We are moving from the “information age” to the “augmented age,” where technologies like wearables, smartphones and augmented reality are keeping us connected to the Internet and enhancing our reality with digital computing assistance. For retailers, they know that they need to transition and adapt to the Internet of Things (IoT), which is a looming source of disruption. Major product lifecycle management (PLM) software producers are responding to the challenge of helping retailers and others adapt to the changing tides. Take PTC FlexPLM 11, for example, the latest version of PTC’s popular PLM software. It is designed to help retail, apparel, footwear and other consumer product producers to seamlessly connect, create, collaborate and optimize in supply chains while keeping the IoT squarely in focus.
For retailers using PLM software, how well the software allows you to organize your designs, plans and workloads is essential. For example, PTC FlexPLM 11 PLM software is designed specifically to keep your merchandising, product development and line planning organized. The same applies to areas like compliance, sourcing, quality, supply chain collaboration and cost. PTC is hoping that the software will empower retailers to get better products to market faster with less hassle.
PTC FlexPLM Features
Freeze Panes function: With a new and better view of the line sheet, this feature supports locking both columns and column headers for better viewing when selecting, sorting, filtering and displaying information, as well as performing mass edits, according to the press release.
ThingWorx technology: This is what PTC created to help reduce time, cost and risk associated with building great machine-to-machine and IoT applications. ThingWorx speeds up IoT application development by allowing you to deploy in a variety of ways—on the cloud, on premise, federated or embedded. It’s an environment for complete application design, runtime and intelligence.
RESTful Web services: This feature is for PTC partners and customers to integrate third-party clients, provide retail solutions for connected store management (CSM) and integrate third-party systems like planning data extraction systems and enterprise resource planning.
What’s really worth underscoring about PTC FlexPLM is that it is designed for high levels of integration with a wide variety of apps and systems. For example, by integrating a powerful dashboard like Performance Advisor for PTC Windchill, admins can review and optimize customer environments and overall system performance, which can decrease IT expenditures significantly. PTC FlexPLM 11 is a foundational release, and the company is planning on a slew of new app releases this summer for integration. Expect the Tech Pack Apps and Adobe Illustrator design tools to become available this summer.
Eric Symon is general manager of the retail business unit at PTC, and he spoke about the necessity of keeping the retail world up to snuff, saying, “Retailers have been disrupted by e-commerce and fast-fashion business models, so it is critical for us to stay ahead of their urgent needs to compress cycle times and enable new ways of working in the digital world.”
For retailers around the world, getting familiar with great PLM software that focuses on the IoT will most likely become increasingly essential in the next few years.