You might have come across the name Coats Digital. The apparel and fashion industry know the brand Coats which is a leading brand for industrial thread manufacturing for the sewn product industry.
How Coats become Coats Digital? We have observed that in recent years Coats have acquired few IT solution companies which were good at their fields. When I see two brands under the same company name, some questions came in my mind. What is the Coats Digital? How Coats Digital is different from Coats?
To clarify these questions on Coats and Coats Digital, I contacted Coats digital team and conducted an online interview through the following questions. Mr. Keith Fenner, MD of Coats Digital, answered my questions.
To clarify these questions on Coats and Coats Digital, I contacted Coats digital team and conducted an online interview through the following questions. Mr. Keith Fenner, MD of Coats Digital, answered my questions.
OCS: What is Coats Digital?
Coats Digital: Coats Digital is a forward-looking technology division of Coats that aims to transform the fashion industry with innovative software solutions. Our vision is to create a connected, transparent and sustainable fashion supply chain to help apparel brands and manufacturers increase profitability, optimise productivity and ensure customer satisfaction.
Coats Digital combines deep industry knowledge and experience with the latest technology to help businesses eliminate manual work, integrate key processes across departments, and improve visibility & co-ordination across the supply chain.
The solutions provided by Coats Digital have helped to deliver significant and measurable cost, speed and productivity improvements to more than 5000 companies across 65 countries.
A recent survey carried out by Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA) showed that concerns like the volatility of demand, intensified trade barriers and faster newness cycle have been rated more acutely (by brands and manufacturers alike) in 2019 than in 2017.
A recent survey carried out by Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA) showed that concerns like the volatility of demand, intensified trade barriers and faster newness cycle have been rated more acutely (by brands and manufacturers alike) in 2019 than in 2017.
In these trying times, Coats Digital aims to be a positive catalyst by providing the best-in-class proven technologies that solve these critical problems.
OCS: How is it different from well-known Coats as thread manufacturers?
Coats Digital: While Coats continues to be the leading industrial thread manufacturer with over 200 years of history, Coats Digital offers market-leading software solutions for the fashion industry with a focus on transforming the industry with in-depth industry expertise and latest technology.OCS: What are the goals of Coats Digital?
Coats Digital: In the current scenario of the fashion industry, shifting consumer demands, rising costs and fierce competition have put immense pressure on apparel brands and manufacturers to remain competitive and profitable in the industry. The strain on cost, speed and on-time delivery is greater than ever before.- Brands need to plan, design and develop more styles than ever while keeping an eye on the cost of production and speed-to-market.
- Similarly, manufacturers need to produce higher volumes of products under shorter lead-times while keeping low cost and consistent quality.
And so, the brands, retailers, and manufacturers need to evolve their business models to mitigate and benefit from permanent uncertainties effectively. This can be made possible with the help of agile processes and structures combined with analytical capabilities.
The solution is to have sustainable and optimised supply chain powered by technology-based solutions and industry best practice expertise.
The solution is to have sustainable and optimised supply chain powered by technology-based solutions and industry best practice expertise.
Coats Digital aims to transform the fashion industry with intelligent solutions that are quick to install, easy to use and deliver significant and measurable cost, speed and productivity improvements to fashion brands, retailers, sourcing companies, and manufacturers.
OCS: How are you transforming fashion businesses?
Coats Digital: The fashion industry is one of the most challenging fields that is frequently affected by global economic uncertainty and distinct trends. Digital transformation is one way in which businesses can cope up with the challenges in the most cost-effective, efficient and sustainable fashion.
Coats Digital’s focus is to develop and continuously work upon intelligent software solutions that streamline end-to-end processes, eliminating manual work and duplication. This is very essential to improve the efficiency, speed and profit margin of the companies. Our technology further connects departments and supply chain partners by integrating critical processes - to improve visibility, coordination, and end-to-end control.
- For example, our product VisionPLM streamlines and integrates key business processes, from design, material and product development, to supplier capacity management and purchase order tracking. This results in significant improvements for brands in terms of visibility, coordination, and control across the business and with supply chain partners.
- Another example is our product GSDCost which helps to build sustainable relationships between brands and manufacturers with the help of scientific fact-based costing – eliminating subjectivity and guesswork. GSDCost helps to establish and optimise standard production time to achieve accurate costing, improved quality, and productivity improvement.
OCS: Products and services under Coats Digital
Coats Digital: Our team is made up of fashion industry experts - people from the brand, retail, sourcing and manufacturing backgrounds. This unique mix of experience and understanding, combined with the latest, disruptive technology, enables us to create and deliver solutions that meet the exact and evolving needs of the fashion supply chain.
We work with businesses to minimise business disruption, bringing forward business benefits and improving the return on investment.
Product offering by Coats Digital:
Product offering by Coats Digital:
Coats Digital provides the following range of products, which help in achieving the end goal of a vast interconnected ecosystem governed by end-to-end KPIs and analytics.
1. VisionPLM: VisionPLM is a browser-based Product Lifecycle Management and sourcing solution for fashion retailers, brands, sourcing companies and manufacturers. VisionPLM helps to streamline and integrate key business processes from design, material and product development, to supplier capacity management, order allocation and purchase order tracking.
1. VisionPLM: VisionPLM is a browser-based Product Lifecycle Management and sourcing solution for fashion retailers, brands, sourcing companies and manufacturers. VisionPLM helps to streamline and integrate key business processes from design, material and product development, to supplier capacity management, order allocation and purchase order tracking.
This results in significant improvements in visibility, coordination and control, across the business and with supply chain partners.
2. GSDCost: GSDCost is designed to help fashion brands and manufacturers establish and optimise standard production time, using standard motion codes and predetermined times. It establishes a common language between fashion brands and manufacturers for discussions on cost, time, capacity, and compliance – ultimately leading to costing optimisation and increased productivity.
3. Intello3C: A scientific cost benchmarking and negotiation platform for fact-based optimised and sustainable costing. Intello3C supports brands, retailers, and sourcing companies in working quickly and efficiently with their supply chain partners to scientifically optimise and benchmark garment costs - for complete cost control.
4. FastReactPlan: FastReactPlan is a tool dedicated to helping fashion manufacturers improve Production Planning and Control. The solution supports a faster, more reliable order confirmation process and a production plan which is optimised for delivery, efficiency and speed. It enables teams to execute the plan with fewer changes and firefighting and when changes are needed to make smart, informed and quick decisions.
5. IntelloCut: IntelloCut is a real-time cutting room planning system infused with artificial intelligence and agile analytics that is designed specifically to help manufacturers optimise fabric utilization and reduce fabric wastage.
IntelloCut provides fast and accurate cutting execution plans and takes real-time input from the cutting floor to react to all dynamic changes - delivering tangible fabric savings.
6. IntelloBuy: IntelloBuy is a fabric estimation software infused with the latest technologies, designed specifically to help manufacturers accurately estimate fabric for booking. IntelloBuy helps to enable automation, on-time planning, access to historical production orders, and integration with CAD systems for thousands of orders in a single go.
2. GSDCost: GSDCost is designed to help fashion brands and manufacturers establish and optimise standard production time, using standard motion codes and predetermined times. It establishes a common language between fashion brands and manufacturers for discussions on cost, time, capacity, and compliance – ultimately leading to costing optimisation and increased productivity.
3. Intello3C: A scientific cost benchmarking and negotiation platform for fact-based optimised and sustainable costing. Intello3C supports brands, retailers, and sourcing companies in working quickly and efficiently with their supply chain partners to scientifically optimise and benchmark garment costs - for complete cost control.
4. FastReactPlan: FastReactPlan is a tool dedicated to helping fashion manufacturers improve Production Planning and Control. The solution supports a faster, more reliable order confirmation process and a production plan which is optimised for delivery, efficiency and speed. It enables teams to execute the plan with fewer changes and firefighting and when changes are needed to make smart, informed and quick decisions.
5. IntelloCut: IntelloCut is a real-time cutting room planning system infused with artificial intelligence and agile analytics that is designed specifically to help manufacturers optimise fabric utilization and reduce fabric wastage.
IntelloCut provides fast and accurate cutting execution plans and takes real-time input from the cutting floor to react to all dynamic changes - delivering tangible fabric savings.
6. IntelloBuy: IntelloBuy is a fabric estimation software infused with the latest technologies, designed specifically to help manufacturers accurately estimate fabric for booking. IntelloBuy helps to enable automation, on-time planning, access to historical production orders, and integration with CAD systems for thousands of orders in a single go.