California Apparel News

Managing product development with the help of cutting-edge technology will be the hot topic during a series of seminars and workshops at the Material World/Technology Solutions Expo, April 4–6 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla.

Leading technology companies such as Geac, Lectra, Gerber Technology, Tukatech and others will present discussions on a range of topics.

On April 4, Cindy Bahr and Mark Mandrano of Geac Enterprise Solutions Inc. will discuss collaborative sourcing using technology at 11:30 a.m.; PTC’s vice president of engineering and R&D will discuss “Creating an Enterprise Solution” at 11:30 a.m.; Yoram Burg and John Hein of OptiTex USA will present a seminar on PLM (product lifecycle management) at 1 p.m.; Alan Brooks and Fred Isenberg of New Generation Computing will talk about speed, visibility and execution using PLM and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems within a global sourcing model at 2 p.m.; and Jomar Inc. President John Blasman will talk about technology trends for full-package operations at 3 p.m.

The American Apparel & Footwear Associationwill open up April 5th’s program with a 9 a.m. discussion on strategic logistics, moderated by Rick Ludolph, president of Productive Solutions LLC. Lectra will present a PLM seminar at 10:30 a.m. Ram Sareen, chief executive officer of Los Angeles–based Tukatech, will present a seminar titled “Learning From the Automotive Industry—Challenge of the Global Supply Chain” at 11:30 a.m., discussing how the apparel industry can learn about efficiencies in the supply chain from the automotive industry. Gerber will make a presentation on using PLM in fashion at 1 p.m. Computer Generated Solutions will talk about “The Value of Operational Adaptability” at 2 p.m., and TradeBeam officials will explain how to manage global trade at a 3 p.m. seminar.

All events are free to show visitors and will be held in the draped seminar booth in the Technology Solutions section of Material World.

“With the continued expansion of global operations and changing manufacturing sectors, technology plays one of the pivotal roles in a successful supply chain,” said Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO of the AAFA, which is staging Technology Solutions in conjunction with Urban Expositions. Through Technology Solutions, we are providing an important venue for industry decision-makers to interface with state-of-the-art resources through programming and the exhibition in addressing its needs.” For more information, visit www.techsolutionsexpo.com. —Robert McAllister