| Dear Friend, Our last issue asked the question "Is the textile industry still a leading economic indicator?" and you responded with some interesting perspectives. Given the current chaos throughout our supply chain the focus now is on adapting sourcing strategies to the realities of price increases, fiber and yarn shortages and limited mill capacity. It's a bold and sometimes barren sourcing-world out there, which makes planning and agility two primary characteristics of success in 2011. Company and Product News The daily tasks of material sourcing and quality teams is hard enough without the added burden of our current supply chain challenges, compounded yet again by the complexities of compliance management. In response, our development team has created a series of new features and products in the areas of Demand Planning, Quality and Compliance. You can read some highlights here, subscribe to our blog, or catch us at any of the following trade shows. | | Auto-Eval is an exclusive feature of TEXbase Quality that automatically compares test data against specification values and notifies users of non-compliant materials or finished products. This feature integrates directly with TEXbase Connect so that data coming from your partners is constantly monitored. Each user can configure their own dashboard notification which enables management-by-exception and provides immediate visual clues as to the quality or compliance issues that need your attention. | | | Now more than ever, brands and retailers need to know their volume requirements prior to making material sourcing decisions. Historically this has been a function of the purchasing team but too often the reality of insufficient capacity becomes apprarent too late in the cycle. At the OR Show next month, we'll launch a demand planning module that automatically recalculates volume requirements for trim and fabric so that sourcing teams know how much they need much earlier in the product development process. | Upcoming Events The first quarter of next year is going to be a busy one for trade shows. In addition to offering demos, we'll be presenting a seminar on supply chain management at Techtextil North America: | Date | Event | Location | | Jan 18-21, 2011 | The SHOT Show | Las Vegas, NV | | Jan 19-23, 2011 | Outdoor Retailer | Salt Lake City, UT | | Feb 13-16, 2011 | Sourcing at MAGIC | Las Vegas, NV | | March 15-17, 2011 | Techtextil North America | Las Vegas, NV |
Can't wait for a trade show? Contact Kimberly to arrange for an online discovery and demo session. Customer News  | | The team at Woolrich has adopted TEXbase to increase their supply chain agility and to compliment their existing PLM system. Gary Gifford, Director of Sourcing and Product Development states "TEXbase allows us to manage an ever-increasing wave of materials and color data in a cost effective SaaS environment while maintaining the level of quality our customers demand." | |