Lise Charmel Customer Story

customer Story
achieves efficient
a c c u r at e c o s t c o n t r o l
w i t h L e c t r a t e c h n o l o g y
Challenge
Solution
Lise Charmel lingerie is known for combining the beauty and
elegance of French embroidery and innovative textiles. These highquality materials are essential to creating unique, sophisticated
lingerie, but they’re also very expensive, so controlling cost and
fabric consumption is a high priority. Details like embroidered
and lace bands pose specific challenges with regard to design,
development and cost. To maintain quality while keeping costs
reasonable, the numerous small pieces that make up a bra or a
pair of panties must be carefully placed on the lace so that waste
is minimized. With this in mind, long-time Lectra user Lise Charmel
sought a way to estimate lace and fabric consumption more
accurately and easily.
M A R K ET S
Lingerie
LO C ATION
By combining Lectra solutions with a smart process, Lise
Charmel is able to estimate initial costs accurately very earlyon in the design and development phases. Teams can now lay
pattern pieces out on lace and other fabrics virtually, for material
estimation purposes. “Our markers are more reliable now that
they allow us to visualize complex decorative bands directly
onscreen,” says Nicolas Drevet, Head of Production Methods.
LE C T R A S OLUT i ON S
Lyon, France
lectra.com
B e y o n d m a rk e r m a k i n g — a f u l ly
s u p p o r t e d p r o c e ss
Pre-costing and marker solutions are just one component of a
process fully supported by Lectra technology, beginning with
design where fabrics are scanned into Lectra’s design solution and
transferred to the Method department.
The devil is in the details
The beauty of lingerie is in the details, but so are the challenges.
Embroidered waist and back bands add refinement to panties and
bras, but the scalloped edges add complexity to determining their
exact placement on intricate lace, for example. “We have precise
starting points depending on the scalloped band edge for cutting
bands and braids,” explains Mr. Drevet.
His department is responsible for determining quantities for fabric
orders and preparing production plans for Lise Charmel’s Lyonbased workshops. A long-time user of Lectra, Lise Charmel recently
implemented the latest version of Diamino, Lectra’s pre-costing
and production marker solution. Evolutions in Lectra technology
have brought substantial increases in efficiency and accuracy.
Claude Marchand, CAD Manager at Lise Charmel, develops
thumbnail sketches which are then pushed out to Collection
Management along with other important details including assembly
instructions, band placement, patterns and product status. “We are
able to create very complete technical reports using Lectra,” says
Ms. Marchand. Automatic product updates help guide the workflow
and keep communication smooth between different departments
and with external suppliers in Bulgaria or even Tunisia. “It was a
revolution to have all the information stored in one place,” she says.
M a rk e r m a n a g e m e n t m a d e e a s y
Designer’s sketch showing how the
lace should be placed.
The embroidered band being fine-tuned
by designers.
The ability to visualize different piece and fabric placement options
directly on the fabric itself has radically changed the marker making
process. “We now work in a very visual way. It’s much better in
terms of usability and time spent,” explains Mr. Drevet.
Once the first collection sketches are complete, it’s only a matter
of days before fabric samples arrive from suppliers in Italy and
France. Then Mr. Drevet and his team can begin scanning and
simulating material consumption, before the product is too far along.
“We can now exchange
between the different
We now work in a very
departments much more
visual way. It’s much better
quickly and can head off
in terms of usability
any potential problems,”
and time spent.
says Mr. Drevet.
The new process has significantly reduced the time it takes to
place pre-costing markers and gives Mr. Drevet and his team more
reliability. “Our time savings has been incredible,” he says.
Connecting costing with development
An added benefit of working visually is being able to communicate
more clearly with product development. The different departments
now have an easy way to share information onscreen, instead of
relying on sketches or approximations. Working visually allows
more accurate cost estimation and optimized material efficiency
on embroidered bands while also respecting initial designs.
Pieces being placed to maximize material efficiency on the same embroidered band.
A
n improved interface makes viewing different pro­
duction markers much easier. In addition, a simplified
spreadsheet extraction tool reduces the risk for human error.
“It is now much easier to prepare marker placement. We can
see the placement below and quickly determine if there is a
problem,” says Mr. Drevet.
C o n t i n u i n g a s t r o n g pa r t n e rs h i p
Lise Charmel has been a Lectra customer for over 10 years and
has solutions for the entire product development process, from
design to pattern development to pre-production and collection
planning. Lectra worked hand in hand with Lise Charmel to ensure
optimal process improvement. “Lectra worked with us throughout
the whole implementation and trial phase. Our questions were answered and we were really looked after. Lectra responded quickly
and clearly,” says Mr. Drevet.
Lectra in Fashion
With nearly 40 years’ experience in fashion and apparel, Lectra’s mission is to provide a complete spectrum of design, development, and production solutions
to confront 21st-century challenges. From first creative spark to final product, our professional services address an end-to-end process. We support the
day-to-day operations of our customers in over 100 countries for around-the-clock process optimization. From fast fashion to luxury to ready-to-wear,
Lectra’s 23,000 customers in markets as diverse as casual, sports, outdoor, denim, and lingerie represent every
development and sourcing model imaginable. Beyond suppliers and manufacturers, they are the brands you love and
the stores where you shop.
lectra.com
®: Kaledo, Modaris and Diamino are registered trademarks of Lectra.
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