Orchestra selects PLM from Centric Software

Orchestra, European provider of children's fashions, maternity wear, nursery and childcare products, will industrialise its product development process with Centric PLM

To sustain its stratospheric growth and optimise its product development process, Orchestra has selected product lifecycle management (PLM) from Centric Software, the PLM solution for fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor and fast-moving consumer goods industries.

In 1995, Pierre and Chantal Mestre founded Orchestra on the idea of building a children's clothing brand with a unique retail concept. Orchestra now leads the European market in maternity wear as well as apparel and childcare products for children from birth to age 14. They now have 700 stores in 40 countries worldwide and count a turnover of €562 million per year.

To keep pace with business growth, Orchestra recently embarked on a global overhaul of its information systems, including an ERP implementation. Questions about the product development process also arose.

"We decided to look for a PLM specialist as this was the best approach for us and our IT strategy," says Virginie Llorca, Director of Orchestra's Supply Chain, Methods and Organisation. "We wanted to do more than consolidate systems; we need a foundation to sustain our immediate, ongoing growth, but we also required a solution that is resilient and flexible enough to change along with our goals."

Following an exhaustive search, Centric Software was chosen on the basis of its expertise, knowledge of best practices and strong team.

"Centric understood our needs and our relationship has been excellent, from first contact to implementation" adds Llorca. "The Centric team was the only one capable of delivering a proof of concept (POC) that fulfilled every expectation, including ongoing monitoring, dashboarding and reports."

"Our goal is to harmonise our processes including design, but in a way that leaves a lot of flexibility as to not hamper creativity. The configurability of Centric PLM user experience was a huge factor in our decision making," Llorca explains.

In addition to optimising its own processes, Orchestra will also use Centric to streamline collaboration throughout its extended supply chain including internal departments, suppliers and purchasing offices.

"Centric's quality module will also give us greater control over the quality of finished goods," says Llorca. "And with much improved transparency in our supplier relationships, our teams will have greater confidence in the decisions they make throughout the sourcing process."

"We looked for a partner who could support us in our growth goals but who could also bring best practices and innovations even after implementation," Llorca concludes. "Centric demonstrated the right balance of experience and expertise necessary to help us succeed."

"Orchestra's growth in the space of just two decades is extremely impressive," sums Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. "We are honored that Orchestra chose to partner with us for such an important part of their strategy and we are looking forward to providing a stable, scalable foundation for a successful future."