Harbour Doubles Their SKU Management and Boosts Efficiency With Centric PLM

Before Centric PLM™, the fast-scaling company was held back by fragmented systems and disconnected global teams. Limited visibility and lack of real-time data made reporting cumbersome and error-prone, teams struggled to keep up with the massive volume of SKUs.

Working in Centric PLM streamlined their global communication and cut email volume by up to 80 percent, slashed drawing approval time by 50 percent and reduced reporting time by 90 percent – freeing up teams to focus on product innovation and strengthening customer relationships through real-time visibility.

So how did Harbour make it happen?

From blacksmith’s forge to a global luxury furniture brand

Founded in Sydney in 1976 by blacksmith Jim Condos, Harbour has evolved into a global luxury outdoor furniture brand delivering modern collections to leading retailers across the US, Australia and Asia. “We’ve become the leading modern lifestyle luxury outdoor brand in the last seven or eight years,” shares Jacob Greenburgs, Vice President of Merchandising. “Outdoor furniture used to feel old-fashioned. Harbour brought a fresh approach – and it’s paid off.”

Still family-led, Harbour’s award-winning craftsmanship, premium materials and modern designs have earned the brand international recognition. Its artisan-quality collections are made using sustainably sourced teak, powder-coated aluminum and luxury performance upholstery.

Exponential growth with zero compromise

Since 2021, we’ve grown from 200 to nearly 900 SKUs and we’re doubling our development each season,” says  Greenburgs. “We have up to seven or eight drawing revisions in play at a time and our product development cycle never stops.”

Alongside the intense pace, Harbour’s outdated PLM system and reliance on spreadsheets and email put the brand at risk of costly errors, delays and reputational damage by slowing its ability to respond to its customers in real time. “Our workflows were complicated. The old system simply couldn’t keep up,” Greenburgs recalls.

Choosing the right PLM for rapid results

“Our top priority was implementing a PLM,” shares Greenburgs. “I’d already sat through multiple vendor pitches, including Centric and based on my experience, it was clear Centric PLM was built for our industry.”

Harbour’s key needs included value, industry alignment, real-time visibility and a centralized, reliable data source. Centric PLM checked every box. The brand went live and achieved immediate ROI, including a 50 percent reduction in drawing approval time.

“From the managers who are working in PLM, we’ve seen a reduction in the turnaround time for getting drawings approved as well as for sharing high-resolution files,” shares Greenburgs. “Emails in those areas of the business have also decreased.”

Global teams now collaborate in a single digital workspace. Product data is up to date and manual errors have dropped significantly.

Enhancing customer relationships

Harbour supplies white-label collections to some of the most prestigious retailers in the US. Clients expect fast turnaround times, high-touch service and live updates on product development, shipping and approvals.

It used to take almost three days to gather data and prepare reports for meetings,” says Greenburgs. “Now I’m able to deliver status updates in real time and overall it’s given our clients more confidence in us.”

Smarter sourcing in a volatile market

Working with high-value materials like teak and travertine introduces complexity. Orders must be placed well before designs are finalized and long before demand is clear.

“You can buy teak once a year, so you need to know how much you want to buy,” says Greenburgs. “Having too much teak is a real problem and not having enough is a totally different one.”

In an industry like furniture facing constant supply chain disruption and tariff uncertainty, Centric PLM enables Harbour to balance risk with agility. Forecasts are now driven by centralized material planning, historical usage data and accessible design specifications.

“Everyone was double sourcing to make sure we had a backup plan. That makes it a lot more costly,” says Greenburgs. “We’re looking at scenarios like moving production from China to Vietnam depending on tariffs or keeping the work in China if they don’t and keeping Vietnam as a back-up.”

Harbour is able to model and adjust sourcing decisions quickly ensuring compliance, managing cost and maintaining delivery timelines.

Building momentum with Centric PLM

Harbour continues to expand its use of Centric PLM with company-wide training rollouts. The platform’s impact is growing as more teams come on board.

“Our superuser team has been leading the charge and other teams are just starting to see how powerful the visuals and reporting really are – it’s getting people excited,” says Greenburgs.

We are going to stick to what we do best, which is make great quality designs and high-quality furniture and have fun doing it. We haven’t slowed down on any aspects in the material parts of our business. Thank you Centric PLM!”

Harbour is one of many leading lifestyle brands transforming operations and powering efficiency with Centric PLM.