Microsoft Dynamics Industry: Apparel & Textile,

Tailored to your specifications!
 
Companies that manufacture and distribute textiles and apparel—from consumer and industrial fabrics and carpet to home goods, clothing, designer lines and fashion accessories—face major challenges from globalization, complex supply networks, ongoing mergers and acquisitions. Apparel and textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX can help companies overcome these challenges by better managing complex material and product variables, which can reduce time-to-market and help increase profits.

Built on the Microsoft platform, apparel and textile for Microsoft Dynamics AX integrates smoothly with other Microsoft products to minimize training requirements and help maximize existing IT investments. Designed to address the complex item coding, traceability, process flexibility needs of apparel and textile manufacturers, this powerful solution also supports multiple languages and currencies to help you operate smoothly across geographies.
Manage complexity for comprehensive traceability

To help you track items from raw fibers to finished goods—and back—use multidimensional item coding to effectively handle numerous material and product variables. Trace materials from various sources and subcontractors through multiple manufacturing and finishing processes, inventory statuses and logistics routings.
 

Increase agility with adaptable processes
Meet shifting needs by managing flexible sourcing, manufacturing and shipment allocation processes. Meet changing customer and supplier requirements by using blanket orders, neutral bills of materials (BOMs), multi-line manufacturing orders and variable routing and allocation simulations.
 

Take control of costs and profitability
Integrate material, item, order and cost information into comprehensive financial management and reporting tools. Analyze and understand performance and profitability across your business, including seasonal or brand collections, specific customers or markets, subcontracting options and the impact of various distribution channels.
 

Gain insight to respond effectively to changing conditions
Run simulations and model new processes to adapt effectively to changes in product lines, manufacturing capabilities, supply partners, production geographies, vertical integration and distribution.
 

Streamline supply chain interactions
Take advantage of multicurrency, multilingual and multi-site support to speed transactions, improve transparency and facilitate consolidated financial reporting. Share information by using Microsoft formats familiar to people worldwide and extend replenishment processes to suppliers through the internet.
 

Features overview
 

 
Dimensional item management Manage complex item variables with advanced coding attributes and "smart" stock-keeping unit (SKU) coding for raw materials, process outputs and item characteristics including: collection or seasonal grouping, style, color, color-way, size dimensions, decorations and finishing variants. Automatically update item codes based on manufacturing process completion with transaction-driven code changes and extensions.

Bi-directional materials tracking Improve upstream and downstream traceability when you can track goods by lot, batch, serial number & link finished goods back to components and suppliers through item BOMs.

Flexible BOMs Streamline planning and increase production agility by using neutral BOMs that enable production and materials planning independent of variables such as size, color, or color-way. 

Adaptive production management Increase efficiency and respond quickly to changes with multi-line manufacturing orders, flexible/alternative routings and reprocessing management. Support either push or pull production policies and integrate subcontractor routings and management into planning and logistics.

Tailored customer order capabilities Streamline order entry by creating multiple order types, such as collection/showroom orders and opening blanket orders with truncated codes for later specification. Accommodate multiple shipment addresses and delivery dates per order and save time making mass modifications in existing or blanket orders.

Quality assurance support Integrate quality grading processes and information into the production and supply chain. Allocate products of various grades to different distribution channels and gain insight into grade costs and profitability.
Integrated shipping  Define and meet customer requirements for put-up options, labeling, unitizing and documentation. Reduce errors, speed billing and reconcile with item. Also, make sure shipment information is fully integrated into invoices and accounting processes.

Inventory management  Maintain multiple material status indicators and improve inventory management with comprehensive tracking of materials and finished goods, including samples, off-site deposits such as trade show or showroom stocks, multiple real and virtual warehouses and wholesale or distributor inventories.
Supply chain management Increase supply chain visibility, monitor subcontractor performance and collaborate effectively. Incorporate supply partners into costing and routing decisions, share demand and inventory information in real time and offer trade partners security-enhanced, self-service access to key business processes through familiar web browsers.

Price lists Access integrated cost information to easily generate price lists for finished goods of various quality grades, sizing, quantities, create and maintain special promotional, trade show or showroom pricing. 
Multiple units of measure and conversions Streamline and automate measurement conversions based on algorithms for improved accuracy and consistency.