Buyerplan Range Buyer with Supplier Interaction provides full Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) functionality for Retail Fashion companies. Buyerplan PLM covers the key functions of design specification, supplier collaboration, sample control & garment fitting, support for selection & 'critical path' progress management. Although Fashion Retailers have always included PLM as part of their process, it has been handled through technologies such as fax, email, spreadsheets & word documents, leading to multiple keying of information & different versions of the truth. The ease-of-use of Buyerplan PLM means that it can also be implemented quickly.

With the requirement for reduced costs and ever decreasing lead times, Buyerplan PLM offers a speedy single channel for the accurate exchange of information between Head Office and Suppliers. Buyerplan Range Buyer and Supplier Interaction modules have been developed over several years in conjunctions with the Design, Buying and Merchandising teams at Per Una, where all products sold by this extremely successful fast fashion operation for Marks & Spencer must pass through the Buyerplan PLM process. Buyerplan PLM delivers increased profitability from:
- Better balanced ranges
- Improved delivery performance
- Lower cost to produce range storyboards and store briefs
- Enhanced and more efficient collaboration with suppliers
- Faster pace from design to sample to production to delivery

Buyerplan PLM's Modules

Range Buyer
It provides a single visible repository for the widely varied information that is required as a line moves from design through selection to production. From cost details to images, from fabric details to packaging and labels, from design packs to critical path dates, it covers them all. Specifically the combination of visual and data-based range plan reports by product type or collection / story, provides flexible and time saving support for vital selection meetings. Its features include:
- Key Range Details : Style / suppliers / colours / attributes.
- Range Plans : Plan by product type, collection or supplier.
- Design Packs : Design details and information requests to suppliers.
- Full Costing : Factory price to total cost in local currencies.
- Fabric Management : Fabric usage / garment ratings / cost details.
- Packaging and Presentation : Garment labelling / hangers / wash care.
- Product Images : Varied visual representation of ranges.
- Progressing : Track and control all production ‘critical path’ dates.

Supplier Interaction
It is a web-based system, which allows the ‘instant’ exchange of information that is vital to the product development process between Buyers, Merchandisers and Suppliers worldwide. All information is entered once and exchanged, avoiding the re-keying into multiple documents that, according to AMR Research, exacerbates errors and greatly extends lead times. Its features include:
- Status Dashboard : Shows status of all forms and decide priorities.
- Design Pack : Design forms and sketches, open costs and sample progressing.
- Critical Path Management : Monitor ‘actual’ dates against plan with ‘traffic light’ indicators.
- Fabric Management : Control fabric and trim approval.
- Quality : Share garment specifications, fits and grade measurements, comments and illustrations.
- Summary Reporting : View and print sample progress, costing and critical path reports.