Dr. Martens began in the late 1950s as the fusion of a family-owned British bootmaking company with a German innovation: the air-cushioned sole. Today, the company manufactures in Europe and Asia, and Dr. Martens sells its products all over the world.
A single source of data for global manufacturing
Dr. Martens began searching for a new system that could improve the accuracy and consistency of product data, streamline communication and collaboration, and improve change management. The aim was to have all the information in one place – all the relevant product data and version histories – and to give the people who use the system the tools they need and the right level of detail.
After an assessment of available systems and an in-depth evaluation of two of them, Dr. Martens selected Teamcenter® software from product lifecycle management (PLM) specialist Siemens PLM Software to establish a single source of product data to support their global operations. “Teamcenter gave us the greatest possibilities for a product lifecycle system – the ability to track samples, costing, bills of materials (BOMs) for the factory,” says Watson-Smith. “There is a line-planning capability as well, which will help other parts of the business and integrate other parts of the business.”
“We really wanted something that we could see the discipline of how it works, as well as the structure and the process,” says Pichel-Juan. “That was the real thing that attracted us to Teamcenter. We liked the engineering background of Siemens PLM Software, and we could see the data structure quite clearly and how the process flow worked, which was something that we didn’t get from the other solutions that we reviewed. ”
Better communication and collaboration
The implementation of Teamcenter at Dr. Martens is helping the business in many ways. For product specification, the company now has better definition and more accurate data, with a level of detail that tracks each component and links it with suppliers. “Already we’ve seen an improvement on the information value, like the base information that comes to us for us to start building specs,” says Louise Bosworth, senior development manager at Dr. Martens. “That, straightaway, is a time saving.”
With a single source of accurate product information, Dr. Martens is streamlining communication and collaboration with the global supply chain. “Teamcenter has helped us to give the factories real-time communication with all of the changes that are tracked internally for Dr. Martens,” says Nash. This capability will enable Dr. Martens to answer questions and establish key performance indicators for its suppliers. The result is improved product quality and lower costs.
“We’re going to have visibility into data wherever we are in the world,” says Pichel-Juan. “Our teams in Asia, for the first time, will have live access to data instead of having to wait eight hours for someone to come in and answer a question. Being able to manage our data through an IT system and basically having everything in the same place is going to be hugely beneficial.”
“Teamcenter will up our competitiveness in terms of lead time and in terms of being able to innovate,” says Watson-Smith. “Teamcenter is one of the things that will allow us to stay relevant, to stay competitive, because it will allow us to improve our speed to market.”