One of the biggest challenges facing brands, manufacturers, and just about everyone in the textile supply chain is digitization.

 

The benefits of digitization seem clear, but the pathway to achieving those benefits is often complex and expensive.

 

Software can be very costly to develop.  Then there’s the expense of maintaining it – trouble shooting, continual upgrades to be compatible with changes in other technology – it involves ongoing costs.  It’s not the one-time purchase many companies think it is.

 

Then there’s the hardware side.  Different machines for different processes - each need to be purchased and maintained. 

 

And then what happens when standards change? You’re stuck with outdated equipment or software. 

 

Then there’s the cost of training staff members in how to use each system.  In the case of 3D sampling, that can be huge.  In fact, this is one of the key reasons why designers are reluctant to switch to 3D technology.  They are just too busy to consider easier and faster processes.

 

 

Digitization for Non-Techies

However, in today’s fast paced, B2C driven market, digitizing is a growing need.  It will ultimately save companies time and money.

 

What’s really needed is a solution that works with existing technology.  Something that can run alongside your current workflow or on top of existing systems.

 

This is where subscription-based models, often referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS) are seeing growing success. 

 

Previously, SaaS had the benefit of not requiring companies to invest in their own software.  However, many subscription services were still very complex to use.

 

The newest generation of SaaS is now built with ease-of-use as a top priority, so the learning curve is much shorter and requires almost no training because the platform is so intuitive.

 

 

A New B2B Platform for Textile Collaboration

Sourcing textiles is a time-consuming job that requires looking through hundreds of samples from mills in many locations. Why not engage your mills to share some of that burden so they can upload their material collection for your 3D use, instead of building your digital assets from scratch.

 

Frontier puts thousands of materials at your fingertips through access to vast databases of digital swatches by allowing users to upload their own textile products with a scanner.  Because it brings together all team members on the same platform, communication is faster and more seamless (no more clumsy Excel sheets!). 

 

The platform lets team members communicate, collaborate, and develop products – seamlessly and cost-efficiently.

 

Frontier’s digital swatches can be easily imported into your 3D design software to support prototyping. 

 

With mobile access to Frontier, supply chain management is easier and more flexible.  You can quickly check which mills have what fabrics along with all specs.  This helps to consolidate and accelerate the admin side of fabric sourcing.

 

Suddenly, fabric management is a lot simpler!

 

When Frontier Met Virtuality.Fashion

While Frontier was developing its textile sourcing platform, on the other side of the globe Israel-based virtuality.fashion was rolling out a break through for Virtual Prototyping.  virtuality.fashion’s cloud-based ‘on demand’ model let customers order the samples they needed, when they needed them.  Not only that, customers can send original illustrations in just about any format and virtuality.fashion will convert them into working prototypes.

 

Companies simply could upload their sketches and within about 48 hours they’d get their 3D samples.  Imagine being able to choose material from a massive database and - right away - be able to see how the finished garment will look!

 

When virtuality.fashion met Frontier it was clear that collaboration between the two service providers would offer a huge benefit to product developers.

 

In January 2020 the two companies teamed up.  Now designers, product developers and suppliers could quickly and easily create 3D samples with a massive range of fabric choices –with no upfront investment. 

 

By integrating the two systems, users of virtuality.fashion’s 3D sampling can import digital swatches from Frontier’s platform.  At the same time, Frontier’s users now can benefit from on-demand 3D sampling by connecting with virtuality.fashion.

 

In a fast-paced, cost-pressured market, the integration of an extensive digitized fabric library with on-demand 3D sampling is a needed solution for the fashion industry.  You no longer need to wait months to see the results of your hard work – with Frontier and virtuality.fashion you can get your samples right now.   And there’s a bonus… it’s sustainable, too!

 

Here’s how to get started

Schedule a demo with Frontier or visit virtuality.fashion and transform your business today.