cbx software has been recognized by APAC CIOOutlook Magazine as the recipient of “Most Promising Retail Solution Companies,” based on our proprietary methodology, reflecting its position in the industry. This profile has been developed by the APAC CIOOutlook research and editorial team based on insights from an interview with Tim Chiu.

cbx software
Editor's Choice Extended PLM Software for Retailers

Tim Chiu, SVP, Client Management

Managing product lifecycle is a pivotal task for all retailers. To streamline the processes during product development to delivery—and even during post-sales support, an efficient Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) suite becomes indispensable. PLM also boosts efficiency by optimizing overall cost and time involved. Therefore, it is no surprise that the dramatic growth in the retail industry over the last decade has seen PLM suites coming to the fore to help businesses take the lead in the highly competitive retail landscape. Foreseeing this industry wide trend, CBX Software has set out to create a robust, flexible, scalable and end-to-end PLM software suite that helps retail businesses with their complex processes. Tim Chiu, Sr. VP, CBX Software, adds, “Our uniqueness lies in our ability to connect the dots from the stage of new product concept to delivery. Our PLM provides the typical product development needs but we extended it to include Sourcing, Quality, and Supply Chain PLM features to make a complete end to end platform.”

Today, CBX appears to be the only Cloud Platform for Total Sourcing Management solution that is cost effective and scalable. Supporting a large number of users around the world, Total Sourcing Management Suite (TSM) offers a wide array of PLM capabilities under one umbrella. It includes Retail PLM, Critical Path Management, Supplier Community Management, Sourcing Management, Quality and Compliance Management, and Order and Production Management modules. TSM offers multiple benefits to the customers by helping them protect their brand, scale private label and direct sourcing, avoid using spreadsheets, ensure product quality and supplier compliance, and reduce the time needed from conceptualization to delivery by 33 percent. Customers deploying these solutions have proven to increase their gross profit by 2-5 percent as well as enhance on time in full (OTIF) rate.

CBX’s quality tools are also available on mobile devices. These apps allow retailers to visit suppliers, conduct audits, and collect the audit result at the factory itself, thereby, saving a lot of time. In case of any error, the app sends alarms to the centralized repository. The company offers end-to-end support to the retailers who are developing its own private label range and wants to expand it further.

CBX Software has served a long list of retail clients, which includes hypermarket retailers, fashion retailers, departmental stores, and many others

CBX is able to offer training programs over the web or live onsite training conducted by CBX Software trainers to help clients get on-boarded on the cloud-platform, and transform from old to new processes. CBX is also constantly innovating the system to help retailers comply with the stipulated legislative requirements and standards.

CBX’s Supplier Management Community capabilities help during on-boarding of new and potential suppliers. It’s tools offers much-needed visibility to the retailers who want total control over the entire process where multiple teams from design, buying, sourcing, compliance, procurement, quality, and supply chain are involved. CBX features critical path management which allows clients to have a calendar of the while processgiving customers a comprehensive preview into the entire product lifecycle. The Critical path also provides green and red light status so everyone knows exactly where the product is in the process and notifies responsible parties of potential delays and problems needing attention. Chiu explains the value, “To get an edge in today’s retail market, our clients want to develop on-trend products that are superior to those deployed by other retailers, and we offer tools to help them to accelerate the lifecycle, reduce the costs while bringing the products on-time to the market.”

Over the years, CBX Software has served a long list of retail clients, which includes hypermarket retailers, fashion retailers, departmental stores, and many others. Some of the prominent ones are: El Corte Ingles, Safeway, PetSmart, Kmart Australia, Steinhoff International, ICA Group and Migros. Recently, the company plans to continue further expand its analytics and mobile apps to meet the increasing customer demand.