[TC]² Bi-Weekly Technology Communicator

Seminar Offerings at [TC]²

August and September Seminars

The seminars will be presented at [TC]²’s facility - 5651 Dillard Drive, Cary, NC.

For additional information on these programs or to register, contact Debra Gill at 919.653.3501, or use our contact form.

To download or print a copy of [TC]²’s 2009 seminar offerings, click here (pdf).

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Clinical Study shows 3D Body Scanner Measurements Far More Accurate than Manual Measurements

By David Bruner, [TC]²

Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez and Dr. Yoel Korenfeld Kaplan of the Mayo Clinic presented their research findings at the recent annual American Heart Association (AHA) Conference in Tampa, Florida.  The study involved 80 patients and highlighted significant differences between using a tape measure versus a 3D scanner.  The mean difference for the waist measured manually was 3.01cm ± 0.25cm as against 1.1cm ± 0.1cm from the scanner. The mean difference for the hip measured manually was 2.81cm ± 0.43 cm as against 0.9cm ± 0.15cm from the scanner.

To read the complete article, go to http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150057.php.

[TC]² is the world’s leading 3D body scanner manufacturer and offers private label options for 3D body scanning equipment in Apparel, Medical/Health/Fitness, and Entertainment industries. 

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Utilizing a Predictive Model to Maximize Cash Flow

By Kim Anderson, [TC]²

Cash flow is an accounting statement that tracks the amount of cash generated and used by a company in a given period of time. Maximizing cash flow is critical to a company’s financial success. Within a manufacturing program, terms between the contractor and their customers and suppliers greatly impact cash flow. A predictive model has been developed that allows contractors to manipulate program variables to determine when/if the program will be profitable and how much funding they will need to secure to be successful. 

Maximizing Cash Flow Utilizing A Cost Predictive Model

Variables such as delivery schedules and payment terms between a contractor’s customer and supplier impact cash flow. The cost predictive model allows these variables to be modified and then calculates how the modifications will affect cash flow—ultimately allowing the contractor to select the best set of terms.

To demonstrate the power of the model, [TC]² researchers designed a typical 6 month manufacturing program in which 60,000 dozen T Shirts were to be manufactured and delivered to the customer. Other program specifications are as follows:

Program Specifications:

• Product: Men’s/Youth’s T Shirts

• Manufacturing Capabilities = 2500 dozen T Shirts /week = 10,000 dozen /month

• Shipment Schedule: Contractor makes 2 deliveries of 30,000 dozen T Shirts—a total of 2 deliveries in a 6 month period, see the excel spreadsheet   for shipment dates

• Payment Terms with Supplier: Contractor pays its supplier within 30 days of the delivery of goods

• Payment Terms with Customer: Customer pays the contractor within 60 days of the delivery of goods

The following excel spread sheet visually illustrates the program specifications.

NOTE: Min and Max Cash Flow are defined as follows:

    Cash Flow Max – the maximum amount of money the contractor has on hand during the 6 month program

    Cash Flow Min – the maximum amount of money the contractor owes during the 6 month program

Modifying the Terms and the Results

• Modifying Shipments Terms with the Customer:
In the initial program the contractor agrees to make 2 shipments to the customer in a 6 month period. Following this agreement the first shipment is made in month 4.

Given the payment agreement the customer has 60 days upon delivery to pay the contractor. If the customer waits the entire 60 days to pay, the contractor is essentially financing the program and depriving itself of revenue.

If the contractor can renegotiate the shipping terms with its customer to monthly shipments, the min. cash flow is improved by 47%. Because the contractor makes more shipments earlier on in the program, they get paid quicker. In this scenario, the initial payment by the customer occurs no later than month 4. More frequent shipments result in getting paid earlier on in the program—giving them income to balance out expenses. 

• Negotiating Payment Terms with the Customer
In addition to more frequent deliveries to the customer, the contractor may be able to renegotiate payment terms to further improve the min. cash flow.

In the original agreement, the contractor agreed to accept payment from its customer within 60 days of the delivery of goods. Now that the contractor is making more frequent deliveries to its customer, if they can renegotiate payment terms to every 30 days the first payment is made in month 3. These new terms would improve min. cash flow by 51%.

• Negotiating Payment Terms with the Supplier
The contractor can further improve its min cash flow by renegotiating the original payment terms with its supplier. If the contractor can renegotiate payment terms to every 60 days instead of every 30 days, the min. cash flow is further improved to 72%.

By modifying variables such as number of shipments and payment terms between the supplier and customer, contractors can increase the amount of cash they have on hand during a program—reducing the amount of upfront cash needed to fund the program. The cost predictive model allows contractors to modify terms between their customers and suppliers to find the best set of agreements that will significantly improve cash flow.

To learn more about the cost predictive model contact Tim Curran via our contact form.

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Connecting Through Creativity, Technology and Business
Designers and Product Developers Meet the Challenge

August 12-13, 2009
Philadelphia University, Philadelphia PA

‘Connecting Through Creativity, Technology and Business’ is a symposium for professionals working in design and product development areas of the textile, apparel, home furnishings and related soft goods industries. Program attendees will have the opportunity to hear from a diverse group of experts that will address topics and issues related to:

• Sustainability
• Emerging technologies for product design, communication and production
• Product design and management within the global supply chain
• Innovation in product design
• Maintaining and/or generating creativity among designers
• Managing product cost and quality

In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to network with other professionals in the design field and discuss technologies and business strategies that support innovation, creativity, and sustainability as key factors in the development process for soft goods.

Confirmed speakers include: Duncan Ross, AVA CAD CAM; Andrew Vermeulen, Carole Hochman Design Group; Ken Butts, Datacolor; Joy Boutrup, Designkolen Kolding; Lisa Hayes, Drexel University; Thomas Ng, ecVision; Danielle Locastro, First2Print; Gerber Technology (speaker to be named); S. Lee and Michael Pope, Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Jill Simmons, Lectra; Lisa Parillo-Chapman, North Carolina State University; Gretchen Morrisey, MorriseyDesign LLC; Marcia Weiss, Philadelphia University; Kevin Schwartz, PRTM Management Consultants, Inc.; Tim Curran and Kerry King, [TC]²; Joe Walkuski, TEXbase; Suzanne Tick, Suzanne Tick, Inc.; Tom McCall, TCM Group; Duncan Neil, University of Ulster, Belfast; and Ellen Piper.

On Wednesday evening from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. there will be suppliers' reception with tabletop displays.  A 6’ draped display table can be reserved through Peggy Pickett, AATCC, at 919.549.3533.

Click here to register. For program details, click here.

Co-Produced by
[TC]², AATCC, and Philadelphia University

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5th Annual SizeUSA User Group Meeting
August 18, 2009 - 12 to 2 p.m. EST
**New Online Webinar Format**

The 2009 SizeUSA User’s Group Meeting will be presented via webinar format to allow for more attendee participation by eliminating the need for travel. The following presentations have been confirmed to date:

The program time will also include a special demonstration of [TC]²’s new Virtual Fashion Technologies for Garment Visualization in Static Poses and Animated Sequences.

Register for this event by contacting Debra Gill at 919-653-3501 or use our contact form. Registration is free for SizeUSA members and owners of [TC]² 3D body scanning systems. A registration fee of $50 will be charged to all other participants.

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[TC]² Activity
ITMA Showtime

By Karen Davis, [TC]²

Showtime™, High Point's Semi-Annual Fabric Market, is produced by and for the members of the International Textile Market Association (ITMA). From June 7-10, all segments of the home furnishings industry attended this internationally acclaimed market offering the most thorough fabric, leather and trimmings presentations in the western hemisphere.

More than 800 buying companies viewed thousands of fabrics from exhibitors. In addition to the exhibits, educational programs were offered that focused on color, fabric and trend forecasting for the home furnishing market.

The ITMA is a non-profit Business Association that produces Showtime for its members. ITMA members consist of individual mills, converters, tanneries and trimming manufacturers that produce decorative coverings for the home furnishings industry.

Lujuanna Pagan of [TC]² assisted in the Expand Systems booth with a digital printing demonstration using the Yuhan-Kimberly  MC3 digital printer and an ITNH fixation unit.  The booth display contained products printed at [TC]² through its InkDrop Printing services, and samples from the Spoonflower community, as well as samples printed by Yuhan-Kimberly at its South Korea facility.  [TC]² digitally printed the show banners for the event as well as booth signs for the booth it shared with Expand Systems.  Fabric was provided by Cotton Incorporated for the signage.  “This was the first ITMA Showtime fabric market that included a live digital printing demonstration as part of the exhibition, and it generated a lot of interest,” commented Pagan.

The collaboration between Expand Systems, [TC]², and The Digital Stylist created a perfect learning environment for the ITMA attendees who visited the booth.   “Many of the attendees that stopped by had not been exposed to digital printing with pigment inks on non-treated fabrics, so our demonstration enabled many to better understand the “print on demand” and “print direct digitally” concept and how it can help their business in these economically challenging times,” added Ann Sawchak of Expand Systems. 

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Member Profile
Fresh Produce Sportswear

By Karen Davis, [TC]²

In 1984, Thom and Mary Ellen Vernon began careers in the apparel industry in Long Beach, California, selling silk-screened t-shirts in bright graphics and custom jewelry at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Over the years the business concept has remained the same - to bring the emotions, the colors, the sensations, and the leisure of beach life to every day life through fashion.

The company name Fresh Produce Sportswear was chosen in 1986 as being catchy, memorable and for evoking a sense of something different. Two years later, Fresh Produce Sportswear established its brand by selling the product line in Nordstrom department stores. In 1990, the business relocated to Boulder, Colorado. Fresh Produce Sportswear believes in good corporate citizenship and donates to many worthy organizations nationally, internationally and in Boulder and the surrounding areas.

In addition to clothing donations to countries such as Africa, El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras, Fresh Produce’s Boulder-based employees have contributed more than 350 volunteer hours to local projects, including Habitat for Humanity.  The company supports Women’s Wilderness Institute, a nonprofit organization that strengthens and encourages girls and women, and sponsors fund raising events to increase resources in public education in the Boulder Valley School District.

Now in its third decade, Fresh Produce Sportswear has grown into a $50 million company with over 16,000 SKUs in one of the most original, refreshing and captivating casual, resort and sportswear lines in America. It is known and loved by women ages 6 months to 60-plus for lush colors, vibrant prints and casual style. Fresh Produce Sportswear can be found in Nordstrom, Walt Disney resorts and stores, and more than 800 specialty boutiques and resort retailers. Company-owned stores and factory outlets are scattered throughout the country, including locations at exclusive seashore resorts in North America and the Caribbean.

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SPESA EXPO to Highlight “Supply Chain of the Americas”
May 18-20, 2010
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta

The Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA) announces plans to expand its May 18-20, 2010 SPESA EXPO event in Atlanta, Georgia) through the addition of a special “Supply Chain of the Americas” exhibit that will highlight the unique business opportunities and wide-ranging resources available to sewn products manufacturers, brand marketers, and vertical retailers in the region. Comprising textiles and components, design and development services, production and logistics providers, country and industry association pavilions and more, the new exhibit will complement what is already the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of sewn products equipment, technology, and education in the Western Hemisphere. Supply Chain of the Americas will expand the event’s coverage to the entire concept-to-delivery fashion and sewn products lifecycle by highlighting innovation in design, development, engineering, sourcing, production, logistics, distribution, and other key business processes.

For the first time ever at SPESA EXPO, the Supply Chain of the Americas exhibit will welcome the full range of product and service resources that serve sewn products manufacturers, brands, and retailers; including fabrics and textiles, trims and components, textile and screen printing, trend and design, product development and engineering, CAD/CAM, spreading and cutting, contract and package providers, laundry and garment dying, logistics and distribution, product identification and labeling, testing and compliance, sourcing and supply chain, fit and sizing, consulting and education, and other related products and services. The show co-locates with ATME-I/MEGATEX and Techtextil North America.

[TC]² is assisting the SPESA organization in expanding awareness of SPESA Expo 2010, and will be coordinating another Cool Zone similar to the space allocated for “cool” technologies that was showcased at the 2007 SPESA Expo in Miami.

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Important Dates

July

August

September

For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com

Thanks to the techexchange site sponsors
Apparel Magazine, Gerber Technology, Lawson, Lectra, Methods Workshop and Reach Technologies.

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A Look Ahead in the Newsletter



ColombiaModa
Connecting Through Creativity

View previous editions of this newsletter

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[TC]²
5651 Dillard Drive
Cary , NC 27518
www.tc2.com
Phone: 919-380-2156
Fax: 919-380-2181

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