SKECHERS China Boosts Innovation, Protects Margins and Transforms R&D with Centric PLM

“Centric PLM is the engine behind our digital transformation, connecting our teams, systems and strategy in one platform,” reflects Mr. Li, Head of Product Development and Procurement IT at SKECHERS China.

For more than ten years, SKECHERS China has relied on Centric PLM™ as the backbone of its digital transformation. What began as a strategic move to streamline apparel workflows has evolved into a fully integrated, multi-category platform for footwear and accessories that manages 3,000+ SKUs annually, connects global teams including suppliers and safeguards profitability while fueling innovation.

The footwear trendsetter’s expansion in Asia

SKECHERS entered the Chinese market in 2007 through a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Luen Thai Enterprises, creating SKECHERS China. Since then, operations have expanded across mainland China, Southeast Asia and South Korea. Through more than a decade of focused growth, SKECHERS has cultivated strong brand influence and extensive sales networks in Asian markets.

Each season, the company designs more than 3,000 performance athletic and fashion lifestyle styles. Managing such a diverse and fast-moving product portfolio required sophisticated R&D management capabilities and a system that would enable international coordination across categories and teams.

R&D standardization drives multi-category integration

While SKECHERS’ U.S. business initially focused on footwear, the Chinese joint venture also included apparel product lines. Managing these diverse categories and aligning global R&D teams required a system capable of unifying workflows and facilitating seamless collaboration.

As sales in the Chinese market accelerated, so did demand for customized footwear tailored to local consumers. The footwear team at SKECHERS China expanded from selection and planning to end-to-end product development, leading to the 2021 extension of Centric PLM to footwear and accessories R&D. This shift brought multiple departments and product lines together on a single platform.

This expansion made a common product language essential for cross-departmental collaboration. Centric PLM delivered standardized data, unified material coding and comprehensive material libraries, resolving previous issues with fragmented information. The result was more efficient R&D across apparel, footwear and accessories, stronger coordination and optimized product combinations designed for different retail scenarios.

“Centric PLM constructs the foundational architecture for product data management while serving as our core digital transformation platform,” explains Mr. Li.

“The solution provides critical data for supply chain alignment, sales forecasting and inventory optimization. With a centralized brand material library management, we now have a  robust data backbone that informs business decisions and strengthens market strategy.”

Standard cost management creates new supplier collaboration models

Building on their success, SKECHERS China recently embarked on its fifth collaborative project with Centric Software, developing PLM applications for supplier cost benchmarking.

Internal costing teams can now establish standard costs for each product and use Centric PLM to generate precise cost accounting ratios. This allows teams to evaluate supplier quotations, calculate profit margins more accurately and make timely adjustments to processes or product positioning when costs exceed expectations.

By systematically managing supplier quotations, material compositions and processing information, SKECHERS China ensures accurate cost calculations throughout product development cycles.

“Through Centric PLM, SKECHERS China has achieved comprehensive coordination with suppliers, integrating development and supply chain operations while shaping new models for cost and value co-creation,” states Mr. Li.

Long-term collaboration forms industry best practices

Over the years, SKECHERS China and Centric Software have forged a trusted, strategic partnership.

“The Centric team demonstrates exceptional professionalism in business understanding, project delivery and product capabilities, achieving true integration of industry experience with customer requirements,” confirms Mr. Li.

This long-term collaboration has positioned SKECHERS China as a strategic innovation partner, co-creating new approaches that feed directly into Centric’s product evolution. In turn, Centric PLM has enabled SKECHERS China to move from fragmented data and siloed processes to integrated, harmonized product development across multiple categories, establishing a best-practice model for the industry.