NEW YORK, NY and NEEDHAM, MA, Jan 17, 2017 – PTC announced a concept management app, its latest innovation for its FlexPLM software. PTC will be showcasing the new application as part of its digital design capabilities at its booth #1344 at National retail federation’s (NRF) annual convention & EXPO, better known as Retail’s BIG Show, on January 15-17.

With the Web-based application, users will be able to easily capture inspirations, ideas, requirements, and feedback that can then be shared across the enterprise to provide product, material, product range and seasonal direction. Users will be able to create digital boards using images, videos, text, documents, and color palettes. The app will also enable retailers and brand owners to enhance how they infuse trends into their ideation process. Real-time trending imagery from popular social media platforms, such as Instagram, can be reviewed and imported for a seamless viewing experience.

Designers will be able to organize and group boards into projects, while intuitive functionality will make it easy to add and resize images, add text, create annotations, and zoom without compromising image quality. Boards can be easily shared with internal and external users via simple-to-use settings that will support both review and collaboration scenarios.

With PTC FlexPLM retail product lifecycle management (PLM) software, retailers can quickly identify and respond to market trends and supply chain opportunities, enabling them to keep a competitive edge. The new concept management app will bring rapid, iterative collaboration to FlexPLM users looking to capture ideas, requirements, and feedback.

“We are seeing a shift to digital tools and methods across the entire development cycle,” said Quach Hai, senior director, retail product management, PTC. “Designers no longer need to create physical boards that are piecemeal presentations of their ideas. Digital design allows retailers to aggregate ideas and inspirations from across the enterprise and trends from social media to create visually appealing and functional inspiration boards critical to the earliest stages of product design and development. With this new app, users can shorten the time between ideation and product development.”

This new app will join a suite of applications designed to provide retailers with the tools they need to embrace digital design, including the next generation FlexPLM Design Module for Adobe Illustrator and role-based Tech Pack Access App.

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