California Apparel News

The new quota-free trade environment is pressuring technology providers to come up with solutions that will work in an expanding manufacturing arena.

Among those taking note is New York–based Computer Generated Solutions (CGS), which markets BlueCherry enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. On Feb. 1, the company rolled out BlueCherry 5.0, a new version packed with more tools for functioning in the global environment.

As global manufacturing intensifies, the need to implement technology is also growing, said Paul Magel, CGS’ senior vice president. “In fact, the only way to compete is with technology,” he said. “Retailers basically are forcing the issue now.”

ERP systems—which synchronize financials, electronic data interchange, costing, shipping, orders and other steps along the supply chain—have helped apparel manufacturers and retailers eliminate many of the miscues that occur during pre- and post-production. Thanks to Internet technology, ERP is equipped with incident-reporting tools that give managers as well as trading partners a look at supply-chain events. ERP has saved time, linking disparate software systems with each other to eliminate excess order-entry steps and the errors that go along with them.

Technology providers continue to push ERP in the apparel industry, as many manufacturers and retailers are using antiquated systems from the pre-millennium-bug days.

Representatives from Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., Malibu Dream Girl, Trixxie and Four Star Distribution were among those looking to explore the latest in ERP at BlueCherry’s launch in Los Angeles, conducted simultaneously with an event in New York.

CGS officials gave demos of BlueCherry 5.0, showcasing new tools such as multi-currency and multilingual interfaces and functions that address the taxation requirements of various countries. The software also has been optimized to integrate more easily with Microsoft Office and other infrastructure products from Microsoft Corp. CGS, now a goldlevel partner with Microsoft, can coordinate with the software giant on the latest programming tools.

Other enhancements include mass handling of sales orders and report building, which for some users has reduced the time it takes to complete the tasks from 20 minutes to 30 seconds. Reports can also feature product images.

“It was developed on a global level. We had to create the ability for taxation and corporate versus divisional reports with exchange rates,” explained Bob Fately, CGS’ implementation director.

The basics of the package include electronic data interchange management and reporting, bulk ordering, production and import management, logistics tracking, inventory management, warehouse and distribution controls, invoicing and charge-back management, credit and factor management, and costing.

CGS executives also announced that the company acquired Connectrix Systems LLC, the Yardley, Pa.–based software company that markets a merchandise planning suite for retailing, wholesaling, and Internet and catalog sales. The suite addresses product development, product planning and forecasting, and inventory and brand management.

“This pulls us more forward in the cycle,” Magel said. “A lot of our retail customers can use this to manage stores and conduct catalog business and online sales.” —Robert McAllister