WHAT'S NEXT? TRENDS IN CAD USAGE IN INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION

By Jill M. Simmons, Lectra USA Inc., New York, NY

INTRODUCTION

I have been asked several times over the past year to examine the needs that my customers are describing and then to analyze the trends of their collective needs in order to evaluate what the industry needs for day to day operations as well as how this will relate to the needs for which educators must prepare their students. As geographical boundaries change, it is becoming increasingly critical for Retailers and Branded Apparel companies to use digital communication as a means for Design, Product Development, Merchandising, and Manufacturing processes.

DISCUSSION

Geographical boundaries are changing and are creating new challenges in the workplace. Many manufacturing facilities (whether we are talking about textile manufacturing that supplies the apparel manufacturers or the apparel manufacturers themselves) are moving or have already moved offshore to take advantage of lower labor rates and/or tax and duty incentives. As a result, the ownership of many of the processes is changing and, necessarily, the responsibilities are also changing.

So which processes are staying within the company and which ones are being outsourced? In my opinion, it is no coincidence that the main factors by which a Retailer and/or Branded Apparel Company differentiates itself are being held close to the heart. Differentiation is being achieved through Style / Design, Brand Image, Fit, and Price. In my exposure to the apparel industry I rarely, if ever, see the following functions outsourced by the Retailer and/or Branded Apparel Company:

· Color Approval Process
· Textile Design
· Technical Apparel Design
· Product Development
· Merchandising

However, I do see many cases of manufacturing being outsourced largely due to lower labor rates in other parts of the world that will help to control costs and, therefore, help to achieve a better profit margin. There are many types of manufacturing concerns to consider:

· Color Development Process (Lab Dips)
· Component Manufacturing (Thread, Yarn, Elastics, Buttons, Zippers, etc.)
· Textile Manufacturing
· Apparel Manufacturing

And, of course, the culmination of all of the above is the Sourcing. Sourcing is another activity that is being widely outsourced, at least partially, by many of the companies in today's marketplace.

The decision to outsource leads to an increased level of responsibility for the originators of the information to communicate clear and easy-to-understand instructions to the manufacturers. And with this greater level of responsibility for communication of instructions, technology vendors are answering with new and innovative solutions.

1. Digital Color Communication - Trend designers and/or Quality Control departments must effectively be able to communicate color information to the manufacturer so that the correct recipe is created for the correct substrate (type of fabric and/or component) to the designer's liking. Color can be read into a CAD system digitally using a device called a spectrophotometer to create a "digital fingerprint" of the color or a "spectral value". This digital information can then be used two-fold: to communicate to the manufacturer so that lab dips can be generated and to be used internally within the design process.

2. Designing to Specification - Designers must be able to create design concepts with an eye on manufacturability even if they do not possess all of the manufacturing expertise. Today's CAD systems possess more and more manufacturing process specific information in order to allow the designers to design with a high level of creativity while designing only that which can later be manufactured. This is particularly evident in print simulation, knit simulation, and weave simulation software technologies.

3. Technical Design - Pattern making must be achieved with the correct technical specifications for the most accurate fit. This is normally a two-part process consisting of both the technical "style" drawing that conveys the look of the apparel garment along with key manufacturing parameters and the actual pattern making process. There are current software solutions that are bringing these two processes closer and closer together so that they may build upon one another.

4. Virtual Merchandising - Using the CAD design information together with the technical design information it is possible to create a 3D virtual garment. A virtual assortment plan can be developed and merchandised in the 3D retail space prior to manufacturing in order to check the viability of a product line.

5. Virtual Prototyping - Designers and merchandisers are tactile people. They want to see and touch a fabric and/or style before it is accepted or rejected so waiting until a production sample comes back can be a costly venture. By using the manufacturing information and creating a digital fabric sample on a digital printer, designers and merchandisers are able to see a preliminary sample prior to production without going to the full expense. In addition, this sample can be used for merchandising purposes in the event that the production sample doesn't come back in time for a showroom presentation, fashion show, catalog shoot, etc. It is a very cost effective way of evaluation prior to production.

6. Collaborative Product Development - Product development specifications need to be spelled out in order to achieve the best possible manufacturing sample as early as possible. Product Development Management (PDM) systems are increasingly becoming the backbone of the product development process. These systems allow different actors within the process to act on a single style at all stages of the development process: design, pattern making, marker making, packing, labeling, sewing instructions, fit comments, etc. The information is then brought together into the appropriate specification pack and sent to the manufacturing partner(s).

7. Online Exchange Platforms - Preferably the above information is sent electronically to the manufacturing partner and/or sourcing agent so that there is a record of the information sent, when it was sent and to whom, when it was received and by whom, etc. When used properly, the platform will only retain the latest style information (no matter how many revisions it has had to go through) and will be accessible through a web-browser without limitation to file size.

CONCLUSION

Technology is a great enabler to the current challenges that the apparel and textile industries are facing. It can help companies to span geographical boundaries and drive the manufacturing processes remotely with the right information at the right time in a cost effective manner.

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