Product development: from brief to approved product, a single tech pack and no re-keying.
Product development turns a brief into a product that can be made: tech pack, bill of materials, prototypes, samples, tests, cost price. Information travels between the studio or the laboratory, suppliers, purchasing and quality, often by e-mail and spreadsheet. Every version that crosses another costs one more sample, and sometimes a launch date.
The role
Between the studio or laboratory, suppliers, purchasing and quality.
Product development makes the product real: it writes the tech pack or the specification, chooses materials or raw materials with purchasing, launches prototypes, comments on samples, follows tests and holds the cost price. It is the guardian of the tech pack, the one the supplier will follow to produce. In a mid-sized company, the team often carries dozens of developments in parallel, each with its back-and-forth.
Day to day
A typical day.
- MorningRead supplier replies received overnight: photos, questions, quotes, lead times.
- MorningUpdate a tech pack and its bill of materials after a sample review.
- MiddayRecalculate a cost price after a change of material or quantity.
- AfternoonHold a prototype review or fitting, and note the comments to pass on.
- AfternoonFollow laboratory tests: durability, stability, compatibility, resistance.
- End of dayChase late samples and update the development schedule.
The objectives
What the role is measured on.
- Critical path respected
- Number of rounds per sample
- Gap between target cost and cost price
- Tech packs complete at approval
- Tests passed first time
- Development lead time by family
Indicators are named, never quantified: levels depend on each company, and the diagnostic measures them.
Day to day
The problems that come up most.
Tech packs in several versions
The tech pack goes out as a PDF, is corrected by e-mail, and the supplier sometimes produces from an outdated version.
A cost price recalculated by hand
Every change of material, supplier or quantity means reworking a spreadsheet, and the real margin stays unclear.
Samples that are hard to track
Where each prototype stands, at which supplier, at what step: the answer is scattered across mailboxes.
Comments that get lost
Remarks from a sample review are noted on paper or in photos, then transcribed late and incompletely.
Tests tracked outside the PLM
Laboratory reports arrive as PDFs, and the comparison with the specification is done by eye.
Endless approval circuits
Packaging, artwork proofs, colourways: each approval waits for someone, with no reminder and no visibility on the delay.
By sector
One role, several realities.
- Fashion and luxury
Detailed tech packs, fine materials and trims, workshops and contract manufacturers in France and Italy, successive prototypes, toiles and fittings: every construction detail is approved and traced.
- Cosmetics and beauty
Formulas and raw materials, stability and container-content compatibility tests, packaging and artwork proofs, manufacturing and filling subcontractors: development moves at the pace of tests and regulatory affairs.
- Industry
Specifications, bills of materials, drawings, prototypes and pre-series, qualification of component suppliers: development revolves around the item reference and its changes.
- Pharma and healthcare
Formulation development, trial batches, specifications and analytical methods, transfer to the production site: every step is documented and validated according to good practice.
What changes
Automate the task, keep the judgement.
What gets automated
- Tech packs and bills of materials generated from the PLM, versioned, sent to the supplier in its format.
- The cost price recalculated at each change of material, supplier, labour or quantity, with the gap to the target cost.
- Tracking of prototypes and samples, with automatic reminders and a table of delays by supplier.
- Sample review reports dictated or photographed, transcribed by AI and linked to the style.
- Test reports read by AI and compared automatically with the specification’s requirements.
What stays human
- Approving a sample and the decision to launch production.
- Technical choices: material, construction, formula, supplier.
- The relationship with workshops, laboratories and suppliers.
Use cases
How to automate, case by case.
Each case starts from a question leadership teams ask. The starting point, what gets automated, the tools involved, and what stays in the teams’ hands.
How do you automate tech packs?
- Today
- The developer builds each tech pack in a spreadsheet or drawing software from a previous sheet: sketches, measurements, materials, trims, construction, labelling. Corrections go out by e-mail, and versions multiply at the supplier as well as internally.
- What gets automated
- The tech pack is generated from the PLM using a template per family: materials come from the library, measurements from the grading table, labelling instructions from the product’s rules. Each change creates a new dated version, sent to the supplier in its language, and an AI agent flags incomplete sections before sending.
- What stays human
- The technical content of the tech pack and its approval remain the product developer’s responsibility.
- PLM
- Materials library
- Supplier portal
- AI checking agent
How do you automate cost price calculation?
- Today
- The cost price is calculated in a spreadsheet from the bill of materials, material prices sent by suppliers and the labour price. When a material changes or a quote arrives, the calculation is redone by hand, and management does not always know which cost is the right one.
- What gets automated
- The cost is calculated directly from the PLM bill of materials: consumption, prices from the materials library, labour, packaging, transport, duties and landed costs. It is recalculated at each change, kept by version, and compared with the brief’s target cost. Supplier quotes received are read by an AI agent and update the prices.
- What stays human
- Choosing which cost version to keep and the trade-offs to reach the target cost remain with development and the product manager.
- PLM
- Materials library
- ERP
- AI document-reading agent
How do you automate tracking prototypes and samples?
- Today
- Prototypes, development samples, size samples, production samples: each is tracked in a spreadsheet, with dates promised by e-mail. The developer spends part of the day asking suppliers where their shipments stand.
- What gets automated
- Each sample request is created from the style, with its type, supplier and expected date. The supplier confirms and declares the shipment on the portal, reminders go out automatically before and after the due date, and receipt is recorded by scan. A table shows delays by supplier and the styles that threaten the critical path.
- What stays human
- Reviewing the sample and the decision to approve it or ask for a new one remain the developer’s.
- PLM
- Supplier portal
- Messaging
- Reporting tool (BI)
How do you automate supplier price requests for a new development?
- Today
- For each development, the developer or buyer sends the tech pack to several suppliers, then receives quotes in different formats that are copied into a comparison table. Lead times and minimum order quantities are often left out of the comparison.
- What gets automated
- The price request goes out from the style, with the tech pack and the planned quantities, to the selected suppliers. Replies are entered on the portal or read by an AI agent when they arrive by e-mail, then presented in a consistent comparison: prices, minimums, lead times, terms. The price chosen feeds the cost price.
- What stays human
- Choosing the supplier and negotiating remain led by purchasing with development.
- Supplier portal
- PLM
- AI document-reading agent
How do you automate managing bills of materials and their variants?
- Today
- A style comes in colours, sizes, volumes or variants, and each variant has its bill of materials. They are copied then modified by hand, and a material changed on one model is not always changed on its variants.
- What gets automated
- The bill of materials is held once at model level, with the rules that make it vary: material by colour, consumption by size, component by variant. The tool generates each variant’s bill of materials, passes a change on to all those concerned and flags the exceptions to check.
- What stays human
- The variant rules and the exceptions remain defined and checked by product development.
- PLM
- ERP
- Materials library
How do you automate sample review reports?
- Today
- In sample reviews or fittings, remarks are noted on paper, on the prototype or in photos. The developer then transcribes them into an e-mail to the supplier, sometimes the next day, and some are lost.
- What gets automated
- During the review, remarks are dictated and photos annotated on a tablet. An AI agent transcribes, structures comments by area of the product and by priority, and prepares the message to the supplier in its language. The report is linked to the style and the sample, and the points to correct are carried into the next request.
- What stays human
- The developer proofreads the report before sending and keeps the decision on what must be corrected.
- Mobile application
- AI transcription and writing agent
- PLM
- Supplier portal
How do you automate tracking stability and compatibility tests?
- Today
- Stability, container-content compatibility or ageing tests follow a sampling schedule spread over several months. The laboratory keeps the schedule in a spreadsheet, and results arrive as PDFs to be compared with the criteria by hand.
- What gets automated
- The test plan is created from the formula or the style, with its conditions and sampling deadlines. The tool flags each deadline, an AI agent reads the reports received and compares results with the acceptance criteria, and drifts are flagged as soon as they appear. The history stays attached to the formula and the packaging.
- What stays human
- Interpreting results and the decision on the formula or the packaging remain with the laboratory and quality.
- Laboratory software
- PLM
- AI document-reading agent
How do you automate measurement charts and grading?
- Today
- Measurement charts are built model by model from a base size, with grading rules kept in spreadsheets. Fitting corrections are carried over by hand to each size, and errors show up when production is received.
- What gets automated
- Grading rules are held by family and by market. The tool generates the full measurement chart from the base size, applies the corrections approved at fitting to all sizes concerned, and compares the measurements taken on samples with the planned tolerances.
- What stays human
- Fit, fitting corrections and tolerances remain decided by pattern-making and development.
- PLM
- Mobile application
- Custom tool
How do you automate checking material test reports?
- Today
- Suppliers and laboratories send test reports: colour fastness, resistance, composition, restricted substances. They are filed in folders and checked by eye against the specification, when they are checked at all.
- What gets automated
- Test requirements are defined by material family and by use. An AI agent reads each report received, extracts the results and compares them with the expected thresholds, then the tool flags non-conformities and missing or expired reports. The result is attached to the material in the library.
- What stays human
- Accepting a non-compliant material, with or without a waiver, remains decided by development and quality.
- Materials library
- AI document-reading agent
- PLM
- Quality tool
How do you automate approving packaging and artwork proofs?
- Today
- Each pack, label or leaflet goes through an artwork proof that circulates by e-mail between development, marketing, quality, regulatory and the printer. Annotations cross, and nobody ever knows who still has to approve.
- What gets automated
- The proof is uploaded once into an approval circuit defined by item type. Each contributor annotates the same version, reminders go out automatically, and an AI agent compares the proof with the style’s data (texts, codes, mandatory statements, dimensions) to flag differences. The approved version is sent to the printer with its history.
- What stays human
- Final approval of the proof remains signed off by each manager concerned, and the print go-ahead by development.
- Online approval tool
- PLM
- AI comparison agent
- Messaging
Questions from the teams
What teams look to improve.
- How do I automate creating a tech pack?
- By starting from a template per product family, fed by the materials library and by the style’s measurements or formula. The tech pack is generated from the PLM or a custom tool, in the language and format each supplier expects. Each change creates a new version, and the supplier is notified automatically.
- How do I calculate a cost price automatically?
- The cost price is derived from the bill of materials: quantities of each material or raw material multiplied by their price, plus labour, packaging, transport and duties. When these elements are held in the PLM and the materials library, the tool recalculates it on its own at each change and shows the gap to the target cost.
- How do I track samples at suppliers?
- Each sample request is recorded with its expected date and its supplier. The tool sends reminders before the due date, records receipt and the review outcome, and produces a table of delays by supplier and by style. The team no longer has to search for where each prototype stands.
- Can AI help write sample comments?
- Yes. During the review, remarks can be dictated and photos annotated; an AI agent transcribes them, structures them by area of the product and prepares the message to the supplier, in its language. The developer proofreads and sends, and the report stays attached to the style.
- How do I stop a supplier producing from an old version?
- By routing all tech packs through a single channel, a portal linked to the PLM, where the supplier only sees the current version. Each new version is notified to them, and they must acknowledge it before launching a sample or a production run.
- How do I automate tracking laboratory tests?
- The tests to carry out are defined by family in the specification. Reports received are read by an AI agent, results are compared with the expected thresholds and non-compliant tests are flagged. The test history remains searchable by material and by supplier.
- Is a PLM needed to automate product development?
- An off-the-shelf PLM suits teams whose processes are close to its standards. Otherwise, a custom tool can hold tech packs, bills of materials, samples and costs, sized to the team. Either way, the benefit comes from the links with suppliers, purchasing and the ERP.
- How do I connect product development with purchasing?
- By sharing the same materials library and the same bill of materials: purchasing sees the materials chosen, their suppliers and their forecast quantities. Price requests go out from the style, and the prices received update the cost price automatically.
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