KIKO Milano Drive Efficiency and Launch Products Faster with Centric PLM

Complex Products

“We release many new products every year. Managing all these new products and all the related data is definitely not easy, especially because the data is managed by different departments.”

Maria Viglione, Sourcing & Purchasing Manager at KIKO Milano explains the difficulties of handling complex cosmetics products without one single source of truth.

Fast forward to today, and KIKO Milano are proudly using Centric Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) to develop products from concept all the way through to store. Here is KIKO Milano’s journey.

Made in Italy

KIKO Milano was founded in 1997 and has expanded into 21 markets. It has become the number one makeup brand in Italy, and its identity is rooted in “Made in Italy” values.

KIKO Milano produces a range of safe and effective products of the highest quality, created to satisfy the beauty requirements of women of any age.

Digital Transformation Journey

As part of the company’s overall digital transformation, KIKO Milano decided to invest in a PLM solution, choosing Centric PLM.

“We decided to centralize all our data within Centric Software enabling us to create KPIs and reports that allow us to measure everything we do,” explains Viglione.

Gianluca Lupi, Purchasing Officer at KIKO Milano highlights the need for streamlined data, “Before the implementation of Centric Software, we had an unstructured process.”

“The software is easily scalable; it can be managed in a dynamic way to show the same data with different view depending on the user and it guarantees consistent management of the information.”

Launching on Time

Finding ways to shorten the development process was key for KIKO Milano in order to launch products on time. “Because our products are used on people, there are many tests that are performed or requested which definitely makes the product development process longer,” explains Viglione.

Centralizing data in Centric PLM makes it easier to now establish project timelines and launch more reliably. “What I like is that it gives us the opportunity to have clear milestone management where everything comes together,” adds Heike Linnemann, Brand General Manager at KIKO Milano.

“We can make sure that all the pieces that come together from a commercial but also a technical side are ready on time so that we can launch flawlessly.”

One Source of Truth

Teams were compelled by Centric PLM’s ability to provide accurate, real-time information to everyone who needs it, and integration with other enterprise systems such as ERP for full visibility across the business.

“For a mass-market make-up company such as KIKO, margins are fundamental – meaning the value that KIKO offers is a quality product at an affordable price,” says Lupi.

He continues, “Centric helps us with this because we are guaranteed to have up-to-date and precise costs in real-time.”

“I enter the system, I look for the information and the information is there and its 100% accurate and visible to everyone at the same time,” exclaims Viglione.

Like-Minded Partner

Centric Software’s flexible, customer-oriented solution is a great fit for KIKO Milano who were impressed by Centric’s great expertise and industry knowledge.

“I would definitely recommend anyone who is in a similar situation to have a look,” adds Linnemann

What’s Next?

Lupi shares future plans for KIKO Milano’s PLM journey, “We look forward to even more improvements because we’re continuing this partnership together with Centric.”

“The next step that we are taking is the integration with our suppliers and their tools too.”