When it comes to PLM, most retailers, brands and manufacturers will have stumbled upon Gerber Technology, one of the world’s leading CAD/CAM and PLM providers with a history that dates back over 50 years. This is a company that has a clear mission to succeed in the Retail and Fashion space and that continues to enhance its broad product portfolio. 

The WhichPLM team have been impressed with the recent changes made to the Fashion PLM solution since completing the first benchmark evaluation 12 months ago. We have to say that this is a company that not only listens to its customers via its CAB (Customer Advisory Board), but have also followed several WhichPLM recommendations to improve the PLM solution with positive results, taking their overall score from 59% to today’s figure of 68%.  

Commercially, this is a sound business with sales of over $640 million and a broad integrated product portfolio (PLM/CAD/CAM) that can certainly help retail and fashion companies to realise strong benefits. The PLM solution is one of the most mature in the industry, having evolved over the last 20+ years since the company acquired Microdynamics back in the early 90’s. Regionally, Gerber Technology is strong, with a combined direct workforce of 950+ and, via its partner network of another 500+ people operating from 126 countries. When considering a PLM solution, the WhichPLM team feel that this is an important factor and one that will help to make a difference during deployment.

Solution

The solution is now in its sixth version, which again proves maturity, and already has a release date of May 2010 for V7.0. Overall, this is a good solution that competes well with similar PLM suppliers. Not surprisingly, Gerber Technology has a strong PDM core and they have recently made good progress on several improved process areas including:  Workflow engine (Web View, a GT product),  a new Collection & Planning module (Web Folio), improved Dashboard views and a new integration with Browzwear’s 3D visual application.

Technical

From a technical standpoint, the PLM solution scores reasonably well and is more than capable to deliver good quality performance, but still requires some further updates to catch up to market leaders.

Summary

Overall, a strong PLM player with an emphasis more traditionally geared to manufacturing. However, with recent significant improvements, Gerber Technology has become a strong player in all sectors (Retail, Brands, Agents, Textiles, Footwear, and Manufacturing).