3D has long established itself as a global practice standard. In the automotive industry, the technology has long been an integral part of product development. But in the fashion industry, things tend to follow at a bobby car pace. The majority of all fashion brands are still reticent due to a lack of best practices and strategic case studies, as well as the high level of resources required.
But not bestsellers. As one of the largest fashion players in Europe, the Danish parent company of brands such as Jack & Jones and Vero Moda already worked on the 3D transformation of its own product development five years ago.
As Business Development Manager, Frederik Smed was there from the start. Between 2017 and 2021 he made a significant contribution to the implementation of the Group’s 3D roadmap. Today he runs his own fashion 3D agency Kapsules. With us he looks back on his journey at Bestseller, peppered with important lessons, unexpected obstacles and celebrated successes.
In unfamiliar waters, discard the arm bands early
Bestseller is responsible for the reliable coordination of some of Europe’s best-known brands. According to Frederik, 3D played a key role early on in the planning for the ongoing competitiveness of the group and its brands:
“It was clear to us early on that 3D would sooner or later play a decisive role in the fashion industry. That’s why we wanted to put out feelers here as early as possible in order to be that decisive step ahead of the competition.”
In view of the lack of experience from the industry, Bestseller had to fully rely on its own strategic approaches for this large-scale project. Frederik and his team were responsible for creating the group-wide framework for subsequent implementation within the individual brands – and there was a lot to do. From budget planning and KPI formulation, to software selection and data interface development, to team training and supplier integration, many core competencies had to mesh.
Even a good plan can present unforeseeable problems
A specially selected control committee met every quarter to measure and evaluate the progress of the ongoing 3D project. Here, for example, the amount of materials already scanned, the number of suppliers integrated in 3D and the current status of the digital material library were evaluated. While most of the digital mechanisms worked as planned for Frederik and his team, not everything ran smoothly. In particular, the initially neglected involvement of external partners could have quickly brought the project to failure:
“We thought we could do it all on our own. That was our biggest mistake. We didn’t think about involving the suppliers in a targeted manner from the beginning, although they are just as crucial on this journey.”
Why the future looks promising despite a mixed balance sheet
The clear approach of a control committee with regular feedback loops worked very well at the group level for the overall strategic orientation of the project. Nevertheless, not everything went as planned in the individual brands, as Frederik makes clear with an example at Jack & Jones:
“When we went to test our 3D roadmap at Jack & Jones, not everything worked out. At the time, I didn’t realize that giving just one person full responsibility for the 3D design wasn’t the right strategy. She was sitting there alone and made all the samples and sketches for the online catalogue. Despite the skills required, she was completely overwhelmed because she had no one to stand by her and guide her. At this point, it’s easy to feel marginalized from the rest of the company if nobody does Really understand the importance of your role and the added value of your work. I now know that 3D needs to become a core part of brand awareness to really work.”
In addition to this important finding, the integration of the suppliers also had to be improved. Bestseller tackled this challenge as follows:
“We simply showed our suppliers all the possibilities and benefits that working together in 3D would bring. Cost savings, faster production times and better product quality were major issues. After this pitch, pretty much every supplier said to us: ‘okay, we’re in’. When we were able to tell our brands in Denmark that we now have thousands of digital textiles that they can use in the material library and that 50 suppliers are already working in this system, many of the original skepticism was gone.”
Three lessons for a successful 3D implementation
Lesson #1: Not everything always needs to be incorporated
“We hired an outside 3D expert for a lot of money, which I wouldn’t really recommend for smaller brands. In the beginning, I would rather advise working with a software partner and getting help where possible. It’s better to book 3D training lessons before pumping too many internal resources into your first attempt at 3D design.”
Lesson #2: Always scale incrementally so as not to get overwhelmed
“While I believe the time is right for everyone to embrace 3D, finding your silver bullet remains difficult. 3D is overwhelming enough that it’s important to invest your resources wisely and not overly ambitiously. For us it was the right decision to start early with 3D and be among the first, but we could have started with fewer software licenses and then gradually scaled up once the whole project got off to a good start.”
Lesson #3: Even if only a few design, everyone must be involved
“Coming back to the Jack & Jones situation, it’s important to realize that the realization of 3D can never be a one-person show. No one, directly or indirectly involved, is allowed to closed to this change and it must be pulled together.Creating an environment in which learning and progress in 3D is valued.This starts with building targeted support structures and defining achievable milestones.One should not nip the project in the bud with unrealistic time pressure.”
Despite the many ambiguities about the correct integration of 3D into its own day-to-day business, Bestseller has managed to collect valuable know-how and create a routine handling of this far-reaching technology. This means they are prepared for all the digital innovations that will come with it – whether it’s AR/VR or the Metaverse. But while bestseller has the money and capacity to be at the forefront of this inevitable transformation, smaller brands have to manage their resources differently.
That’s why we’re hosting a webinar (in English) on June 9, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. ((UTC +2)) on “Implementing 3D: A beginner’s guide for fashion brands”. This is especially aimed at small and medium-sized fashion brands who Consider 3D for their product development.
secure yourself here a place for our webinar.