Centric Software is pleased to announce that BEARPAW has selected Centric PLM to drive efficiency and streamline operations. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source, buy, make, price, allocate, sell and replenish products such as fashion, luxury, footwear, outdoor, home and related goods like cosmetics & personal care as well as multi-category retail to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
Headquartered in California, BEARPAW leads the market with fashionable, yet comfortable footwear. Known for carving out a unique niche in the footwear landscape, BEARPAW operates primarily as a wholesale business while also offering products through e-commerce platforms, dropship partnerships and its own website, BEARPAW.com. The brand’s reach spans 46 countries globally, bringing the comfort and style of BEARPAW boots and shoes to millions.
After years of managing product data through complex manual processes and Excel, BEARPAW recognized the need to adopt a robust PLM solution to support its growing business. “We’ve been managing everything with Excel line sheets. For instance, I work on about 12 different line sheets per day that all need to be updated and sent back and forth between teams,” says Anthony Marling, Vice President of Product at BEARPAW. “It’s been very chaotic. We had something briefly in 2013 that was similar to a PLM, but not anywhere near the capabilities of Centric PLM.”
BEARPAW evaluated several PLM providers but ultimately chose Centric PLM due to its proven track record among footwear and apparel brands, its advanced capabilities and its cloud-based flexibility. “A member of our upper management team worked at another company that used Centric and told us about how great it was and how it helped streamline processes,” Marling adds. “Once we started digging further and looking into Centric, we saw how long they’ve been in business, how long they’ve worked on their system, how many partners they have, and to us, it was a no brainer to choose Centric PLM. Some of the other demos we saw, the systems were cumbersome, or they were local systems, which makes things more complicated, especially when working with an international team.”
The benefits of implementing Centric PLM are already becoming apparent. By introducing a centralized, cloud-based system, BEARPAW aims to eliminate miscommunication and outdated information across its internal and external stakeholders. “We had a lot of Excel sheets so there was a lot of missed information or wrong information happening on a weekly basis,” says Marling. “For example, we have three different versions of a line sheet, one for our catalog version, one for our sales team and one for internal use. If one thing gets missed, they’re out of sync and the catalog is incorrect. The biggest advantage for us is having a single source of truth, our one place where all our information lives.”
Additionally, the streamlined workflow and improved communication facilitated by Centric PLM are expected to accelerate time-to-market for BEARPAW’s footwear collections. ”We’re excited to streamline communication between departments, similar to misinformation, there’s information that’s missed or isn’t gathered as quickly as other departments need it. For example, if we send an email to our international team, they may not get back to us until later that night and maybe I don’t get an answer to their question until the next day, suddenly it’s three days later,” remarks Marling. “Centric is going to solve many communication problems that arise from working between different time zones. We put our information in, the international team puts their information in, and it’s just there.”
BEARPAW also highlights its positive experience during the implementation process. “We absolutely love the team, the people at Centric that we’re working with are amazing,” says Marling. “We’ve learned so much, and our primary focus is to get fully trained, get our overseas staff fully trained and go live before our next fall season.”
Centric Software is equally enthusiastic about the partnership. “We’re pleased to welcome BEARPAW to the Centric family,” says Fabrice Canonge, President of Centric Software. “BEARPAW’s dedication to crafting high-quality, comfortable footwear aligns perfectly with our ethos, and we look forward to helping them streamline their operations and drive innovation in the footwear industry.”
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