Technology Guide for Home Decor and Home Furnishings ... · MDM First, the matriarch of them all: Master Data Management, or MDM. An MDM is an overarching enterprise system that structures

©2019 Centric Software Inc. All rights reserved.

Home Decor and Home Furnishings BusinessesYour jargon-busting guide to different enterprise solutions for your business.

Technology Guide for

©2019 Centric Software Inc. All rights reserved. 2

INTRODUCTION

While the focus in recent years has been on customer-facing digital experiences, modern back-office technologies are also crucial to competing with the retail giants and digital disruptors, developing more innovative products and expanding into new markets. Companies with a strong technology base also attract a generation of employees used to instant global communication and seamless digital experiences.

How do you decide which technology will have the most positive impact on your business? It’s a sea of jargon and confusing acronyms out there and when you’re putting out fires and dealing with backlogs and communication hiccups, it’s hard to find time to research the big picture.

This guide cuts through the “tech speak” and alphabet soup of acronyms to give you an overview of the different types of enterprise systems you’ll encounter in your search and what they do. These are the most common IT solutions home décor and home furnishings businesses need to invest in to make work easier, grow profits and keep up with the competition.


THE EVOLUTION OF ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS

Before network technology was developed, people could only work individually and share files one by one. Often, people did not have the latest file, got confused about the latest version, lost the disk it was on and worked from different base information, or just started over. Rework was common and people got frustrated easily, but used to think this approach was efficient because, compared to a typewriter and fax.

But as technology evolved, better ways of working evolved too.

Enterprise solutions were created to receive, manage and distribute different kinds of data to people or other systems.

Users could work in the same office or across the world, for the same company or different ones, but users logging into any of these business systems could all get information from point A to point B, collaboratively.

Primarily, these solutions synchronize and communicate different kinds of information in different ways. Over time, various enterprise systems emerged to serve the data needs of different processes or end users.

Here are the basics.


MDMFirst, the matriarch of them all: Master Data Management, or MDM. An MDM is an overarching enterprise system that structures all of a company’s data, from products to customers to parts to contracts, in one central location—much like a librarian structures and organizes books in a library.

This type of platform brings in information – often from other systems like enterprise mail services and cloud document storage systems – removes duplicate data, classifies it and maps it to give people access to it in an organized schematic view. Some of the big names in IT like IBM, Oracle and Informatica rule the MDM world, and like many other systems, there is increasing crossover functionality between them.

ERPERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. These systems manage many of the “back office” aspects of business transactions such as issuing purchase orders, maintaining vendor databases, facilitating payroll and benefits, planning projects and resources and tracking inventory. Some ERP vendors even add customer engagement and other features into their solutions.

ERP systems are transactional in nature and most home décor and furnishings companies use ERP, in part, to manage their production data and inventory. For example, once an item has been shipped, ERP takes over to track inventory movement, location and sales. ERP does not handle the creative or development aspects of a product.

PIMA PIM, or Product Information Management system, typically houses and distributes product information that is needed in order to sell products to the final consumer, such as images, colors, sizes and item descriptions in different languages.

It links to other systems to pull, for example, pricing in various currencies from an ERP system and sends this information (usually in a more sophisticated, customer-facing format than is used internally) to platforms such as an e-commerce site, product catalogs, omni-channel partners, etc. The kind of data housed in a PIM may vary greatly by product type – furniture versus soft lines, for example – or by the country where it will be sold, and it is likely to be less detailed than most internal product data.


DAMA DAM is a Digital Asset Management system and is used for controlling the flow of rich media content, such as photos in various sizes and qualities (for print, web, mobile, etc.), videos and other recordings related to products or product marketing. This type of system holds, classifies and enables the distribution of these assets to other systems, such as PIM, or allows access to users or sites that need to retrieve them—pushing a cool product video to your dynamic (mobile responsive) e-commerce site, for instance. Some DAMs are used to share and swap out digital content or to manage the development and approval process of these types of company assets.

CPQConfigure, Price, Quote (CPQ) systems are commonly used by home décor and furnishings companies to configure and generate customer offers, based on digital product catalogs and pricing information. CPQ solutions depend on access to up-to-date, accurate, interactive product data that can be combined to create customized scenarios for each customer.

PDMProduct design and development systems emerged to support industries with a heavy design elements, such as apparel. In the 1990s, PDM or Product Data Management was created to house product development data and images so tech packs could be easily printed and sent to overseas agents and vendors electronically. Bye-bye, fax machine. Today, PDM systems are considered to be inadequate and have been replaced by better systems larger in breadth and depth, called PLM.

PLMProduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) expanded on PDM because there is a lot more than just tech pack data that needs to be shared. As technology improved and the internet came into common use, PLM evolved into a reality. PLM solutions connect every phase of design, development, sourcing, manufacturing and retail in the same digital space with the most up-to-date and accurate “single source of actionable truth”.


PLM provides real-time, online product data access for design and product development teams and the ability to collaborate with suppliers and partners and manage workflows in a central digital location from your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. It also facilitates essential aspects of development such as ideating, trying out sizes and materials, developing colors, requesting and managing samples, costing, creating production scenarios, and visually evaluating collection plans, product groups or sets and assortments. It even facilitates monitoring product testing, retail presentation and achieving final product quality. Ultimately, PLM makes it possible to get a wider variety of on-trend products to more markets and more channels, faster.

PLM stores all of the product ideas and data for further development or future use, or for sharing across systems. Because the scope of modern PLM is so vast, it is no surprise that PLM systems are becoming one of the core ‘foundation’ systems for home décor and furnishings companies. PLM often connects to systems like ERP, PIM, DAM, CPQ and even Supply Chain Management Systems. Companies sometimes use these systems in different ways based on their organizational structures and internal processes. Here’s a basic recap.


System Product data (detail level)

Product data (high level)

Accounting eCommerce/consumer facing

data

Digital assets

MDM X X

PIM X X X

DAM X

PDM X X

CPQ X

ERP X X

PLM X X X X

ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS


YOU PUT MY DESIGNS WHERE?

In addition to learning about different kinds of enterprise systems, it’s important to understand a little about how these systems work and where information is stored. Where information is stored, for example, can mean the difference between being able to work during a long, overseas flight with no internet access or uploading cool images to your team back home as soon as the mood strikes.

So, what does ‘in the cloud’ mean anyway?

A cloud is nothing more than a server. A server stores, retrieves and sends data to and from users and the ‘cloud’ is what allows all of these business systems to function in real time from anywhere you have internet access. When we hear about cloud computing, it means that many servers are stored together so server space and computing power can be maximized. Servers are expensive but this expense is spread out over many transactions, making them very affordable. Having our data in the cloud gives us faster, cheaper access from potentially any device at any time.


OK, so what is SaaS and how does it fit into the cloud?

SaaS is short for Software as a Service, which basically means that rather than buying a copy of a piece of software and having that program installed and only accessible on your computer, the software is hosted elsewhere and rented, or paid for like a service. Users can access the software via an app or a web browser. SaaS reduces upfront costs, as you don’t need to buy the software, and makes upgrades easy (just click “update”). Data is usually stored in the cloud, so everything is fast, seamless and accessible from anywhere on any device.

PLM and the IT LandscapeMany home décor and furnishings companies today have an ERP system, and depending on their business structures, PLM and CRM (a customer relationship management system for managing customer data, such as contact info and order history). CPQ and PIM systems are also quite common.

Whatever the system, modern users need mobile access, fast cloud downloads and intuitive user interfaces that do not take days of training to understand. Giving your creative and product development teams the most innovative digital tools will attract

the best talent, reduce stress, increase employee satisfaction and retention, unleash creativity and maintain and preserve innovation to ensure brand loyalty and longevity.

PLM empowers creativity in home décor and furnishings, starting with ideation and merchandise planning, through to product development, quality management and (almost) everything in between. PLM solutions that were designed to serve industries such as fashion and consumer goods are particularly suitable for the home décor and furnishings world, as they are similarly designed for creative product design, development and launch.

With PLM in place, companies can automate and shorten product development and sourcing timelines by centralizing all sourcing and buying information in one easily shareable, digital location. This reduces time wasted searching for product-related information and drastically cuts errors in duplicated manual data, which increases productivity, drives down costs and reduces time to market.


It’s important to consider how you can integrate PLM with existing enterprise solutions. Brands that design products using Adobe® Illustrator for instance, will benefit from a PLM solution that allows designers to work in the familiar environment of Illustrator, while automatically connecting with PLM to enable seamless integration with other teams to develop products more efficiently. Linking CPQ solutions or B2B e-commerce systems with rich and up-to-date product data available in PLM makes it easier to compile customized, detailed and attractive digital catalogs and quotes in order to sell more products faster through more channels.

However your home décor or furnishings company works, PLM can push or pull data to seamlessly connect product information to the right system, ultimately boosting innovation, reducing costs and helping to achieve strategic objectives.


CONCLUSION

If you feel like you’re falling behind in the fast-paced world of technological change, getting up to speed on IT solutions will help you to take control of your business future.

Centric PLM drives digital transformation for home décor and furnishings brands, streamlining operations and enabling efficiencies for faster time to market. Centric Software, with historic roots in technology for fashion and retail, partners with home décor, decoration and furnishings brands to develop innovative digital solutions and industry best practices with Silicon Valley expertise.

To find out more about how Centric PLM can support your business strategies, please visit www.centricsoftware.com and book a one-on-one demo today.


www.centricsoftware.com

©2019 Centric Software Inc. All rights reserved. Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides a digital transformation platform for the most prestigious names in fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor and consumer goods, including home décor and furnishings. Building on best practices and key industry learnings gained from partnerships with hundreds of companies, Centric’s experts help partners to speed time to market, reduce costs and drive innovation.

Centric’s flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric 8, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and collection management functionality tailored for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric SMB provides innovative PLM technology for emerging brands. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (VIP) offers a new fully visual and digital experience for collaboration and decision-making and includes the Centric Buying Board to transform internal buying sessions and maximize retail value and the Centric Design Board for driving creativity and evolving product concepts.

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Technology Guide for Home Decor and Home Furnishings ... · MDM First, the matriarch of them all: Master Data Management, or MDM. An MDM is an overarching enterprise system that structures

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