Rhone Powers Operational Efficiency and Streamlines Product Development with Centric PLM

Kerry Golia, Senior Director of Product Development and Production at Rhone, explains how the company’s challenges highlighted the need for change. Just months after implementing Centric PLM™, Rhone has transformed its operations. With centralized product data, Rhone has streamlined workflows, accelerated decision-making and product launches, improved data accuracy and boosted collaboration across teams, setting the foundation for success.

“We went live in just 12 weeks and as our teams become more comfortable with PLM, we’re seeing even more ways to maximize its value,” says Golia. So how did Rhone decide Centric PLM was the right solution?

Over a decade in pursuit of progress

Rhone, a performance-driven apparel brand with a relentless focus on innovation, has earned a market-leading position and formed notable partnerships with leading brands like the LPGA and NBA. Its rapid rise and increasing demand put pressure on the brand to more efficiently manage data and gain better visibility into the product development process.

With a PLM system Rhone outgrew and heavy reliance on spreadsheets, Rhone saw an opportunity to streamline efficiencies and reduce duplication of effort. Limited integration between tools often meant teams spent more time reconciling data than driving projects forward, highlighting the need for a more connected approach.

Flexibility and resilience with Centric PLM

As a company with rapid growth, Rhone needed to move beyond spreadsheets and its legacy PLM to optimize performance and sustain its growth trajectory.

From a product development perspective, having a centralized data source and a tool to streamline communication was the greatest need for us,” shares Golia. “It was also essential to eliminate spreadsheets and manual data entry, which Centric PLM enabled us to do.”

Rita Irisarri, Men’s Design Director at Rhone, expands on critical design features of Centric PLM. “The most important aspects of a PLM are its ability to accelerate intricate design with accuracy. Centric PLM’s Adobe Illustrator Connect feature was precisely what our team needed to execute mass updates and the interface is intuitive and easy to use.”

These capabilities addressed areas where Rhone was looking to increase efficiencies in production. For Rhone, the combination of accuracy, automation and usability confirmed that Centric PLM was the right solution for growth. The decision was further reinforced by Centric PLM’s track record with other performance brands and the confidence that the system could scale alongside Rhone’s ambitious expansion plans.

Seamless implementation enables growth

Within months of adopting Centric PLM, Rhone was already seeing measurable changes in how teams worked. Centralized product data powers teams to streamline workflows, accelerate decision-making and improve accuracy across the board.

The onboarding process aligned teams quickly and established PLM as an actionable source of truth. Employees adapted rapidly to the new workflows and leadership gained greater visibility into project timelines and resources, ensuring projects stayed on track from the very beginning.

An actionable source of truth for ease and accuracy

With Centric PLM, Rhone consolidated its product data into a single user-friendly platform. The result? Faster decision-making and a significant optimization of efficiencies.

“When we’re looking at new fabrics in the design stage, we now rapidly select attributes, features and product insights because that information is stored in PLM,” shares Irisarri. “This enhances design innovation and also empowers our marketing team with essential product data.”

“Product teams hugely benefit from PLM,” Golia adds. “The ability to see component information from fabric specs to mill information in PLM is amazing. Having a centralized location to hold information and a tool to communicate across our supply base has changed the way we work.”

Pushing innovation into the future

As Rhone continues to expand, the company is exploring additional Centric PLM features to enhance its operations further. “We’re excited about integrating Centric PLM vendor portal and expanding into Centric Visual Boards™ to further streamline our product development and communication with suppliers,” says Golia.

For Rhone, Centric PLM is a strategic partner that has empowered the brand to accelerate product development and innovation. “Centric PLM is an amazing product that works for every aspect of our team,” shares Irisarri. “We’re only scratching the surface of its potential and we’re excited to continue growing with Centric by our side.”

Future plans include leveraging vendor collaboration tools to reduce cycle times even further. By broadening adoption, Rhone expects to unlock even greater efficiencies across departments, from design to sourcing, ensuring faster decision-making at every stage.

Rhone also anticipates using Centric Visual Boards capabilities to boost transparency and gain long-term scalability. This forward-looking approach will empower Rhone in maintaining agility in a competitive market and position them to adapt quickly to shifting consumer and industry demands.