TradeStone's Product Module contains robust functionality for designers, buyers, merchants and factories alike:

Item Hierarchy: The merchant starts by classifying items according to division, department, class, and sub-class. They may also tie in Seasonal Tracking and associate historical sales activity to justify quantities and past IMU performance. The merchant realizes increased productivity from the ability to search “like styles” and generate variations for new product specifications – not reinventing the wheel or cutting and pasting from last season's spreadsheets.

Item Attributes: The specifications are unlimited in number and depth, but includes materials, construction traits, weight, etc. Variations These specifications further enhance the Bill of Material Components which can drill down to dominant component indicators, alternate fabrications and colors, as well as size and packing options. Construction Requirements are also defined and refined as test markets respond to prototypes and samples. Attachments can also be included with the design specifications (sketches, photographs, or drawings) to share initial concepts and speed early collaboration.

Packaging Information can also be specified. This includes not only carton and container data, but pack materials, sizing and weight for more complete costing. Delivery Information can also be honed: country of origin lead times by ocean versus air, quantities by distribution center, etc.

Finally, initial Pricing Information can gel when the buyer, merchant, and factory begin to refine the target prices, owned prices, and quantities. Additionally, the system alerts buyers of any Quota Data, for example, ceilings for a particular vendor, either by value or volume. And lastly, the system calls out Vendor Certification Requirements to further narrow down the appropriate suppliers who should receive the opportunity to bid on a Request for Quote.

The Product Module is only the first step in the TradeStone Merchandise Lifecycle Management suite, but it plays a critical role in product portfolio development and ultimately, profitability.