Features in TRIMIT Fashion for Business Central BC13
This document provides an overview of the most important features available in TRIMIT Fashion, as they are available in version TRIMIT for Business Central BC13.
The purpose of TRIMIT Fashion is to supply the Fashion Industry with one solution that covers the needs within the Fashion Industry. The method is to extend Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with the Fashion needs.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an ERP system that covers the general needs of any company and is one of the most reliable ERP software products on the market. Microsoft has a long-term development strategy with Dynamics 365 Business Central that ensures a solution that will never get outdated. Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as the foundation for TRIMIT Fashion ensures the platform and provides the basic functionality like General Ledger, Purchase, Sales, Inventory, Production, etc.
TRIMIT Fashion is a completely integrated solution to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. You will experience Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with TRIMIT Fashion as one solution.
In this document, you will get an overview of the features that are most important for a Fashion Company. TRIMIT Fashion includes numerous features beyond the ones described here.
Date: 18-01-2019
Contents
The Product Data Management (PDM) area is the key to create new styles. It handles styles with unlimited number of variants, size and color tables and even assortments. Below is an extract of the PDM features in TRIMIT Fashion.
The PDM Role Center is the starting page for the PDM and the Design Department. This is where you will get an overview of styles in progress and can go directly into the area of importance.
To each style, you can attach an unlimited number of variants (color, size, logo, etc.) defined by you. To each variant, you can attach an unlimited number of options (red, green, blue, etc.) defined by you. This makes it possible to build both simple styles with two variants (color/size) and more advanced styles with three, four or more variants.
To ease the overview of available options your variants displays in a matrix. You will see the matrix cross TRIMIT Fashion i.e. In PDM, Sales, Inventory, Production and Purchase.
Besides the matrix styles, it is also possible to create styles that will be configured per sales line based on the customers wishes. In the style you determine which choices the customer has, i.e. pockets yes/no or sleeve length.
In the measurement chart, you can define all the measurements for your new style. Per size, you can then enter each measurement. You can also use grading i.e. Enter the measurements for size medium and then just grade the larger and smaller sizes from medium. You can reuse the grading when you create new styles as copies. The measurement chart will give you full overview of all measurements for all sizes within the style. You can save the complete set of measurements in different versions, allowing you to compare and to have a final version for ordering. Furthermore, it enables you to keep track of the measurements of different samples.
In the composition, you can define the different types of materials and percentages used in your styles like 47% polyamide, 45% cotton and 8% elastane. It can even be created based on the composition of the materials in the bill of materials of the style.
In the care label, you can define the different care labels for washing, drying, ironing, etc. The chosen values can even have a picture (symbol) attached.
In the additional info area, you can create information, like cuff type or collar type that you want to attach to the style. The information can even have a picture attached.
The calculation feature allows you to calculate costs and sales prices for your new style and even on style/variant level. It works like excel allowing you to do simulations of different price/cost scenarios. The expected cost can include purchase cost, freight costs, customs costs or other expenses tied to the style. You can calculate the retail sales price, mark up for your vendors and your own revenue for the style.
The workflow management enables you to keep track of all activities in the lifecycle of a style. With the workflow, you have the total overview of where you are in the process. You can manage this critical path for the whole collection with different statuses for items. You are also able to create workflow templates from which the workflow can be created for a style, but also for sales-/purchase-/production orders you are able to create a specific workflow to keep track of all the activities related to your orders.
The bill of materials is where you go into details with how the style is made: what materials it consists of and which operations need to be executed or which services need to be executed by external vendors.
You also use the bill of materials for the cost calculation.
With the copy style wizard, you can create a complete new style in a few minutes. The wizard allows you to copy information from other styles. Using the copy function will reduce the creation of a new style to the selection of colors/sizes and pricing. This also ensures that you get all the correct general ledger and posting data created on the new style.
The wizard also allows you to create a new style from scratch with only a minimum of mandatory fields – without copying information from existing styles.
Assortments are packages of different items. You can define either unicolor/multi-size or multicolor/multi-size assortments on each style and use them in sales-/purchase-/production-/transfer orders.
Based on all the information of the styles you are able to create one pdf-file with all the relevant information like the bill of materials, measurements, composition and care labels, additional info and extra comments. This pdf-file can even be send automatically to the e-mail address of your vendor or manufacturer. For these special individual reports you are able to choose the fields of the style you want to be printed in the header of the reports.
Items can be created based on the style and its variants. SKUs (stockkeeping units) can be based on styles and location or even item and location. The Item and SKU maintenance functionality enables you to easily change data in matrices.
You can attach pictures on many levels on the style: per style, per color, per item, drawings for measurements, pictures/symbols for wash & care labels, pictures of trimmings and packing instructions, etc.
The functionality of collections enables customers to connect styles to a collection and/or delivery periods. In sales-/purchase orders it is possible to select a collection, so only styles connected to that collection can be chosen on the lines. It is even possible to have sales prices related to a collection so that after-sales of a previous collection will be cheaper than pre-sales of the current collection. You can attach a workflow for the collection and a template workflow for the style of a collection. You can also enter the collection on the order type, so entering an order type also copies the collection to the order.
A collection can be set up as a private label collection, this way the collection is only available in sales orders for the private label customers or countries.
You can even set up styles, as private label for a customer or country, when doing this the styles are only available for the private label customers or countries and cannot be sold to others.
If styles have many colors/sizes, it can be very helpful to be able to filter on specific colors/sizes before entering quantities in a matrix for a sales-/purchase order. Using the matrix limitation, you minimize the rows and columns in the matrix. It is also possible to predefine matrix limitations that you can use as a filter in an order type.
Several styles may make use of the same raw material. You can relate the color options for the style to the color options for the raw material. If you take out or add a color on the raw material, it means all the styles using this raw material have to get their color options adjusted. The group master handles these adjustments of the styles in a very easy and simple way.
The sales area is where you enter orders and need all the features that go with order entry like, customers, pricing, discounts, matrix, etc. The sales area is part of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. TRIMIT Fashion, extends the sales area to handle the features for Fashion. Below is an extract of the sales features in TRIMIT Fashion.
For styles with variants like colors and sizes or more, it gives a good overview, to do the ordering of the style in a matrix window. The matrix window even provides pricing and inventory information.
You are even able to configure the whole garment on the fly in a sales line, so it will be exactly based on the customers’ wishes; especially when talking about private label.
You may have order entries from the pre-sales of a new collection and at the same time after-sales for previous collections. The order type is a way to help you predefine the order settings.
I.e. you can set shipment dates and choose if it is a sample order, activate the availability check and many other parameters.
With the status code, you can select the styles that are available for purchase and sales. It can even be set for a specific period in time.
As described in PDM section, the collection management feature gives you the ability to manage what styles are available to whom at what time and with which variant options within a specific period.
Within the sales lines, you are able to configure the items that the customer requires based on their specifications. This means that you are able to configure the special logos, embroideries, shapes, materials a customer would like to buy within the sales order itself.
During the pre-sales period, speed in the order entry is very important. The sales order feature handles both selling per item number or in a matrix window of colors and sizes. In the same matrix window, you can also see information like available quantities, first available date and prices. You can even create orders where you sell assortments of the same style. These features enable you to create orders, fast and simple – even when you are at a fashion fair.
During the pre-sales period, you may choose to take styles, colors and/or sizes out of the collection; simply because there is not enough sold to buy or produce them. The item replacement feature enables you to exchange one style with another style, exchange a color with another color, or even simply delete items on the lines of a selected number of sales orders.
The same functionality can also be used to update the prices, discounts, location and shipment dates on existing sales lines.
When creating sales orders for styles on stock, the sales order feature supplies you with vital information like 'available quantity', which ensures that you give your customer true information of what he can get. The system calculates the available quantity from inventory, sales orders, purchase orders and production orders, taking in consideration all possible transactions for the specific item or components. If there are not enough available items on current stock, the system informs the user of the next availability, (for instance goods coming in from a purchase order next week).
The blanket order feature enables you to manage framework agreements with your customers. You simply create the framework agreement as a blanket order. Sales orders within the framework will then deduct from the blanket order giving you an overview of the framework agreement status.
The pricing feature allows you to create anything from overall pricing to customer specific pricing per color/size or even collection, from general price to price in a period or campaign. Prices can even be cross customers within the same chain or company group. You can copy one pricelist to another or set a pricelist to be depending on a base pricelist. You can handle discounts in similar ways and can even combine discounts. In addition, you are also able to add specific adjustments of the basic sales price based on Private Label operations like logo’s or embroidery.
With an initial push, you are able to transfer items for sale to customer shops. Based on customer information you can invoice the sold items. Another feature called ‘SKU management’ supports the consignment functionality for setting up parameters for automatic replenishment of the items. You can use this feature for maintaining all item attributes on location (customer’s shop) level.
For managing external logistics, TRIMIT Fashion has a feature called ‘Container Management’. With container management you can follow shiploads whether they are inbound (from supplier), outbound (to customer) or internal (transfer between own warehouses). With container management, you can manage deadlines, shipping & receiving dates and quantities. The user is able to keep track of the container’s whereabouts and content. The container management feature in TRIMIT Fashion enables you to track containers by connecting sales lines, purchase lines, transfer lines or pick documents to it. By changing the receipt-/shipment date of the container, also the dates of the connected lines are changeable. Posting the container will have the same effect as posting the shipment/receipt of an order. In a wider perspective, it can manage boxes packed for shipments as well.
The commission feature in TRIMIT Fashion enables you to setup provisions for the salesperson commissions, where every salesperson can get different percentages per customer (group) and/or item (group). You are even able to setup commissions for up to three different salespersons per customer. Based on invoices or invoices paid, you can calculate the entitled commission per month, so you can take this into the salary or even create purchase invoices for the payments of the commission.
The bonus feature in TRIMIT Fashion enables you to setup bonuses for the customers based on minimum quantities or amounts that a customer buys per order, season, collection, etc.
This bonus can determine special discounts for future orders.
Documents like the order confirmation, shipment, invoice, reminder, finance charge memo, customer statement and sales statistics can be printed and send to the customer. In addition, it is also possible to create e-mail templates, so when printing the document an e-mail will be send to the recipients of the customer with a pre-defined content of the text in which you can use variables based on the information of the customer or sales order.
You are able to create sales statistics based on orders and/or invoices in many different ways.
For the frequently used statistics, you are able to create predefined setups, so it can be used more frequently with the same setups. These sales statistics setups can also be used to publish sales information on the different portals.
The features described in the above section “sales” are all about what you can do, when you enter an order directly in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with TRIMIT Fashion. However, you can also get orders over the internet and by external people. Below is a short description of the web solutions that you can get with TRIMIT Fashion.
The sales agent portal is for direct sales team and agents. It enables you to select your own customers / shops and place the order for that customer through a very simple and intuitive user interface. Your sales force gets access to the latest items, customer information, orders, sales history etc.
The B2B shop makes it possible to expand the sales network directly to your customers or even to your own shops. The customers and shops can retrieve relevant information (concerning availability, time of delivery etc.) to themselves or the consumer instantly. The B2B shop also makes it possible for the customers to retrieve or enter data outside opening hours. Your customers and your own shops can order directly through the system, whenever they want without calling or faxing.
The B2C shop opens your collections for the consumers. The web shop is open 24/7 and has the traditional facilities such as; ordering, credit card payment, multiple language and currencies, web shop pricing, campaigns and discounts, gift card, customer club and much more.
The B2C-Instore shop can be compared with the B2C shop, but the person ordering is actually the B2B customer that orders for a consumer in its shop.
The TRIMIT InSite portal can provide you information regarding goods sold and goods to be delivered based on the open and/or posted sales orders. It can be run in an infinite number of ways and is an alternative to the TRIMIT Sales Statistics. Setting up the different docks that needs to be shown is very easy and takes place in TRIMIT Fashion itself.
For the users that also use the webshops and portals of TRIMIT, you are able to see and change in an easy way the pictures and descriptions of your garments that will be shown on the webshops/portals.
In addition, you are able to add docks with statistical information to your B2B shop, Sales Agent Portal and InSite Portal by using the sales statistics setups.
Picking and shipping is part of the warehouse features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. TRIMIT Fashion, extends these features for the needs of Fashion Companies. Below is an extract of the picking and shipping features in TRIMIT Fashion.
Before the picking takes place, you have to allocate the available stock to the sales orders and you might need to divide shortages over the customers. TRIMIT has a very flexible way of setting up the allocation procedure. Furthermore, the results of this allocation proposal can be manual overruled.
You can create the picking document from the allocation list, and the warehouse can start its activities. The picking document will only include goods that are on stock and not yet shipped.
You are able to select the order in which the available stock should be assigned to the sales orders: based on order date or based on a specific delivery priority.
The purchase area is where you can purchase anything to stock, finished styles, fabrics, trimmings or other items, so you need a purchase order and features like suppliers, pricing deliveries etc. The purchase area is part of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. TRIMIT Fashion, extends the purchase area to handle the needs of Fashion Companies. Below is an extract of the purchase features you get with TRIMIT Fashion.
For styles with variants like colors and sizes or more, it gives a good overview, to do the ordering of the style in a matrix window.
The purchase order can be printed and send to the vendor, but it is also possible to create e-mail templates, so when printing the document an e-mail will be send to the recipients of the vendor.
With TRIMIT Fashion, you can create a purchase order directly from a sales order. The system creates a link between the purchase- and the sales order to give you the full identity of where it comes from. This feature comes in handy, when you get special orders that, you need to follow closely, or when you need to purchase outside the regular season or never-out-of-stock. These orders will not interfere with the demand planning.
When using TRIMIT demand planning, the result is a number of purchase- or production orders. Parameters on each style controls, the selection of supplier or you produce the style yourself.
You can assign received items directly to the purchase order. This will speed up the process in getting the goods on stock in the system, and to control that the supplier has delivered as ordered. Differences between the quantities in a purchase order and actual quantities can be handled (shortages and surpluses).
The TRIMIT supplier portal handles the communication regarding purchase orders and purchase quotes between a company and its supplier of finished products or materials in the product life cycle phases of pre-sales, sales, delivery and re-order. The portal gives your suppliers on-line access to the styles they have to produce for you, and online means that they have access to the latest specification changes of the styles immediately after you enter them.
The production area is where you handle the general demand planning and possibly your own or outsourced production of styles. The production area is part of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. TRIMIT Fashion, extends the production area to handle the needs of Fashion Companies. Below is an extract of the production features you get with TRIMIT Fashion.
The demand planning feature in TRIMIT Fashion, gives you a flexible way of calculating the need for purchase or production. The demand planning will calculate the requirements from a selected range of sales orders or items. The demand planning will calculate both finished goods and look at bill of materials structures to calculate the need of materials at all bill of materials levels.
The demand planning feature in TRIMIT Fashion will create the purchase-, production and transfer orders for you directly. It will handle both net and gross, and select the right vendor. This means that you no longer have to look at a requirement list and manually create the orders. The result of the demand planning is simply all the necessary purchase- and production orders.
The Material Requirement Planning (MRP) actions improve the visibility of the result of the TRIMIT demand planning calculations. MRP actions is a tool from where you can run the different TRIMIT demand planning calculations methods. The created suggestions, quotes or orders either are presented in action lines that can be auto executed in connection with the demand planning calculation or can be manually executed after revision. MRP actions furthermore give you the option to recalculate already existing production- and purchase orders.
Demand planning has a set of setup parameters that makes it very flexible and easy adaptable to your needs. The user can for instance determine the planning horizon or determine whether to include blanket orders or not.
The demand planning feature separates calculations for seasonal styles and for the NOOS styles. You can calculate a season demand planning when the pre-sales period is over, and you can calculate a NOOS demand planning every week if necessary. The calculations of the NOOS styles combines both sales and minimum stock levels.
Based on a production order it is possible to create transfer orders for the raw materials you want to send to an outsourced manufacturer and to create transfer orders for the finished styles coming back from your outsourced manufacturer.
The claims area is where you handle a problem that a customer discovers with their purchase and want to file a complaint in order to get money back, a replacement, a discount or other solutions. Claims management keeps track of claims and product quality. Being a fully integrated part of TRIMIT Fashion, there is access to all information about the style, sales orders, purchase orders and production orders. That gives the claims management an important role in your quality assurance. The claims management has an appearance similar to the sales- and purchase order.
When a customer files a claim, you can register it in claims management. This will enable you to look for the invoiced styles, quantities and prices and take those lines into the claim. In the claim, it is possible to register reason, which can already determine the actions to follow-up.
The claim will automatically find the correct price and discount for the style based on the original sales invoice.
Claims management handles refunds (credit memo), refunds on return (return orders), replacements (sales order) and repairs. Depending on the claim type, claims management will create the necessary documents.
If the claim results in a refund or a discount, the system will automatically create a credit memo or return order, so that the financial department can take appropriate actions.
As a part of claims management, it is possible to pull statistics of the occurrence of the different claims types.
The financial area is where you have the general ledger and handle all the economic issues about running your company. The financial area is part of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. TRIMIT Fashion, extends the financial area to handle the needs of Fashion Companies. Below is an extract of the financial features you get with TRIMIT Fashion.
It is possible to invoice the sales order as the truck is loaded. This feature makes it possible to create the invoice documents and attach them to the shipment on the truck.
When a customer has multiple sales orders in the same shipment, it is possible to create consolidated invoices. The consolidated invoice will consolidate the shipped goods from all sales orders to the customer and create just one invoice.
In case you have a main company for purchasing and production and other companies for selling – in other countries – the TRIMIT Intercompany provides you a tool to be able to see the availability over all the companies making it easy to determine what to buy/produce for all the companies.
For this functionality, also a special replication tool has been created to easily copy style information between companies.
Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central will have a new release every half year for the on-premises. TRIMIT Fashion will follow the releases from Microsoft with new releases of TRIMIT, and may even have small releases in between. Therefore, you will experience a number of possible upgrades.
Once you start using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you may have a special need that is not included in the solution. This is where system tailoring comes in. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has tools for easy tailoring so you can have it your way. However – tailoring comes with an extra cost every time you upgrade your system.
With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and TRIMIT Fashion, you get most of the functionality you need in a Fashion Company. TRIMIT Fashion provides tools for adjusting the system without tailoring the basic code. TRIMIT Fashion includes tools and methods to make the tailoring of code easier to upgrade.
Other feature documents for TRIMIT functionality is also available:
- TRIMIT Furniture
- TRIMIT Configuration
- TRIMIT Sales Agent Portal
- TRIMIT B2B Webshop
- TRIMIT B2C Webshop
- TRIMIT B2C InStore
- TRIMIT Supplier Portal
- TRIMIT Product Information Repository
- TRIMIT InSite