Geac Jumps on West Coast Bandwagon
Boston-based technology firm Geac is the latest company looking to capitalize on the West Coast’s strong base of global surfwear and fashion. Geac provides business management software applications and is focusing on the popular product lifecycle management (PLM) arena.
The growth in offshore sourcing has created the demand. Porini, OptiTex and Visuality are among the other companies that have moved into California recently.
Geac is scouting locations in the Los Angeles area and is expected to announce its new Los Angeles address in the coming weeks. Account Manager David Graham will man the office. The company has about 50 offices worldwide and is traded on the NASDAQ exchange. It’s currently riding a streak of 16 profitable quarters and has just inked an expansion deal with VF Corp.’s European branch. Other clients include H&M, Delta Apparel, RipCurl and Wigwam.
While the company markets Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems—which address post-production steps such as order management, forecasting and sales management—it is currently focusing on its QuestPLM package.
PLM has grown popular because it is a proven time and money saver. QuestPLM’s modules address areas of design, product development, buying, production and visual merchandising. Company officials estimate the product can shave 30 percent off production lead times.
“We’re seeing companies that are growing but don’t want to employ a lot more people,” said Geac’s Steen W. Poulsen.
Poulsen admitted the company has a lot of catching up to do on the West Coast and will face competition from the likes of Gerber Technology Inc. and Freeborders. Poulsen said he thinks Geac has an advantage because its product is easy to use and understand. He said implementations have been running on schedule. One recent one took about three months to complete. Returns-on-investment can come within weeks, based on previous clients’ track records, he said.
The PLM package includes GeacPDM (product data management), which features advanced collection planning (style categorizing); integration to CAD, ERP or the Web; workflow reporting tools; a 2-D/3-D store planner for merchandising; and mobile management links via laptops and wireless connections. A collaboration module features a configuration tool that allows Web-based input from all approved parties in the production pipeline. The aim is to improve quality control and reduce lead times. A design module includes tools such as StyleTime Pro—which stores a library of 3,500 garment styles that can be printed, thumb-nailed or imported—and ColorTime, a tool for storing seasonal color cards and designs. These files can be scanned and exported into other applications.
“We have PDM as the core application. We make it so you can piggyback on that and pick and choose according to your needs,” Poulsen said.
For more information visit www.geac.com.
—Robert McAllister
