Download - Microsoft Dynamics AX · Microsoft Dynamics AX Master Complexity with Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX White Paper This paper discusses how the makers and distributors

SOLUTIONS

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Master Complexity with

Apparel and Textile for

Microsoft Dynamics AX

White Paper

This paper discusses how the makers and distributors of apparel and textiles

can integrate item and process information, improve effi ciency, and enhance

profi tability using Apparel and Textile for Microsoft DynamicsTM AX.

October 2007

www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/product/industrysolutions.mspx

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MASTER COMPLEXITY WITH APPAREL AND TEXTILE FOR MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX

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Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 3

Industry Trends and Challenges ............................................................................................................... 3

Turning Challenges into Opportunities: How Technology Can Help ................................................... 4

Manage complexity ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Enhance fl exibility ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Connect trade partners ................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Increase effi ciency ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Gain insight for improvement ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX .................................................................................... 5

Take control of multidimensional item variables ...................................................................................................................................... 5

Respond effectively to change with enhanced fl exibility ....................................................................................................................... 6

Improve supply chain collaboration ........................................................................................................................................................... 7

Reduce costs and increase profi tability ...................................................................................................................................................... 8

Make confi dent decisions .............................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Technology Overview ................................................................................................................................ 9

Solution map .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Quick implementation and return on investment ................................................................................................................................. 10

System architecture ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

A quality product with dependable support .......................................................................................................................................... 11

Conclusion................................................................................................................................................. 11

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Introduction

Driven by increased globalization, companies in the apparel and textile industry face a variety of challenges.

Delocalized production and complex, expanding supply networks make it harder than ever to coordinate effi ciently

with trade partners and maintain product and material traceability while still making a profi t. Price pressure,

intense competition, and demanding customers erode margins and increase the urgency of cost control and

fast time-to-market. Apparel and Textile for Microsoft DynamicsTM AX can help by connecting complex item

and order specifi cations with fl exible process management through an integrated, cost-effective business

management solution. When apparel and textile companies can achieve greater end-to-end control of item

and process variables and information, they gain the visibility and insight they need to enhance profi tability and

build a competitive advantage.

This white paper reviews current trends and challenges in the apparel and textile industry, which represents

businesses that produce a wide range of products including fi ber and yarn, consumer and industrial fabric, carpet

and other woven materials, and mass-market, designer, or luxury clothing and fashion accessories. This paper

also addresses the role of technology in helping companies turn these challenges into opportunities that can

drive business success, along with the specifi c features, benefi ts, and advantages of Apparel and Textile for

Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Industry Trends and Challenges

Although globalization is nothing new in the apparel and textile industry, the increasing geographic dispersal of

production, supply networks, and markets intensifi es competitive pressures and operating challenges. Production

delocalization continues, with wider, more complex supply networks creating challenges for effective communication

and supply chain management. More materials or processes may be subcontracted or outsourced, while new

distribution channels and markets emerge.

In addition to the challenges of conducting business across national borders and in foreign markets, apparel and

textile companies typically face:

• Upheaval from frequent acquisitions and mergers as companies increase their vertical integration, go after new

retail distribution options, or move into new markets.

• Bills of material (BOMs) and production routings complicated by the large number of item variables, from

seasonal collections or brands to multiple color-way and size dimension matrices.

• The need to maintain traceability from fi nished goods back to raw materials and suppliers despite complex

supply networks and variable production routings.

• Competition-induced pressure for higher quality at lower cost.

• Increased retailer demands for fast time to market, new higher-performance materials, or customized products,

put-up, and delivery.

• Existing stand-alone information systems that lack integration with each other, and technology solutions that are

inadequate to handle the industry’s complex item and process data.

Companies who survive in this dynamic and diffi cult environment are those that can quickly access critical

information; make fast, informed decisions; collaborate effectively with trade partners; and adapt rapidly to change.



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Turning Challenges into Opportunities: How Technology Can Help

Fortunately, technology can help deliver the information, insight, and collaboration that apparel and textile

companies need to compete profi tably. When people, processes, and information come together in streamlined,

integrated operations, the entire organization can work effectively to drive business success. The right business

management solution can help by improving control of complex variables, automating tasks, speeding the fl ow of

information, connecting processes and partners, and delivering comprehensive business intelligence to support

strong decision-making.

Manage complexity

Apparel and textile companies routinely juggle material performance characteristics and customers’ item

specifi cations with the product complexity of seasonal lines, brand or trade show collections, styles, quality grades,

color-ways, size and color matrices, fi nishing variables, put-up, and delivery options. BOMs and manufacturing

orders add another layer of complication with size and color assortments for every item style. Technology is critical

simply for keeping track of all these item variables, along with managing production routings, handling distribution,

or helping ensure backward traceability to sources and suppliers. But the right business management solution can

also integrate multidimensional item coding with production, distribution, and accounting processes to streamline

tracking and fi nancial processes, speed production planning, increase supply chain visibility, and provide the insight

for effective item management.

Enhance flexibilityfl

Aging and disconnected information systems hinder an organization’s ability to respond to new market

opportunities or last-minute customer changes by limiting access to the data people need to make informed

decisions. A comprehensive, integrated business management solution can expand the fl ow of information and

increase organizational agility. That means companies can adapt to shifts in operational conditions, customer orders,

supply networks, distribution channels, and the organization itself. By reducing manual tasks and increasing the

synchronization of processes and information, technology can improve fl exibility and support quick redirection of

materials, production, or people to help ensure decisions that enhance profi tability and long-term success.

Connect trade partners

Technology is particularly well-suited for connecting and empowering the supply network by increasing

information transparency, speeding communication, and facilitating collaboration. A standards-based

management solution can make it easy to share information and even key business processes with trade partners,

regardless of their individual technologies or IT systems.

Increase efficiencyfi

With a technological solution that delivers tight integration and real-time information, companies can streamline and

automate processes, reduce manual or redundant data entry, improve production planning, and gain transparency

into operations. An integrated business management system can also deliver automated notifi cations that facilitate

workfl ow processes. Managers can stay aware of operational conditions, goods and information can keep moving,

and people can respond promptly to order changes or unexpected supply chain events.

Gain insight for improvement

With accurate, real-time information about seasonal collections or brand lines, production or subcontractor

performance, costs, profi tability, and trends, managers can make timely and effective decisions. Integrated item

and process information can facilitate assessment of costs and item, customer, or market profi tability, while the

ability to run “what if” scenarios in production, product allocation, and distribution makes it easy to manage change

with confi dence.


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Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX is a comprehensive business management solution with the fl exibility,

integration, and industry-specifi c functionality to deliver unique advantages for companies that manufacture and

distribute apparel and textiles. A highly scalable solution designed to meet the unique requirements of growing

companies, Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX delivers robust item and production management

capabilities on a foundation of world-class fi nancial and business management functionality. The solution integrates

smoothly with advanced customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) solution

extensions as needed.

Support for multiple sites, currencies, and languages makes it easy to conduct business across borders and

collaborate with members of global supply networks. And because the solution is highly fl exible, you don’t have to

change the way you do business. Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX can be adapted to your specifi c

business needs; customization is easy with the Microsoft Dynamics AX development tools.

Take control of multidimensional item variables

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX features advanced multidimensional item coding to accommodate a

wide range of item identifi ers and traits, including:

• Lot, batch, dye bath, and serial number.

• Season, collection, brand, and style.

• Color-way, color, and size matrices.

• Decoration and fi nishing variables.

• Packaging and put-up.

Item coding is transaction-driven, which means that item codes can be automatically changed or appended

as circumstances dictate; for example, the completion of the dying process may require item codes to change

downstream. Integration with production planning and sales order processes makes it easier to plan sourcing and

track materials and goods through various manufacturing processes, fi nishing phases, inventory, and logistics.

Figure 1. Advanced item coding links the spectrum of item production and fi nishing variables with material sourcing, BOM generation, and

routing requirements to help ensure full traceability, cost accounting, and profi tability analysis.




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Respond effectively to change with enhanced flexibilityfl

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX delivers integrated and fl exible processes that your people can use

to assess and select the most effi cient alternatives for order entry, production planning, and fulfi llment. With these

processes, you can:

• Create multiple order types, including collection and showroom orders. Enter blanket orders that you can use to

begin planning materials sourcing and production while deferring entry of details, such as color and size arrays

or split-delivery specifi cations, until later. Save time by making mass modifi cations to existing orders.

• Generate neutral BOMs to plan materials and production resource requirements independent of product size,

color, or color-way.

• Manage and automate complex measurement conversions based on algorithms for improved accuracy and

consistency.

• Streamline work orders with multiple-line manufacturing orders for a given product, adding lines for various

sizes or colors of the same style. You can link manufacturing orders to one or more sales orders or, conversely,

to track fulfi llment and allocate fi nished goods and costs (see Figure 2).

• Incorporate subcontractors into variable or alternate routing plans based on the most cost-effi cient approach for

a given product and situation. Support either pull or push production strategies.

• Integrate quality assurance activities and grading results into pricing, distribution planning, item allocation, and

accounting processes.

• Develop pricing based on integrated cost information and easily generate price lists that consider various

product grades, sizes, quantities, promotional or trade-show discounts, or showroom rates.

• Run scenarios to assess the impacts of outsourcing, new suppliers, or altered processes. Simulate allocation

alternatives to help ensure optimal order fulfi llment and customer satisfaction.

Figure 2. Use multi-line production orders to streamline work orders. Set up a specifi c product with lines for color and size for each style once ff

and then automatically create production orders for each variation.


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Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX also delivers the long-term fl exibility to grow with your business. Easily

tailored to your company’s changing needs, the solution takes advantage of a modular approach, so your company

not only gets what it needs today, but it can quickly add new functions later. Scale up as your business expands for a

long-term solution and a low total cost of ownership.

Improve supply chain collaboration

You can use Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX to share real-time replenishment, order, and delivery

information with people and partners both inside and outside the company. As a result, you can increase supply

chain visibility, improve synchronization, speed communication, and respond effectively to unexpected situations.

You can:

• Work with trade partners in the language and currency most convenient for them, thanks to multicurrency and

multilanguage support.

• Share Microsoft® Offi ce documents and key business information in other standard formats that are

familiar worldwide. Communicate with corporate or trade partner ERP systems using XML and Web service

technologies.

• Manage supplier records and subcontractor performance with help from integrated information about items,

purchase orders, deliveries and receipts, costs, and quality assurance results (see Figure 3).

• Save time by extending critical business information and key processes directly to trade partners through the

Internet. Offer security-enhanced, Web-based access to information and processes such as inventory levels,

order entry or status, and product pricing to put resources at trade partners’ fi ngertips.

• Speed transactions and communication with electronic data interchange (EDI) connectors and messages for

business information ranging from advance shipping notices (ASNs) to invoices and purchase requisitions. With

full integration of Microsoft BizTalk® Server or Commerce Gateway in Microsoft Dynamics AX, you can exchange

electronic documents with trade partners to save time and improve accuracy.

Figure 3. Generate a purchase order for services from the sales order for items to be produced by a subcontractor.


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Reduce costs and increase profi tabilityfi

Your people can save time and effort with integrated processes and information and automation of manual tasks—

from the generation of shipping documents to customer invoicing. With Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics

AX, you can:

• Eliminate redundant data entry between information systems or operations areas.

• Streamline replenishment, enable suppliers to monitor inventory levels and initiate purchase requests, or shift to

vendor-managed inventory to free your people for higher-value activities.

• Improve the accuracy of inventory records across multiple showrooms, sample stock, off-site deposits, wholesale

or distributor inventories, and physical or virtual warehouse locations. Obtain a comprehensive view to help

you source goods from the most effi cient location, and consolidate records for purchasing management and

fi nancial analysis.

• Speed fulfi llment and streamline accounting with item, put-up, and delivery information fully integrated into

packaging, unitizing, labeling, and invoicing processes.

• Reduce time to market on new products with tighter integration and communication among design, sales,

production, and wholesale and/or retail distribution resources.

Figure 4. A single view shows multiple warehouse locations and storage dimensions to help you manage stock.

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Make confident decisionsfi

You can use Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX to get the real-time information and process insight you

need to make smart decisions and drive business success. With it, you can:

• Easily access critical information about customers, suppliers, products, processes, and profi tability from across

the organization.

• Extend information to remote employees through the Internet so that sales and distribution teams have the

information they need at their fi ngertips, regardless of their physical locations.

• Create key performance indicators, share real-time results, and track trends.

• Use familiar tools such as Microsoft Offi ce Excel® to analyze critical performance and profi tability information

and present it to others in visual formats and reports.

• Run “what if” scenarios on item, production, and distribution alternatives and assess market trends.

Technology Overview

The apparel and textile solution from Microsoft is built on the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform and designed to

take advantage of a solid foundation of integrated technologies that includes the Windows® operating system,

Microsoft Offi ce system applications, and Microsoft SQL ServerTM for a security-enhanced, reliable, and easily

managed IT infrastructure. Microsoft Dynamics AX solutions can deliver role-based functionality tailored for the

apparel and textile industry that are familiar and easy to use, and support the way your business really works. And

Microsoft Dynamics AX provides your organization with the fl exibility to adapt these systems to an ever-changing

business environment.

Solution map

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX provides industry-specifi c capabilities for an integrated, end-to-

end business management solution. The following diagram shows each industry-specifi c capability in Apparel and

Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX and how that capability integrates with core Microsoft Dynamics AX functionality,

including fi nancial management, CRM, human resource management, and business analytics.

Industry-specifi c processes for textile and apparel include BOM and routing management; quality grading and

management; tracking for lots, batches, dye baths, serial numbers, and put-up; and other key production and

inventory functionality. The solution also delivers tailored supply chain management functionality, including the

ability to run shipment allocation simulations.


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As Figure 5 shows, an industry-specifi c data layer interfaces between the apparel and textile functionality and core

functionality from Microsoft Dynamics AX so that critical product and production information can be consolidated

and accessed along with fi nancial information. At all levels, integration of processes and information helps streamline

operations; minimize manual tasks; access accurate, real-time information across the business; and gain insight into

company performance and profi tability.

Quick implementation and return on investment

Because Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX includes industry-specifi c functionality right out of the box,

the solution can be implemented quickly and companies can begin to achieve benefi ts right away. A network of

Microsoft Certifi ed Partners can help you tailor the system to your company without extensive customizations to fi t

industry requirements.

Implementation tools help speed the process and include questionnaires and templates for confi guring the solution

to your processes and data. Smooth integration with the full range of Microsoft products helps maximize your

overall IT investment, and the familiar, easy-to-use interface helps ensure quick start-up with minimal training.

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX

Figure 5. Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX provides industry-specifi c functionality that integrates complex item

and product data to help streamline global supply chain, inventory, and production management processes.

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System architecture

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX is built on a three-tier, object-oriented architecture that capitalizes

on the Microsoft technologies and uses the fl exible and powerful Microsoft .NET programming language. This

combination makes it easy to add functionality or customize one tier without affecting the others, so cost and risk to

upgrade or extend your solution remain low; the architecture helps ensure a long-term solution that will grow with

your business.

Either Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle databases can provide maximum database performance and easy

maintenance. Records and information for multiple sites, warehouses, deposits, show rooms, or companies exist

within one centralized database on a common server, saving on hardware expenditures and operational costs while

providing for easy consolidation of information across sites.

The solution takes full advantage of XML standards to share data through Web services. Built-in tools provide

everything you need to extend business processes on the Internet, giving trade partners access to key information

and tasks through familiar Web browsers. When the solution is combined with Microsoft BizTalk Server or Commerce

Gateway, your company can also conduct high-speed and high-volume e-commerce and document exchange

directly with trade partners using EDI.

A quality product with dependable support

As part of the Microsoft product family, Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX has been reviewed according

to the same high standard of quality as other Microsoft products. Technical reviews are performed prior to launch

and throughout the product life cycle to help ensure the overall quality, performance management, and stability

of the product. Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX is also supported by Microsoft Dynamics Support

Services globally, so your business receives support for its entire business management solution from one place,

rather than having to contact different organizations for your support needs.

Conclusion

Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX delivers the industry-specifi c functionality companies need to

overcome the challenges of complexity, globalization, and change. This fl exible, integrated solution can help

companies in fi ber-based and fashion-based industries create a competitive advantage by:

• Integrating information and processes to streamline operations and boost effi ciency.

• Managing and tracking complex item and process variables.

• Improving production, sourcing, order fulfi llment, and organizational agility.

• Increasing supply chain visibility and collaboration effectiveness.

• Implementing an integrated, long-term business management solution that delivers a positive return on

investment and a low total cost of ownership.

To fi nd out more about Apparel and Textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX and how it can help companies

successfully meet the challenges of their growing global business, visit

www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/product/industrysolutions.mspx.


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The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of

publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, this document should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the

part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.

This White Paper is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE

INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT.

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Published 10/2007


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