The extended value of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) has been proven in a wide range of Hardline industries, such as Aerospace, Automotive, Discrete, High Tech, and Medical Devices. In these industries there has been developed an intimacy of integration between a company’s PLM system and the CAD/CAM, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). These integrations added value to a company’s PLM system by creating a high degree of operationally efficiency because it ensured digital fluidity between these mission critical systems.
The extended solution value of PLM in the Retail market (Apparel, Accessories, Fashion, Footwear, Home Goods, and Sports & Leisure) would also be enhanced by the digital fluidity of the integrations it could have with both downstream and upstream systems and services (SaaS).
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In the Hardline industries, forming integrations with downstream systems such as ERP and MES covered 80% or more of the solution value of PLM through integration. In the Retail market, having a downstream integration with ERP covers roughly 20% of the necessary integrations and therefore much of the extended solution value of PLM is left untapped.

Retail companies require a much wider range of systems and services (SaaS) to execute their mission critical operations as depicted by the PLM Based SolutionScape profile image below.

This myriad of other systems in place within companies in the Retail industry requires integration to ensure digital fluidity from Mind to Market, just as the Hardline industries required and evolved to achieve “their version” of Mind to Market.

Below is an example of how Digital Solution Group (DSG) transforms a brand or retailer from having PLM, with its basic integrations of CAD and ecommerce (top left portion of the image), to a company that is able to obtain digital fluidity among all of its mission critical systems (bottom left portion of the image).

DSG does this by first defining the ASIS/Current and TOBE/Future profile to develop its SolutionScape Strategy. It then works with the business, IT organization, and the various vendors that are to be integrated to develop the Tactical Plan to progress from its ASIS to its TOBE SolutionScape profile. DSG then applies its resources to develop the integrations either in collaboration with the vendor(s) or in conjunction with consulting firms that are responsible for supporting those systems or services (SaaS).
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NOTE: In many cases DSG has already developed standardized protocols with the 3rd party systems or service vendors or can apply “starter kits” that expedite the integration process. If a customer has a system or service vendor that has not yet formed an integration relationship with DSG and it is prevalent in the Retail market, then DSG will take on the task of gaining familiarity; establishing either a standardized integration protocol or starter kits at its own cost, thereby reducing the cost to the customer.

DSG not only takes responsibility for these integrations, but it will also take responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the integration infinitum (or without end).

This is what we do, and this is all that we do.

We are experts in the integration of systems, and (as noted) we are also integration partners with many of 3rd party vendors of the systems and services (SaaS) that are pervasive in the Retail market.

To have a SolutionScape Assessment done (free of charge) today, either fill out the form below or contact brion@digitalsolutiongroup.net (also @ +1-603-566-5382).