Increasing speed to market is often a matter of trimming the fat from ordinary processes. A new tool by Texbase bridges the gap between apparel producers and component suppliers to increase accuracy and efficiency during the design and production process.
Texbase, a tech company that offers a cloud-based collaboration and data management platform for textile manufacturers, expanded its Material Connect platform with the launch of Component Connect. The tool will allow suppliers of trims, findings and other apparel components to share product attributes directly and efficiently with their brand partners.
Texbase’s Material Connect platform allows fabric suppliers to quickly share product information and detailed item attributes with apparel producers. Component Connect includes fields for characteristics that are unique to trims, and by standardizing the way suppliers and garment producers input data, the tool eliminates confusion and reduces margins for error.
“Typically, members of the trim or fabric team will use emails with an attached template to communicate with suppliers,” said Joseph Walkuski, CEO of Texbase. “It’s inefficient, and it’s not easy to put into the tracking system. This tool adds that process into the workflow.”
Walkuski noted that the web-based platform helps brands improve speed to market by making communication about fabric and trim instantaneous, thanks to the suppliers’ private portals that are shared directly with brand customers. “This is just another way for suppliers to streamline communication with their customers,” Walkuski said, adding that it’s vital for suppliers and brands to have data on production needs, like performance specs and restricted chemicals, at their fingertips.
Component Connect allows textile producers to create a detailed record of their communications with suppliers, and has features that add information to databases instantly. “When a supplier updates information about a component, the Material Connect platform will update that information in the report, and highlight the changed data so users can see it easily,” Walkuski said. “It notifies brands in the application, and they can look at the new data instantly.” Component Connect launched with Texbase’s Winter 2019 version, and integrates seamlessly with the existing fabric-centered technology.