of them and can work together towards the common goal of maximising =On Time )elivery /erformance 3OT)/94.I IThe system is fully networked throughout the business and a large on6line ' ) screen in the )ye6house helps staff to clearly identify their work priorities based on the latest plan. In the near future, we aim to open up &ast (eact visibility to our supply chain 6 many of our customers already use &ast (eact, and we are very excited by the opportunity this presents for much closer collaboration.I +ndrew "rown, ?anaging )irector of &ast (eact #ystems said I(ight from the start, we were excited to work with Textured :ersey on this pro$ect, because the team is constantly striving to better themselves and their business processes.

IThis is immediately apparent when first visiting the manufacturing facility. !orking practices are impressive, including fantastic control of materials inventory, with a stock accuracy level close to 77.79. This says a lot about how focused Textured :ersey is as a business. +s expected, the pro$ect was not straightforward, but that>s where specialist expertise is important. +s specialists in areas of planning, sourcing and critical path management, our clients can rest assured that with our experience and commitment to success they will always get a solution that works for themI.

4alHedonia introduce ,ast &eact to im rove efficiency and s eed to market
alBedonia have an annual turnover of RQ88m. The organisation has been operating for ;8 years and now has approximately ;888 retail outlets throughout ,urope selling their alBedonia and Intimissimilabels. !ith the business expanding it was becoming apparent to alBedonia that their spreadsheet and related manual systems were $ust not able to cope and they were struggling to see available capacity within the factory locations. /%e have chosen ,ast &eact-s lanning software to ena"le us to ma'imiHe roduction efficiency at our factories! whilst at the same time roviding us with the ca a"ilities for :uick res onse and lead time reduction(/ 9r( &iccardo &omani! <irector of 5roduction

,ast &eact-s New .ision
.ision 8 )lo"al Sourcing made Sim le +s &ast (eact announce the formal launch of its new Vision sourcing solution, it already has a range of key clients on board including top fashion brand (eiss, J# based ?adisonCC and the fast growing footwear brand &it&lop. The launch of Vision follows a S< ?illion plus investment, spanning over G years. The Vision solution has been developed to offer instant visibility, a single point of reference for accurate information and effective control of all key processes specifically for sourcing garments, footwear and accessories. .ision can save you time and money "y: P 1iving you effective control of new style development P Offering improved visibility of different costing versions P (educing lead times through improved coordination P /roviding a more effective management of inventory P (educing excess costs such as air freight and late delivery charges

/%e chose ,ast &eact after numerous conversations with their com etitors( %e "elieve ,ast &eact is the most knowledgea"le in understanding our industry! "usiness model and our ro"lems(((/ 4hris 4antasano! 4OO 8 9adisonBB +td >US$?

7irdaramani to roll8out ,ast &eact lanning solution across the grou
+n original pioneer of the #ri 'ankan garment industry, today @irdaramani 1roup employs over ;C,888 people across 0 countries, including numerous manufacturing locations in #ri 'anka, "angladesh and Vietnam. &ast (eact has installed the latest =,volve> version of its planning solution in two of its #ri 'ankan business units, including macro 3factory4 level capacity management and reporting, plus detailed 3sewing line4 level scheduling of each factory site. /4loser research led us to confirm ,ast &eact Evolve as the "est tool to meet our re:uirements! lus it had already "een integrated with 9icrosoft <ynamics $I! our chosen E&5 solution! which was essential for us(/ $roon 7irdaramani! <irector

Bar Code Media - The Latest Fashion
VAR Dominion Solutions implements bar code tags as a durable solution for tracking material in the garment industry. Business Solutions, October 1 !ritten by" #ancy Senger $dentifying bolts of dyed fabric is not an easy task in the garment industry. %ach roll of fabric is assigned a lot number, &hich correlates &ith the production ticket hanging on the outside of the 'at of dye. %mployees use an indelible resin pen to &rite this lot number ( &hich can be up to se'en digits long ( on the fabric. )roblems often occur &hen fabric is dyed a dark color, &hich makes the hand&ritten number difficult to find. Once the hand&ritten number is found, it is often difficult to read. *here is also a high margin of error &hen employees copy the production ticket number onto the fabric. Roanoke, VA(based VAR Dominion Solutions has de'eloped a turnkey system for dyeing material, &hile tracking the fabric. Dominion Solutions disco'ered the need for a solution after talking &ith one of its e+isting customers. ,!e &ere approached by engineers at a large fleece&ear-sports&ear manufacturer in Virginia about three years ago,, e+plains Skip *aliaferro, senior account e+ecuti'e at Dominion Solutions. ,*he company had seen an installation done o'erseas that created a durable bar(coded tag that could sur'i'e the dyeing process. .o&e'er, the solution used a dot(matri+ printer, &hich &ouldn/t stand up in an industrial en'ironment, and the cost &as astronomical. *he material manufacturer &anted to see if there &as a local company that could pro'ide an efficient solution.,

Meeting The Dyeing Demand *aliaferro kne& some 'endors &ere se&ing in 0 mil #ome+ fabric tags, printed &ith a dot(matri+ printer. *he tags resisted the dye, but the data &as often erased from the tags in the dyeing process. *aliaferro disco'ered media that could be used in thermal transfer technology, but &ouldn/t hold up &ell in the dye 'at ( an e+tremely harsh en'ironment. ,Our first try &orked &ell in the &ashing cycles, but &ouldn/t &ithstand dyeing for 11 hours and high temperatures,, he e+plains. ,So, our engineering team changed the substrates 2properties3 of the media. During nine months of testing and retesting, &e changed the types of glue and primers that hold the glue. 4ailures &ere associated &ith the different sulfur dyes. *he p. balance can be so high that it eats a&ay at the face coat on the tag, and the data is lost. Dominion Solutions &orked during the last three years to de'elop its turnkey solution. *he final product is based on durable bar code tags, &hich use a heat(sealed glue. *he tags are printed using $ntermec 2%'erett, !A3 5566 and 5516 thermal transfer printers. Bar code label design soft&are from 7oft&are 28ork, 9%3 ties the solution together. ,*his media is fairly thick,, *aliaferro e+plains, ,and it/s held on by friction. Once the label is peeled from its backing, it must be used, or it/s &asted. )rint speeds reach up to : inches per second 2ips3. Our solution results in scannable bar codes ( e'en after dyeing and napping 2&hen the hairy or do&ny surface is raised3. )rint is not smudged, distorted, or bleached out in the process., *aliaferro also points out that e'ery dye solution should be thoroughly tested before any solution is implemented. The End Results !hen the identifiers &ere &ritten &ith indelible resin pens, the ink often bled through t&o or more layers of fabric. Depending on &here the number &as &ritten, 11 inches to 01 inches of fabric per roll &as sometimes &asted. *he ne& tags eliminate this &aste, since the glue can/t soak through the fabric. %rrors are also eliminated through limiting the need for manual data entry. ,;ost <ustification 'aries by te+tile type and customer,, says *aliaferro. ,$n general, the return on in'estment is =uick ( sometimes it/s as little as si+ months. .o&e'er, some companies could see an RO$ in as long as t&o years., ;ompanies also sa'e in labor costs by eliminating the time employees spend looking for the lot number. ,An a'erage te+tile company can thro& a&ay close to >1 million in fabric,, he continues. ,System prices 'ary, but &e/re seeing cost <ustification of about 16 times the cost of the installation.,

Fabric Stores: The Right Fit For PCBased P S ! Bar Codes
.ouse of 4abrics chain adopts technology to increase &orker producti'ity and pro'ide better in'entory control during company do&nsi?ing. Business Solutions, 4ebruary 1 !ritten by" #ancy Senger :

Automating the point of sale &as not a casual decision for .ouse of 4abrics. *he retail chain of craft and fabric stores &as hit hard &hen its 1 :6/s gro&th(by(ac=uisition strategy encountered the slo& economy of the 1 6/s. !ith o'er 066 outlets across the country ten years ago, tough times ha'e forced it to trim back to 1@A stores. )oint of sale 2)OS3 automation &as a necessary part of the company/s /lean and mean/ reco'ery. 4or guidance and support, it turned to long(time )OS system integrator, D94 Data 9anagement 4acility ;ompany $nc. Re-Stoc"ing Process #s #ne$$icient $n'entory management and price control are key elements of the ne& .ouse of 4abrics. !ith thousands of craft items and fabric spools in each store, fast response to changing seasons and fashions is crucial to financial success. Store managers &ere used to tabulating their monthly purchase re=uirements based on a ,gut(feel, of &hat products &ere mo'ing. ;entrali?ed purchase decisions &ere made based on managers/ re=uests and market trends. Regional differences in consumer tastes or preferences &ere difficult to accommodate. *he electronic cash register simply recorded purchases at the till. All transactions &ere performed manuallyB product bar codes &ere not used. *he tracking of its core product ( custom cuts of fabric ( &as done on paper. $nformation about the fabric type and length &as &ritten at the cutting station and reinterpreted at the check(out counter. *he customer &as gi'en a simple receipt &hich did not pro'ide any information about the item purchased. %e& P S System Trac"s Bar-Coded #tems D94 designed an automation solution using bar(code and computer technology. All items sold re=uired bar codes. 4or many craft items, C); bar codes &ere already in place. *he cutting stations &ere set up &ith bar(code printers, bar code scanners, programmable keyboards and )entium );s. 4abric cutting &as done as it al&ays had been, but paper tracking &as replaced by bar(code scanning and programmable keyboard data entry. %ach spool of fabric &as assigned a uni=ue bar code &hich &as scanned before cutting. Deyboard layouts &ere customi?ed to match the re=uirements of the cutting process, making data entry easy for .ouse of 4abrics sales personnel. After the custom cutting of the fabric, ne& bar code tags &ere printed on(the(spot and each fabric cut &as tagged for =uick processing at the check(out counter. Com'onents #n The %e& System *he )OS check(out stations &ere outfitted &ith )entium );s, 9etrologic scanners, Earltech programmable keyboards, Star 9icronics receipt printers and cash dra&ers from 9(S ;ash Dra&er. Bar code scanning and simplified keyboard entry impro'ed the speed and accuracy of each transaction. D94 put systems in place so that the sales information from each )OS station &ithin each store &ould automatically be polled by corporate head=uarters at the end of each &orking day. $n addition, systems &ere installed so that each station in each store &ould be updated o'ernight &ith ne& item pricing as re=uired. *o pre'ent information loss during breakdo&n or po&er failure, D94/s system offered the redundancy of a fully po&ered ); at each station. Bene$its $ The %e& System *he automatic polling of sales information from each store has pro'ided corporate office &ith the capability to restock or redistribute craft and fabric items as re=uired. *his has pro'ided a ne& ability for fast response to regional differences and changes in consumer preference.

Bar-Coding Re(enue: Don)t Miss * Penny
*his integrator e+pects F6G re'enue gro&th in 1616 from selling bar code printers, scanners, media, and mobile computers. Business Solutions, #o'ember 166 9ike 9onocello $n many &ays, *e+as Barcode Systems is like any other VAR. Due to the economy, 166 &as a slo& year for sales. #o&, as the economy sho&s signs of impro'ement, Da'id %d&ards, president of *e+as Barcode Systems, belie'es his company is poised for F6G re'enue gro&th. .o&H .e/s identified a handful of key issues facing his target market I 4ortune 1666(si?ed manufacturers and distributors &ith more than 166 employees. Apart from identifying the right issues, the VAR installs the necessary bar(coding solutions to sol'e those needs. Mandates *re Forcing +-D Bar-Coding ,'grades %d&ards says he/s been selling more 1(D bar(coding products in the last fe& months than he has in the last si+ years. .e belie'es the reason &hy stems directly from 'arious mandates imposed on suppliers. 4or instance, many of his clients &ho perform electronics manufacturing &ork are re=uired by the telecom industry to use 9icro )D4510 and JR codes 2data matri+3. ,%'eryone &ants more information &hen they scan a bar code,, says %d&ards. ,*o get more information, you need to use 1(D symbology., 4or that, manufacturers need printers capable of producing high(resolution 2@66 dpi Kdots per inchL3 bar codes 2as &ell as bar code scanners capable of reading the codes3. ,!e ha'e one customer that makes telecom e=uipment used by Veri?on and A*M*,, he adds. ,!hile it is a ma<or manufacturing operation, this company buys e=uipment and runs it until it dies. $t probably &ouldn/t ha'e purchased ne& printers if it &asn/t re=uired to print 1(D labels., %d&ards continues by e+plaining that his customers in the food industry also face regulations pertaining to the traceability of food in the e'ent a recall is needed. *herefore, the VAR has seen an increase in sales of 1(D solutions to those customers. 8ou might be &ondering ho& R4$D 2radio fre=uency identification3 plays into all this. After all, the information(storing ability and traceability of an R4$D tag far surpasses the capabilities of a 1(D label. As you might guess, %d&ards says the cost of R4$D still is prohibiti'e. ,$n manufacturing and distribution, unless they/re being mandated, there aren/t many companies <umping into R4$D,, he e+plains. ,$f anything, R4$D in=uiries are diminishing due to the e+pense and the economy. *here are also still some issues concerning the reliability of labels, as most are more delicate than a bar code label and not suited for &arehouse en'ironments., *he VAR also sees a trend &ith products reaching end of life. .e says t&o factors are contributing to this. 4irst, companies that bought ne& e=uipment for 81D no& are finding that e=uipment failing and due for replacement. On top of that, the slumping economy caused many companies to put purchases on hold. #o&, as the economy turns and e=uipment is failing, companies are compelled to make the purchase of ne& e=uipment. !hen it comes to ne& e=uipment, %d&ards says his company/s goal is to spec out the hard&are that &ill ha'e the lo&est cost of o&nership o'er the life of the product for the customer 2and ob'iously, meets their

needs3. ,*he consumables for small desktop printers are more e+pensi'e because the cost to manufacture the media is higher,, he e+plains. ,%'en if a customer can sa'e money by purchasing a cheaper printer, o'er time it might be spending more money., $n general, %d&ards says if a customer is printing fe&er than 16,666 labels a month, he/ll recommend a lo&(tier printer. At 1,666 labels or more a day, he recommends mid( to high(range printers. !ith mobile computers, the VAR is sure to factor in the cost of replacement batteries o'er time. By looking at a fi'e(year life span, the consumables sa'ings might pay for an upgrade to the ne+t piece of hard&are. ,se The Economy To Sell Bar Coding Ser(ices !hile e+ternal re=uirements are dictating ne& technology adoption, internal re=uirements are also creating a need *e+as Barcode looks to fulfill. $ndeed, &hile *e+as Barcode/s hard&are sales slipped a bit in 166 due to the economy, %d&ards says re'enue from his professional ser'ices has risen 1AG during the same time. Specifically, %d&ards says that due to the economy, many companies do&nsi?ed I especially in the $* department I putting additional burden on the e+isting $* staff. *herefore, during the VAR/s more recent installs, customers &ere &illing to pay for *e+as Barcode/s professional ser'ices to lighten the burden on internal resources. ,!e ha'e customers &ith multiple locations, but $* staff only at head=uarters,, e+plains %d&ards. ,*herefore, &e act as the remote $* staff, performing site sur'eys, doing configuration &ork, and training the end users. Some customers gi'e us a list of settings for printersB then &e set them up and ship them out., $n the past, many of the VAR/s customers &ould shoulder this burden. As another &ay to lighten the $* burden on customers, *e+as Barcode also pro'ides free technical support. Rather than pass customer problems on to the de'ice manufacturer, the VAR handles problems &ith its o&n support team. %d&ards says this accomplishes a couple of things. 4irst, it ensures his customers recei'e prompt ser'ice. Second, it keeps his employees educated and in tune &ith customer issues. *he VAR also says the manufacturers of the products he resells appreciate the VAR/s efforts to sol'e problems. ,!hen &e e'entually call a manufacturer, they kno& it/s a real problem,, he says. As you might kno&, so many support calls are for tri'ial problems, &hich is &hy %d&ards feels he/s doing the right thing by gi'ing a&ay tech support for free. ,!e can sol'e about 6G of printer trouble calls &ithout sending someone on(site. $t/s usually a calibration issue or a media error., Regardless, the free tech support sa'es his customers money, &hich, in turn, leads to happier customers. 4inally, %d&ards helps educate his customers. *his goes beyond the training in'ol'ed in an initial rollout. *he VAR says another problem its customers face is uneducated users. ,A lot of manufacturers ha'e high turno'er in the positions that use the technology &e install,, he says. ,4or our larger customers, &e/ll pro'ide a =uarterly training session to acclimate ne& users to the printers. $t/s sort of a course on bar( coding basics., *he benefits are that this helps customers be more producti'e because users kno& &hat they/re doing, and the printers &ork more reliably because users aren/t mishandling them. 7ike technical support, this is a free ser'ice *e+as Barcode pro'ides. As the economy continues to impro'e, %d&ards belie'es the needs of his core market &ill remain unchanged, creating great opportunity for the VAR in 1616. .e concludes, ,$ think &e/'e seen the economy bottom out. All indications from our customers are that e'eryone is running really lean. *he only direction is up.,

*dding -alue To .our Bar Code Printers
Recent trends in bar code printing include increased demand for higher-resolution units as well as a demand for portable printers.
Business Solutions, January 1998 Written by: Nick Pronko Offering value-a e services !as beco"e increasingly i"#ortant for auto"atic i entification an ata collection $%&'() *%+s, accor ing to t!ree bar co e #rinter ven ors, Business Syste"s -aga.ine intervie/e %n re/ 0su, vice #resi ent of 1S( %"erica, &nc,2 +obert 3leist, #resi ent4(5O of Printroni62 an 'ennis 3alla!er, general "anager of 15( %"erica, 1!e t!ree say t!e gro/ing nu"ber of 7bo6-"oving7 %&'( istributors are cutting into reseller sales, $1!ese istributors ty#ically sell !ig! volu"es of !ar /are at lo/ #rices, but on8t #rovi e t!e integration services or su##ort of t!e better *%+s, So"e of t!ese 7volu"e7 istributors sell only to t!e *%+ c!annel,) 7So"e *%+s are lo/ering t!eir #rices in an effort to co"#ete /it! bo6-"oving istributors,7 0su says, 7But t!e "eaning of *%+ is 8value a e reseller,8 *%+s s!oul n8t !ave to cut t!eir #rices in or er to /in sales,7 % s 3alla!er, 75n users !ave so "any c!oices for buying bar-co e #rinters an ot!er %&'( #ro ucts $label "e ia, soft/are, etc,), So *%+s !ave to s!o/ /!y en users s!oul buy fro" t!e", as o##ose to a bo6 "over,7 What Constitutes Added Value? %ccor ing to 3leist, even follo/ing u# /it! custo"ers after t!e sale can #rove valuable, 7*%+s s!oul be c!ecking back /it! custo"ers to "ake sure t!e #ro ucts "eet t!e custo"ers8 e6#ectations,7 3leist says, 71!at !el#s t!e *%+ buil relations!i#s t!at lea to re#eat sales,7 0su, 3leist an 3alla!er say t!ere are a nu"ber of ot!er services t!at can !el# *%+s beat bo6"oving istributors:


%##lication kno/le ge - %ccor ing to 3leist, resellers s!oul un erstan t!e label re9uire"ents of ifferent vertical "arkets an a##lications, :or e6a"#le, 3leist says su##liers to auto"otive "anufacturers !ave to ensure bar co e labels on t!eir s!i#"ents on8t fall off or s"u ge /!ile in transit, &ntegrate syste" sales - +esellers also s!oul be selling co"#le"entary #ro ucts like !an !el ata collection evices $!an !el co"#uters), bar co e scanners, label "e ia an label esign soft/are, 3alla!er says, 0e says resellers also s!oul be able to integrate t!ose #ro ucts to #rovi e users /it! 7syste"7 solutions, 7&ntegration service is a "a;or /eakness of "ost catalog istributors,7 !e a s, +es#onsive service - 0su says *%+s s!oul give t!eir custo"ers a call-back /it!in <= !ours /!en t!ey !ave #rinter #roble"s,





Bar Code Printing Trends 0su, 3leist an 3alla!er say *%+s s!oul be ca#itali.ing on several recent tren s in bar-co e #rinting to increase t!eir sales:


0ig!er-resolution #rinting - %ccor ing to 3alla!er, "any users only re9uire a "ini"u" resolution of <>? ots #er inc! $ #i), 0o/ever, users /!o #rint co"#any logos an gra#!ics on bar co es "ay #refer ?>>-=>> #i #rinters, Several #rinter ven ors !ave res#on e by releasing !ig!er-resolution #rinters, 7@ogos an gra#!ics generally on8t look #rofessional if t!eir resolution is belo/ ?>> ots #er inc!,7 3alla!er a s, -ulti-tec!nology #rinting - -any users #rint s!i##ing "anifests an #ick lists in a ition to labels, 1!erefore, *%+s s!oul n8t li"it t!eir focus to ;ust 7 e icate 7 bar-co e #rinters, 7*%+s s!oul consi er offering laser #rinters for users t!at nee "ore t!an a label #rinter,7 3leist a s, % e"an for #ortable #rinters - 0su says #ortable #rinters !ave beco"e increasingly #o#ular in a##lications like ve!icle rental, So"e rental agencies allo/ custo"ers to #ark t!e ve!icle an re#ort to a /orker in t!e lot, Asing a #ortable #rinter, t!e /orker #rints t!e custo"er a recei#t on t!e s#ot, saving t!e custo"er ti"e,





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