Helly Hansen Innovates With Centric Software
Centric Software® is delighted to announce the release of a success story about its customer, Helly Hansen.
Helly Hansen was founded in 1877 in Norway by sea captain Helly Juell Hansen and his wife Marguerite, who discovered an effective way of keeping sailors and fishermen dry and warm in the harsh Norwegian weather. Today, Helly Hansen gear is worn and trusted by professionals in sailing, skiing, mountaineering and on worksites, as well as nature-lovers across the world who enjoy outdoor pursuits.
Ferdinand Diener, Process and Quality Manager, reflects on the challenges that faced the rapidly growing business, particularly the difficulties with version control and a lack of integration across multiple platforms: “We struggled to keep up with growth and our workforce found it difficult to keep to deadlines and follow process steps. Even with another Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) in place, people were still using Excel spreadsheets and constantly making updates to versions in multiple places.”
“We run the business on quite a strict timeline, with very clear cutoff dates and deadlines for everybody. Before Centric PLM, one of our biggest challenges was making sure that people adhered to the schedule as there was a lack of clear accountability and different departments used different tools and platforms. We’re growing fast and, in order to develop innovative, high-quality products efficiently, we need a clear overview of who is doing what, where and when.”
Ferdinand Diener, Process and Quality Manager at Helly Hansen, explained that the outdoor brand once struggled with data management, visibility and version control across multiple software platforms.
When the Helly Hansen Group acquired MUSTO in 2018, integrating a new brand brought additional challenges. MUSTO had been a happy Centric Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) customer since 2015, and Helly Hansen decided to also adopt Centric PLM to harmonize data and processes across both brands and within Helly Hansen’s own departments.
Today, with the single source of truth provided by Centric’s Outdoor PLM solution, Helly Hansen is experiencing improved visibility, traceability and speed in product development, making it possible to focus on the innovation and quality that distinguishes the brand.
“Because Centric PLM is so fast and easy to use, people are able to do a more thorough job, create more products and improve quality oversight. We're a quality-driven, innovation-focused brand, so this is critical.”
Helly Hansen sees a bright future with Centric, “we will continue growing together. Centric is molding the system around us, and we are molding around the system.”
Helly Hansen implemented Centric 8 PLM in just six months while merging with MUSTO. Ferdinand notes that the Centric team are well-equipped to handle this complex project.
“The people we are working with are so professional. They left no stone unturned in their analysis. Whenever we throw a problem at them, they come back with a solution. I don’t think we have ever heard the word ‘No’ from Centric. They always try to find a solution, and if it doesn’t work 100% the way we want, they come up with an alternative. We’re very happy with the implementation.”
“We have a one-click overview of the data – everything is there,” explains Ferdinand. “We don’t have to look for information saved in other systems. Everyone plays their part in updating the data, and everyone who needs it can access it, so we have fewer meetings and back-and-forth emails. We can track exactly what is happening at every stage of the development of a material or a style. Once it’s created in the system, it’s visible to all the users that will interact with it further down the road, which has helped to eliminate a silo mentality. We have connected some of our suppliers to the system so that they can make amendments too.”
“Centric is a process-driven system,” he continues. “As the seasonal timeline progresses, the system automatically provides us with a clear process to follow. Our timeline is quite steady and established, because we’re not a fast fashion company. However, within that timeline, people are now working faster, meeting deadlines more easily and able to handle a greater workload. Because Centric PLM is so fast and easy to use, people are able to do a more thorough job, create more products and improve quality oversight. We’re a quality-driven, innovation-focused brand, so this is critical.”
“We will continue growing together,” says Ferdinand. “Centric is molding the system around us, and we are molding around the system.” “The project was very well thought through and professionally executed. Nothing was rushed. It’s been a great experience, and we’re looking forward to the next stage.”
With Centric PLM in place, Helly Hansen is experiencing improved visibility, traceability and speed in product development, making it possible to focus on the innovation and quality that distinguishes the brand.
