Color Lifecycle Management™ (CLM) represents a brand new paradigm in the management of colors for fashion and footwear products. Colour is one of the key decision-making criteria when consumers select products to purchase. Traditionally, enterprise solutions such as ERP and PLM treat colour as a simple attribute of a product. These systems do not provide the management or scientific tools to ensure that a selected colour is what will be delivered. DeSL’s color management software solution resolves this issue, enabling real-time communication of colour concept and specification, between brand, agent, and mill.
CLM starts with ensuring that the appropriate colour is selected from the outset and manages all aspects of development, collaboration, and quality assurance right through to product final sale, either in-store or on a website.
The Software Manages Key Data Such As:
Workflow Management
As the system has extensive workflow management capabilities, there are many ways to configure the operation of the solution.
Build and Share Colour Libraries
Build your library by importing scientific colour data files, from trend images, colour service providers (i.e. Pantone, Coloro, etc.), or direct measurement of colour samples. Colour palettes are then published to the cloud for use in PLM.
Digital Lab Dip Requests
Create development requests for vendors directly from the web portal for colour and substrate combinations.
Integrated Communication
Centralized communication portal for agent, vendor, and mills to access all required specifications, scientific colour information, and timelines.
Accurate Color Every Time
Mills create requested samples, then use a Spectrophotometer to analyse the sample colours. CLM then compares the spectral values of the achieved colour against the values of the intended colour standard.
Industry 4.0
Seamless integration with manufacturing equipment such as digital and sublimation printers.
The Color Lifecycle Management system automatically generates a report based on the intelligent tolerance system providing a pass or fail rating as well as visual representation of the colour variance. Mills can view these reports which can provide insight and guidance for taking appropriate corrective actions to adjust formulas to resolve the variance between the planned and actual results.
Development teams receive physical submits and use a Spectrophotometer to measure the colour(s) to evaluate using the automatic tolerance and correction system. The CLM system then informs the mill of the result.
The brand reviews submits from vendors and has the opportunity to either approve or request modifications. Once submits are approved, fabric is ordered and CLM takes on a new role in the supply chain. Fabrics can be tested for quality assurance to evaluate colour samples and bulk fabric production.
By ensuring consistent colour through controlled and scientific methods involving all parties in the process, businesses can begin to reduce cycle times, improve productivity, reduce costs, and improve quality.