Line planning is a critical process for fashion brands and retailers to develop seasonal collections. It goes beyond just managing product development timelines - when utilized fully through a PLM system, line planning provides real-time visibility into line performance, profitability, and status. This allows companies to quickly adjust production to best-sellers, maximize sales and profits, and ensure on-time delivery. Comprehensive line planning and PLM solutions can deliver margin improvements of 5-20% and reduced cycle times of up to 40%.

1. Line Planning:
It’s Much MoreThan PlanningYour Line
Line planning is a critical discipline for the development of each season’s fashion col-
lection. In today’s challenging retail climate, retailers and brands alike must closely
manage the development of their lines to ensure that they focus on the right prod-
ucts, meet key deadlines, and achieve their goals for cost and profit margins.
For a number of reasons, however, many companies only scratch the surface of line
planning’s true potential. Some companies assume that financial line planning is pri-
marily for large, publicly traded retailers and apparel brands that utilize line planning
for their earnings forecasts. In reality, every company would like to have an accurate
idea of line profitability before they begin development. Even companies that have
embraced line planning may stop at the traditional definition of managing the devel-
opment of their seasonal collections. In so doing, they miss out on some of the many
ways in which line planning in particular, and PLM in general, can streamline produc-
tivity and improve the bottom line.
It’s time to expand the scope of line planning and realize its full power and potential.
Line planning is much more than you may have thought – and it is for retailers and
brands of all shapes and sizes.
LINE PLANNING SETS THE ROADMAP,
BOOSTS THE BOTTOM LINE
At its most basic level, line planning sets each season’s roadmap for a company’s Mer-
chandising and Design departments. What were the best sellers last year? What are
the latest fashion trends? What needs to be changed in this year’s plan?
For example, denim may have been a hot category last year, but that might not be the
case this year. If so, Merchandising would want to reduce the number of denim SKUs
when planning the upcoming season. They may decide to carry over the best-selling
styles from last year and make some updates, then create placeholders for a few pro-
totypes to round out the collection. With NGC’s line planning functions, merchandis-
ers can make notes directly into the software – change the buttons, add new colors,
etc. – and provide the Design department with a roadmap for building the line.
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2. Line planning puts Merchandising in control and helps ensure that designers focus
their time, energy and resources on the products that customers really want. Without
that design discipline, merchants run the risk of creating unbalanced collections, and
the results can be disastrous. Several years ago, designers for one national retailer
created over 70 styles of jeans because denim was a must-have that season; however,
the retailer only adopts three bodies and in various washes. Due to the lack of focus,
the designers then failed to provide enough sweater styles, which are a perennial best
seller.The retailer admitted that the company had no visibility into what the designers
were working on, and the result was missed financial targets.
NGC’s software gives companies full visibility into every phase of the design and
production process. And when companies adopt line planning as part of an over-
all PLM strategy, the savings can be significant. Large retailers and brands may
spend as much as $2 million a season on sampling. Savings on sampling costs
alone could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars each season.
BEYOND LINE PLANNING TO LINE REPORTING
Line plans go through many different iterations; the line plan is used to generate
the merchandise plan, which then serves as the basis for the assortment plan.
But there is another critical aspect to line planning that can provide powerful
financial benefits – what NGC calls line reporting. Line reporting is a key part of
NGC’s software that helps answer key questions such as:
How do changes within the line impact the overall performance?•
What are the sales trends in real time for each item in the line?•
What is the status of the products in my line?•
Let’s take a closer look at each of these areas.
The Forest and the Trees: Understanding How Changes Impact the Line
With NGC’s line planning software, customers create a customizable virtual
working board with hyperlinks throughout the view. If a company wants to update
the value of a field – change the price, color or quantity of a style, for example
– users can simply change the value of the field, and the line plan immediately
reflects the impact of the change throughout the line. In this way, the line plan
provides a high-level dashboard with an easy way to click through the details.
NGC’s software enables users to look at the forest, the trees or both.
NGC’s software gives com-
panies full visibility into ev-
ery phase of the design and
production process. And when
companies adopt line plan-
ning as part of an overall PLM
strategy, the savings can be
significant..
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3. Because line planning is an integral part of NGC’s PLM system, all the informa-
tion in the line plan actually resides at the individual style level; the line plan
simply provides the birds-eye view. If users make a change on the line plan, that
change is instantly reflected on the tech pack and vice versa. There is no need to
re-enter the information multiple times, which greatly improves productivity and
enables merchants to easily play “what if” scenarios as they fine-tune the line.
What’s Hot, What’s Not: Profiting from Real-Time Sales Trends
NGC’s software allows retailers and brands to track sales at the SKU level in
real time through built-in interfaces to ERP systems and other enterprise sales
solutions.
As sales information from the store feeds back into NGC’s PLM system, the soft-
ware can instantly produce “high-low” reports to identify what’s hot: Which styles
are selling? Which wash? Which color? They can see top and bottom sellers plus
everything in between, and compare this to the forecast. Armed with this informa-
tion, merchants can:
Maximize profits. If one style is selling as fast as it hits the store and
another is clearly a laggard, retailers can make fast adjustments to in-
crease the profitability of the line. Because NGC’s software provides full
visibility through the entire design/production process and real-time col-
laboration with suppliers, companies can instantly shift materials and
production resources to the hottest product. All communication with the
factory takes place in real time within NGC’s PLM system – no emails,
faxes or phone calls, and no missed opportunities.
Increase sales velocity. NGC’s line planning and PLM system enables
retailers to maximize their revenue per square foot by increasing sales
velocity. When companies have the ability to quickly increase production
of best-sellers, they can increase their inventory turns.
Increase full-price sales. With inventory and demand in balance, re-
tailers don’t have to resort to markdowns to clear out slow-moving mer-
chandise. Instead, they can ensure that the right merchandise keeps
flowing into the stores – and that it is selling at full price.
Line planning is an integral
part of NGC’s integrated PLM
and Global Sourcing system,
which is regarded by Technol-
ogy Evaluation Center as “one
of the most comprehensive
fashion PLM suites our ana-
lysts have ever seen.”
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4. What’s the Status of My Line? Reaping the Benefits of PLM
Line planning is an integral part of NGC’s integrated PLM and Global Sourcing
system, which is regarded by Technology Evaluation Center as “one of the most
comprehensive fashion PLM suites our analysts have ever seen.”
Line planning opens the door for companies to take full advantage of all the ben-
efits of NGC’s PLM software, which covers every step in the product lifecycle.
The software encompasses product development; tech pack management; ma-
terial and component development; artwork and sample management; product
costing and sourcing; P.O. management; Work in Process tracking; compliance
and testing, including CPSIA; quality; and shipping and logistics management.
Throughout the system, workflow calendars, collaboration tools, exception man-
agement, and automated alerts ensure that design and production schedules
stay on track. As a result, companies can understand the real-time status of each
product in their line at every step of design and production:
Are product samples running on time?•
Where are the materials that have been ordered for the factory?•
Have components been tested for CPSIA compliance?•
Have the GCCs for finished goods been received?•
What is the exact status of inbound shipments to the Distribution•
Center?
PLM is essential in positioning companies for sustained growth and profitability.
NGC’s customers have seen margin improvements ranging from 5 to 20 percent
and have reduced cycle times up to 40 percent – while improving efficiency, con-
trolling costs, and improving product quality.
In order to stay ahead of the competition, retailers and brands of all sizes and
markets must ensure that their product development and production processes
are executed rapidly and accurately. It is essential to react quickly to change.
This can be attained by adopting a comprehensive PLM strategy that starts with
line planning.
PLM is essential in position-
ing companies for sustained
growth and profitability. NGC’s
customers have seen margin
improvements ranging from
5 to 20 percent and have
reduced cycle times up to 40
percent – while improving ef-
ficiency, controlling costs, and
improving product quality.
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