January 9th, 2013

Uniek Selects Centric Software’s Product Lifecycle Management System

CAMPBELL, Calif. Wednesday, January 09, 2013 –

Uniek, Inc. has chosen Centric Software, Inc., for its product lifecycle management (PLM) system.

As a consumer goods company specializing in home décor products, Uniek will implement Business Planning, Calendar Management, Materials Management, Product Sourcing, Product Specification and Quality Management modules of the Centric 8 system. Centric developed the PLM system specifically for retail, apparel, footwear, luxury and consumer goods companies.

Uniek expects Centric’s PLM software to help the company meet its goal of increasing revenues over the next five years, says Jeffrey Armstrong, Uniek’s senior vice president of manufacturing. As Uniek opens new markets, he says, the PLM system’s “single source of truth” will ensure every data element is stored exactly once. This will allow staff to focus on responding to new opportunities, pursuing new retailers and distribution channels, and identifying and developing trend-right products and designs—while increasing overall speed to market. “Centric PLM will let Uniek fast-track development processes, better leverage existing designs, and dramatically improve productivity,” explains Armstrong.

The ability to make product go/no-go decisions and catch “outliers” earlier in the development process is a major advantage of the Centric PLM system, adds Armstrong. Uniek also will realize more and better performance metrics, and the reduction of data entry work and resulting errors.

Uniek will deploy the suite with internal product development and sourcing users, plus external suppliers and partners. Uniek will integrate the Centric PLM system with Uniek’s Syteline Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in spring 2013, according to Armstrong.

“Uniek understands the importance of maximizing productivity to scale up its business successfully,” says Chris Groves, Centric’s president and CEO. “Centric’s Agile Deploymentmethodology is a key element of the fast PLM implementation that Uniek needs to reach its goals,” he adds. “From providing a single source of truth for all product data to the ability to leverage existing designs, costing and supply chain work, Centric 8 will serve as a crucial strategic tool for Uniek.”

Uniek Inc. (www.uniekinc.com)
Uniek, Inc., designs, manufactures and supplies distinctive picture frames and home décor accents for retailers in North America. The company’s extensive product line includes a vast array of mediums, from wood to metal to styrene, to cover a wide variety of today’s décor styles. Founded in 1988, the Madison, Wis.-based company employs 400.

Centric Software, Inc. (www.centricsoftware.com)
Centric Software is a leading provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software for apparel, retail, footwear, luxury and consumer goods companies. Centric 8 delivers easy-to-use functionality to manage critical, inseparable business processes, including product development, sourcing, business planning, quality management and collection management. Centric 8 is a modularized system that implements and delivers value rapidly using an Agile Deploymentmethodology.

Global enterprises including Ariat, Balenciaga, Bass Pro Shops, Beretta, Bravo Sports, Christine Laure, Colmar, Crocs, DSquared2, Fox Head, INTERSPORT France, JD Sports Fashion, Kindy, KlimUSA, Longchamp, Newbrands, PetSmart, Ports 1961, Proenza Schouler, Silver Jeans Co., Sundance Catalog, Systeme U, TALLY WEiJL, Triple Aught Design and United Stationers use Centric solutions to achieve revenue growth, reduce costs and deliver trend-right products to their customers. Centric is the recipient of the Frost & Sullivan 2012 Global Product Differentiation Excellence Award in Retail, Fashion and Apparel Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

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