Peak Performance excels at seasonal fashion selling with master data management

Executive Summary

Peak Performance has embarked on a digital transformation journey with Stibo Systems that will prepare the company for the way consumers shop in the future.

Tight management of sample data across sales channels and geographic markets reduces time-to-market and strengthens marketing activities.

"Fashion production is similar to selling fresh fruit. We must operate within a narrow window from the first pre-styles being ready, through to the final collection being available in the stores.

Seasonal collections live for three to six months, then they become outdated. So yes, creativity is our DNA, but speed is extremely critical too.

Stibo Systems Product MDM enables us to reduce time-to-market significantly,” says Jesper Arvidsson, Marketing and ecommerce Director at Peak Performance.

The Business Payoff

“We have become much more efficient. Catalog production has been reduced from weeks to days, leaving extra time for quality improvements and other value adding activities,” says Jesper Arvidsson. “In principle, we just click play in the MDM, then the catalog is made. It is a huge process optimization which helps reduce costs, as we can produce more with fewer hands."

Stibo Systems MDM also enables Peak Performance to exploit the full potential of the company’s global sales strategy. Peak Performance produces eight collections for 23 markets, each requiring individual versions of all sales material. MDM supports different brand interests across all contact points.

The Customer Experience

“We are taking a quantum leap with Stibo Systems MDM. We can add more products, channels and languages to the solution without adding complexity. And we can create flexible data structures, which adapt the content to the individual channels. Previously, we had to configure and redesign when we wanted to add new content. Now, most functionality is available out-of-the box,” says Jesper Arvidsson.

Challenge

“Information logistics is not only our, but the entire fashion industry’s challenge. Many changes appear during the creation of a collection. Styles are replaced, colors change, new photos are taken etc. It is a huge and well-known challenge to ensure that all changes are executed across every sales and communication channel. This complexity of data creates a higher risk, such as incorrect photos and product information being used in marketing material, affecting the customer experience. Product MDM helps us manage data at every step of the process by creating one version of the truth,” says Jesper Arvidsson.

Solution

Peak Performance used to create and maintain sample data in its various siloed business systems. Now, Product MDM is the central management platform, which automatically receives data from the ERP and production systems. This data is validated, enriched and mastered in the MDM, which then feeds it to every relevant touchpoint, such as catalogs, online store, shops and eventually call centers and POS systems.

The central master data repository encompasses product data, such as dimensions, weight, images, quality assurance information, how the product should be handled, how the supply chain is managed, details about the supplier and how the product should be sold.

• Product MDM feeds data to many points of contact across all brands, including three webshops
• The solution includes 300,000 photos and design templates and data on 300,000 products in seven languages
• High-quality product data provides a competitive edge
• The solution publishes external feeds to Oracle ATG and Fredhopper
• Implemented in six months

Result

• Versioning of complex seasonal collections for multichannel marketing and sale
• Enabling introduction of new collections quickly — with versioning for language and regional needs
• Reducing catalog production time from weeks to days
• Continued protection of the brand across all channels
• Supporting digital transformation

Future

Peak Performance has gained a much more agile way of working with products and channels, such as digital order books, omnichannel and personalized customer catalogs.

“Digitalization is at its highest in the fashion industry. We want to utilize the opportunities it offers to become leaner and cost efficient and at the same time provide great customer experiences. We are accomplishing this digital transformation now. With the MDM as our central management hub, we are able to sustain our strong brand across channels and gain business value from the growing amounts of data that are created by digitization,” says Jesper Arvidsson.