November 23rd, 2020

Gilclaude Chooses Centric PLM to Bolster Traceability and Productivity

CAMPBELL, California, November 24, 2020 – The French group Gilclaude – manufacturer of homewear, nightwear and sportswear for well-known multi-category and fashion retailers – has selected Centric Software’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury, home décor and consumer goods companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

With customers such as Carrefour, Leclerc, Casino and Galeries Lafayette, it was vital for Gilclaude to meticulously manage their product lifecycle – from creation to final inspection – as well as empowercreativity, agility and efficiency in order to adapt to market needs.

Founded in 1958, Gilclaude is strategically located in Marseille – where technical design and creation takes place – and works with owned factories in Egypt, enabling the group to respond rapidly to market challenges and focus on innovation.

“Historically, we are a small organization, but our goal has always been to adopt the most efficient tools possible. We implemented quality certification very early on, as well as an ERP and PDM system. Recently, it became evident to us that we needed to improve responsiveness in the different phases of product development and to speed up our processes,” explains Éric Ammar, CEO of Gilclaude.

Gilclaude also offer comprehensive end-to-end services, often acting as a style office for its clients’ marketing teams, so seamless collaboration and an impeccable workflow in both production and logistics was paramount.

“We wanted better interface connectivity with our platforms abroad, to be able to share technical production data more efficiently, to further automate our manufacturing chain and to better control production monitoring by directly connecting our workshops and offices with our internal monitoring tools. Our first objective with this project is to improve productivity and speed of execution.”

Gilclaude is also counting on its partnership with Centric Software to work on an important area for the group, and one which is increasingly called upon; to improve the traceability of each component of its products to meet transparency requirements (in terms of environmental impact and also of social responsibility).

“We already had a good level of traceability on our materials in general, and we have always integrated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives into our approach. For example, we are mindful of choosing the closest locations when importing products. And now, there are tools that allow us to prove the effectiveness of our initiatives and offer us very clear traceability. Upgrading to modern tools like Centric PLM is an important way for us to prepare for the future.”

For Gilclaude, the impact of COVID-19 – from disrupted processes and newly remote teams, to customers grappling with local lockdowns – triggered the decision to find a new solution that would meet its ambitious digital transformation goals.

“What made the difference was the maturity of Centric PLM, the particularly clean, simple and user-friendly interface, and the fact that the solution as a whole is much more advanced than elsewhere on the market,” explains the founder.

From Centric’s comprehensive product suite, the Final Inspection Module won over the group. Gilclaude will utilize the module to facilitate the work of its quality inspectors, who are ever-present in the factories at the various stages of production, and who have to manage a large number of business-critical validations.

“For an organization like ours, carrying out a potentially heavy digital transformation in terms of deployment is a big challenge. The level of support and quality of Centric’s technical team were important factors for us,” concludes Éric Ammar.

“We are pleased to collaborate with a company that is so committed to CSR and focused on innovation and the future of fashion,” said Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric.

Gilclaude (www.gilclaude.com)

Specialist in cut and sewn knitwear, the Gilclaude group develops homewear, nightwear and sports collections for women, men and children for mass distribution, mail order and specialized brands.

Created in 1958 in Marseille and managed by Eric Ammar, grandson of the founder, the company manages all of its technical creation on site and relies on sourcing developed mainly around the Mediterranean basin. In particular, the Group has its own integrated and certified production units in Egypt and a Purchasing Office in Turkey, resulting in high supply efficiency.

Constantly on the lookout for market developments and extremely demanding on the quality of its products and its sectors, Gil Claude creates 6 collections per year and carries out specific developments to each of its customers’ requests. Its style office is distinguished by its creative imprint but also by its fierce desire for innovation, both in the research of materials and in the improvement of manufacturing processes.

The group currently has 250 employees in France and abroad.

Centric Software (www.centricsoftware.com)

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. 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 and key industry learnings for emerging brands. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (VIP) offers a new fully visual and digital experience for collaboration and decision-making. This includes the Centric Buying Board, to transform internal buying sessions and maximize retail value, and the Centric Concept Board for driving creativity and evolving product concepts. All Centric innovations shorten time to market, boost product innovation and reduce costs.

Centric Software is majority-owned by Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and PLM solutions.

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Centric also received various excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan in 2012, 2016 and 2018.

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