Shoe Palace Achieves 30% Product Growth Increase With Centralized Data in PLM
Leading footwear and apparel retailer Shoe Palace has skyrocketed in growth with over 250 stores nationwide alongside a thriving e-commerce business. Recently, they’ve struggled to keep up on the organizational side. After switching to PLM, the fast-paced product development operation now outpaces competitors.
30%
increase in product volume
300+
active SKUs tracked in the system
30
minutes time to onboard/train the teams
Centric PLM keeps everything in one place, from the initial setup all the way through each stage of development. We’re able to clearly see where every style stands, whether it’s in sampling, approvals, pre-production or production, and having that visibility in one system has been incredible.
— Annie Lin, Private Label Team, Shoe Palace
Challenges
Product data scattered across spreadsheets
Individual emails and outdated systems felt disconnected
Teams lost valuable time searching for information
Manual tracking changes created inefficiencies
Results
Consolidated product data into one centralized platform
Greater visibility across teams and development stages
New central product library makes SKU updates simple
Streamlined communication between teams and vendors
Improved tracking of styles and collections
My Nguyen, the Product Development Manager at Shoe Palace, recalls the challenges their team faced as business expanded. With information scattered across disconnected systems, it became increasingly challenging to locate important data, track development progress and maintain visibility across styles and collections. Outdated manual ways of working held the small, but mighty team back. Centric PLM™ became the foundation for Shoe Palace to expand with a centralized source of truth leading their production.
What began from a single family-run storefront based in San Jose, California in 1933, Shoe Palace grew to one of the leading footwear and apparel retailers in the United States. The powerhouse company now operates more than 250 retail locations nationwide while simultaneously running their e-commerce business. Known for an extensive assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories from leading brands like Nike, Jordan Brand, adidas, New Balance, ASICS and Crocs, Shoe Palace also is the exclusive retailer of licensed product collections. With the expansion of their e-commerce platform and a private label, they continually strive to outpace competitors in the market.
Rapid expansion creates new challenges
As Shoe Palace grappled with rapid growth, their product development process became more complex. Data housed in spreadsheets, emails and shared documents created inefficiencies while increasing the risk of errors. Team members spent hours searching for data as product development climbed to over 300 new SKUs per season. Without a centralized platform, teams were finding it difficult to stay connected both internally and also with outside vendors.
They wanted a solution that could be adopted quickly, while keeping one of their heritage systems in place, they turned to Centric PLM to streamline product development. The intuitive interface and strong reputation within the footwear and apparel industry made it stand out from the crowd.
Bringing visibility to every stage of development
Implementation provided Shoe Palace with a centralized hub for managing product idata throughout each lifecycle. “Each style has so many components tied to it, including sizing specs, grading and all the details that go into development. Being able to see everything within Centric PLM improved our overall business and workflow,” explains Nguyen. Product data, specifications, materials, timelines and supporting documents could now be accessed from a single location, eliminating many of the inefficiencies of their formerly fragmented systems. “Once the PLM handoff was complete, it was very easy to train the team because the system is so user-friendly.
It took about 30 minutes for the team to learn how to start working in Centric PLM,” explains Nguyen. The impact was immediate. “Before, our files were everywhere. Now that we have around four or five launches a month for licenses, not including our private label brands, Centric PLM really organizes everything,” states Nguyen. Teams gained greater visibility into product development activities. Locating information became easy without the need to sift through multiple files and emails. Product information is now standardized and readily accessible, reducing reliance on manual processes.
Our product volume has increased by around 30% this year, with significantly more styles to manage across the board,” says Nguyen. “Having that added organization and visibility has made a huge difference, especially as we’ve brought on new team members who are now able to get up to speed much more quickly.
Boosted confidence with centralized data
The benefits extend beyond operational improvements. The confidence that comes from having accurate, centralized datan is immense for teams to make decisions more quickly and respond effectively to changing business needs.
“Centric PLM keeps everything in one place, from the initial setup all the way through each stage of development. We’re able to clearly see where every style stands, whether it’s in sampling, approvals, pre-production or production, and having that visibility in one system has been incredible,” says Annie Lin, Private Label Team.
Powering the next stage of opportunity
Looking ahead, Shoe Palace plans to continue leveraging Centric PLM as it expands its private label business and explores new opportunities for growth. With a strong foundation behind them, they are well positioned to manage increasing product complexity while maintaining the agility required to keep up in today's competitive retail market.
By centralizing product information and streamlining development workload, Shoe Palace now has a scalable framework for growth.
Want to learn more? Explore the secrets behind modern footwear and apparel brands’ successes with Centric PLM.
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