MAS Holdings Experiences Seamless Product Innovation with Centric PLM

“Before using Centric PLM, there were around 21 isolated systems to support the end-to-end development process. There was a lot of manual work involved and individual departments had their own way of working. Because of that, we encountered unnecessary human errors and collaboration challenges.”

Dishan Fernando, General Manager of Business Creation at MAS KREEDA, explains the challenges the teams faced using disjointed systems before implementing Centric Product Lifecycle Management (Centric PLM™).

It was clear MAS needed to find a superior PLM solution that could streamline their product development processes and power innovation. So, how was this achieved?

Change Makers in the Apparel Industry

Founded in 1987 in Sri Lanka, MAS Holdings is a global apparel-tech company providing concept-to-delivery solutions to major apparel brands and retailers across the world. Starting with manufacturing high-quality lingerie and then expanding into sportswear and athleisure with an integrated apparel eco-system, the company now employs over 100,000 employees across 16 countries. MAS strives to be a change-maker in the apparel industry, with technology at its forefront and sustainability at the core of everything it does.

Digital Transformation Journey

In 2019, MAS recognized the need for a digital transformation to streamline their product development. Teams at MAS found that using manual documents and ad-hoc systems to manage product development did not bring out the results they were looking for.

After evaluating Centric PLM, it felt like a clear fit for the business. Chandika de Silva, Solutions Manager at MAS Holdings, praised the selected PLM solution, saying, “Centric PLM’s out-of-the-box features, configurability and integration capabilities makes it the best on the market. We were also really excited by their product roadmap which shows a clear vision for future advancements.

Lasanthi Gunawardena, Director of Technical Development and Innovation at MAS KREEDA emphasized on the importance of having a trusted and centralized system, “My team produces large volumes of samples a year, so having full visibility of product data, that we trust is accurate, and one place to manage all communication, is essential.”

In the same year, MAS successfully implemented Centric PLM for 150 users at MAS KREEDA, a division that exclusively manufactures for a leading sports brand. By the end of 2020, almost five sub-business units were utilizing Centric PLM, with close to 1,000 users.

Addressing Change Management

“The biggest challenge we had was how we were going to implement a new system whilst everyone continued to do their daily work,” reveals Fernando. “People were so used to their regular systems and their individual ways of working, so getting them out of this mindset was tricky.”

“Despite these obstacles, we successfully rolled out Centric PLM with the support of company leadership. Our super users were empowered with clear direction thanks to Centric’s comprehensive training,” he adds.

A Seamless End-to-End Experience

With Centric PLM in place, MAS began to experience the benefits of a seamless, end-to-end product development system.

“Centric PLM has enabled MAS to introduce a standardized system for streamlined product development. We can now automate various functions which improves efficiency and reduces lead times,” says de Silva.

Speeding Up Sample Cycles

MAS strives to keep the number of sample rounds low to avoid chaos and missed deadlines. Gunawardena explains how Centric PLM empowers teams to stay on track, “Centric PLM helps us meet customer deadlines by having better visibility and workflow, which influences the reduction of sample rounds.”

Enhancing Customer Relationships

Centric PLM has improved the quality and accuracy of product information, such as tech packs and breakdown of costs, which are updated in real-time and managed in one platform.

Gunawardena explains, “When creating similar styles, we don’t need to go through the original process all over again; we can pull up similar styles, construction and materials straight from Centric PLM. This is a much more efficient process.”

Gunawardena explains, “We can easily categorize and prioritize styles based on different parameters, as well as access valuable historical data. With that information, we can plan our production in advance to ensure the factories are operating at optimum efficiency while meeting customers’ requirements. All this information is completely data-driven and accurate. Because of that, our customer service levels have improved.”

Exciting Future Ahead

MAS has recently decided to add 600 PLM users, taking their user count to an impressive 1600 PLM users, as one of their key business units, MAS Intimates, transitions to Centric PLM.

On top of this, MAS has been working closely with Centric’s product team on its roadmap, helping to develop Centric PLM features that will not only benefit MAS, but companies throughout the supply chain.

“Centric PLM is a game-changer for the business,” says Gunawardena. “We are happy that we invested in Centric PLM.”

“My advice to apparel manufacturers is to select and invest in the right technology to transform your company and future-proof yourselves against your competition,” concludes Jayantha Peiris, CIO at MAS.