Issue 1 2019

CORPORATE VISION / Issue 1 2019 5 NEWS , GWS is a global IT company which works to help employ- ees feel safe wherev- er they are. The com- pany has developed Safeture, a travel security platform and risk management tool for companies and business travellers. Safeture is a new way to guarantee em- ployee safety using state-of-the- art technology and it is already used globally by more than 1 000 major companies. ERV is one of the largest spe- cialized companies in Europe for personal and business travel insurance. Since the initial agree- ment was signed in 2015, ERV offer its customers the GWS service as part of its travel in- surance. ERV uses GWS’ SDK solution (Software Development Kit), a collection of software tools and components that enables software developers to integrate Building on its strategy to develop innovations that drive retail transformation for brands, retailers and manufacturers, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) leader Centric Software has announced new addi- tions to the Centric Visual Innovation Platform (Centric VIP). Developed in partnership with world-leading brands and retailers, Digital Concept Boards and Digital Buying Boards re-define design ideation and buying by fully transforming the ways teams collaborate, share ideas and make decisions. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury and consumer goods companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals. Centric VIP is a visual, fully digital collection of collaborative boards for touch-based devices such as iPad, iPhone and touch-screen televisions and are fully connected with Centric PLM. Centric VIP boards transform the product strategy, ideation and go-to-market process, resulting in highly accelerated creative iteration and execution for individuals and teams, including C-levels. Centric VIP’s highly visual and beautiful in- terface, brings together live informa- tion frommultiple sources across the entire organization. These boards align teams and leverage internal knowledge for quick execution as well as dramatically accelerated time to market and product innovation. Centric VIP’s new Digital Concept Board combines creative, technical and business expertise to accelerate product development. Teams across all departments including design, merchandising and production/ sourcing are able to use the Digital Concept Board as a digital sandbox for creative-play and what-iffing within a business context. Today this work typically takes place offline or with ad-hoc tools. Used collaboratively on touch-based devices or via a web browser, teams can freely drag and drop inspiration images from sources like mood boards, websites and existing PLM product libraries to digitally capture creative concepts, elaborate design intent and create product briefs. Merchandising and production/ sourcing teams contribute additional ERV Extends The Agreement With GWS knowledge and, as concepts ma- ture, they are quickly pushed to PLM for further development, samples, sourcing and market launch. All information is digital resulting in full visibility into collection status, zero data loss/re-entry or error and a massive boost in execution speed. Analog tools such as foam core boards, paper printouts and sticky notes are eliminated thus driving efficiencies at many levels while creativity and product innovation are elevated. Centric VIP’s new Digital Buying Board elegantly streamlines buying sessions for retail, wholesale and e-commerce by aligning product and category teams, merchants, in- ternal buyers and sales on a single, highly-visual platform. Buyers choose products from global, core or special collections and build assortments by channel (retailer and/or e-commerce), store type or even by individual store, with roll-ups of buy commitments for mul- tiple channels and other analytics calculated automatically. Roll-ups are used to forecast aggregate quantities for production planning and minimum order quantity (MOQ) checks; analytics validate buying choices by giving insights such as quantities by colour, material, style, price point, delivery date, region, channel, etc. Linking product, merchandising, buying and sales teams for real-time collaboration when holding buying sessions and creating regional as- sortments dramatically streamlines communications, empowers region- al decision-makers with up-to-date, transparent information and gives product teams visibility into what is being brought to market. Execution time is vastly accelerated. “Digital Concept Boards and Digital Buying Boards are market-driven innovations developed in partner- ship with our customers,” says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. “Both boards drive digital transformation by allowing de- signers, merchandisers and buyers to truly collaborate, fundamentally changing the way decisions are made. The end result is a massive boost in the speed of innovation to market.” GWS functionality. The SDK al- lows ERV to develop their mobile solutions with the GWS service and content without using GWS’ development resources. The new agreement extends the SDK cooperation agreement pe- riod until May 2020. The main agreement extension order value is 2.8 million SEK and, including other connected agreements, the total order value is 3.2 million SEK. “We appreciate the opportunity to develop long-term relationships with ERV. It shows that we deliver a service that is valuable to our customers.” Andreas Rodman, CEO at GWS, comments. “It is also encouraging, as the SDK solution that we started de- veloping in 2016 is a vital tool for one of our most important cus- tomers.” GWS Production in Lund and the insurance company ERV have extended the initial agreement for the travel security platform from GWS until mid-2020. The extension has a total order value of 3 million SEK.