Mark Fairwhale Drives Total Digital Transformation with Centric PLM

Pursuing Digital Transformation

“We set a target ten years ago to have 100% in-house R&D and development ranging from product planning, original design and materials management to prototype production. In late 2020, Centric PLM came in handy to meet our goal digitalizing our overall process on a larger scale, reshaping Mark Fairwhale’s management infrastructure and overhauling both our R&D innovation and our ability to execute products.”

CEO of Mark Fairwhale, Mr. Yang Kuntian, tells us, “As the leading menswear brand in China, Mark Fairwhale is an innovative company that is determined to pursue digital transformation.” At the beginning of 2021, Mark Fairwhale proposed a strategic goal of “establishing a new digital model of omnichannel retailing centered on consumer operations, driven by the brand and products, and featuring diversified creative trends”.

Mark Fairwhale partnered with Centric Software and launched a PLM project in March 2021, with the goal of building a digital and agile supply chain platform driven by product planning that supports merchandise operations.

Born Trendy, Be Daring

Founded in 2001, Mark Fairwhale has been promoting its “Born Trendy” philosophy for 20 years. Headed by internationally renowned designer Mark Cheung, Mark Fairwhale is an original Chinese fashion brand founded in 2001. Brands under Mark Fairwhale include DEBRAND, RESHAKE, CAMEL ACTIVE and 5th SPACE. Mark Fairwhale owns more than 2500 brick-and-mortar boutiques, online flagship stores and online-to-offline new retail stores.

The company draws inspiration from diverse cultures across time and space, and constantly innovates across boundaries using art from a contemporary perspective. Its approach meets the personalized needs of fashion trendsetters while leading the development of trendy Chinese brands.

Strategic Digital Transformation to Drive Development

The successful implementation of a PLM project is an essential part of Mark Fairwhale’s 2021 strategy and will enable Mark Fairwhale to truly become a cutting-edge company with a digital business philosophy.

Resource integration, team collaboration and data sharing as essential components of their digital strategy. Through the implementation of plans and establishment of an orderly supply chain, the company has facilitated data transmission throughout its entire business process. This is in line with Mark Fairwhale’s development strategy and its focus on core businesses.

From Business Unit – Level to Ecology-Level Digitalization

Mark Fairwhale’s digital transformation is driven by its desire to turn data and information into assets that create value. In recent years, many companies have been slowly strengthening their digital base and improving digital governance and operations. This exactly reflects Mark Fairwhale’s transformation.

Mr. Ma Jun, Project Manager at Mark Fairwhale, says, “Implementing Centric PLM has enabled the digitalization of business units of planning, design and supply chain, and the dots have been connected to transform the entire business. In the future, channel, sales, inventory and external data will be introduced to support the network-level and ecology-level digitalization of Mark Fairwhale.”

Professional Team Key to Project Success

Commenting on the partnership with Centric, Mr. Yang speaks highly of the Centric team, saying

Mr. Kim Jong Wan, Director of Product Planning at Mark Fairwhale, shared that, “I think the biggest success of this project is reflected in the changes in business management, including optimized workflows, improved efficiency, standardized cross- departmental collaborations, as well as a refined human resource development mechanism.” Mr. Kim also praised the Centric team for their sense of responsibility and implementation efficiency.

Today, Mark Fairwhale has made their end-to- end digitalization strategy a reality. With the PLM project, Mark Fairwhale has reorganized business processes and improved the digital mindset of teams, turning data and information into assets that create more value.

PLM is a Starting Point, Not the Finishing Line

In addition to helping Mark Fairwhale reorganize its business processes, the PLM launch also helped the company establish a digital mindset. PLM is a starting point, not the finish line. The value of Centric PLM lies in creating a solid foundation for future industry-wide digital transformation and digital development.

“Digitalization throughout the value chain is a massive project. We have now taken the first step of digitizing the links from product planning to supply chain, but we still have a long way to go,” Mr. Yang concludes.

“The future is promising. With the in-depth application of PLM and the implementation of more digital strategies, I believe Mark Fairwhale will unleash its unlimited potential at all levels; business, data and management.”