Dassault Systèmes and Zymmetry Group Deliver the Apparel Industry’s First Integrated Global Development and Sourcing Solution

08/04/2008

ENOVIA Apparel Accelerator for Sourcing and Production Delivers on joint vision to Connect the Entire Apparel and Footwear Supply Chain for Global Apparel Brands

LOWELL, Mass., August 4, 2008 — Dassault Systèmes (NASDAQ: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, and Wing Tai’s Zymmetry Group, the leading manufacturing and sourcing solutions provider focusing on the apparel industry, today announced the availability of the ENOVIA Apparel Accelerator™ for Sourcing and Production.  Jointly developed, the Apparel Accelerator for Sourcing and Production seamlessly connects global sourcing production offices and external parties with brand and retail headquarters, all on one PLM platform.  

The ENOVIA Apparel Accelerator for Sourcing and Production is based on Dassault Systèmes’ new V6 platform.  It supports DS’s PLM 2.0 vision – product lifecycle management on line for everyone – as well as the ENOVIA V6 key values: global collaborative innovation, single PLM platform for Intellectual Property (IP) management, online creation and collaboration, ready to use PLM business processes and lower cost of ownership.   

“Over the past five years the apparel industry has experienced remarkable changes, generating challenges from intense competition to pricing pressures to season and line complexity to time-to-market,” says Joel Lemke, ENOVIA CEO.  “As a result, apparel brands, retailers and suppliers need a system to streamline their communication and make sure everyone is on the same page, which ultimately benefits the overall business. We’re proud to partner with global apparel industry leader Wing-Tai’s Zymmetry Group to deliver the very first solution to address these demands by approaching product development and sourcing as a unified business process.”

Mike Relich, CIO of Guess, Inc., says, “For global, virtual teams designing products 24 hours a day, faxes and e-mails don’t work anymore.  Our industry needs a system that helps create a seamless, responsive relationship between the trend-setting creative side of the business and the practical business and production side where costs can be managed.  The ENOVIA apparel sourcing solution is the glue that ties everything together.”

The ENOVIA Apparel Accelerator for Sourcing and Production integrates sourcing within the design and development process, allowing companies to seamlessly manage collaboration with production offices and retailers.   It supports sourcing, costing, and pre-production processes and offers visibility and process control for brand and retail global operations.

The new solution will enable companies to:

• Improve gross margins by allowing more control over the cost analysis and negotiation with vendors, as well as enforcing more structured hand-offs between headquarters, buying offices, agents and vendors.

• Increase management control by providing visibility beyond product development activities into pre-production and production processes and assigning associated costs accordingly, including the ability to determine how changes in materials and sourcing options may impact the product’s supplier cost and estimated landed cost.

• Optimize merchandise opportunities and cost control through online Request for Quotes, enabling multiple quotations for supplier-provided options based on volume, delivery dates, trade terms and alternative componentry. 

“Industry consolidation, the emergence of private equity, the high cost of failure, the reduction in operating margins and the substantial working capital required have all created demands that require the industry to force its way to a streamlined level of efficiency,” said Steven Walton, Chairman of the Zymmetry Group.  “If the garment industry, or a brand organize themselves and concentrate religiously on creating and maintaining an efficient supply chain, on specialization and on collaboration, there is no doubt that profit and success will soon follow.”

About Zymmetry Group

Founded in 1989 as MSC Limited, the Zymmetry Group is a leading global sourcing and manufacturing solutions provider for the apparel industry.  Headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in New York and China, the Zymmetry Group has customers ranging from global brands based in the United States, to large global manufacturing enterprises based in Asia. 

Since the release of its first apparel solution in 1995, the Zymmetry Group has delivered innovative technology solutions to more than 300 corporate customers with more than 100,000 global users.  For more information, visit www.zymmetry.com 

About Dassault Systèmes

As a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, Dassault Systèmes brings value to more than 100,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systèmes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire lifecycle of products from conception to maintenance. The Dassault Systèmes portfolio consists of CATIA for designing the virtual product - SolidWorks for 3D mechanical design - DELMIA for virtual production - SIMULIA for virtual testing - ENOVIA for global collaborative lifecycle management, and 3DVIA for online 3D lifelike experiences.  Dassault Systèmes is listed on the Nasdaq (DASTY) and Euronext Paris (#13065, DSY.PA) stock exchanges. For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com

CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, SolidWorks and 3D VIA are registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries.