Keynote - Technologys Place in Design through Delivery Transformation

With products increasing in technological complexity, manufacturers struggle with the best practices to efficiently operate, manage, and support design processes and organizations. Chad Jackson is researching the dynamic and evolving intersection of these issues in product development. This ranges from understanding the impact of bringing dramatically different design cultures and communities into closer collaboration, to the changes and integration of cross domain design processes as well as the use of technology throughout the product development process. Chad has a strong product management background in the Enterprise Software industry. He worked previously at a leading MCAD and PLM vendor, PTC, for over ten years. There he investigating end user needs, and developing releases plans and go-to-market plans for several different software product lines. He brings a combination of industry experience, analytical skills, and end user perspective to Aberdeen.

There's little question that the apparel and footwear industry is a difficult place to run a profitable business. The trends shift quickly and unpredictably. The deadlines are short and there are harsh consequences for delays. The profits are slim with little to no safety net. However some companies have found a way to grow profitably during these most difficult of times. The top 30% respondents from this study (the Best-in-Class) are realizing almost twice the revenue growth (13%) compared to all other respondents (7%). This presentation provides guidance on the best approach to improving operations from concept to delivery of apparel and footwear products. Specifically, well look at the strategies, processes and technologies employed by the Best-in-Class as a baseline for making changes.