Trace a specification change to everyone it touches.
One change to a specification reaches the factory, the mill, costing, the lab, the studio and the catalog, and you see who has acknowledged it.
Stay on 12 oz canvas, and tell everyone who planned for 10 oz.
- Why
- The 10 oz canvas failed its wash test
- Changed
- Revision C withdrawn. Revision D stands
- Cost
- +$2.80 a jacket against Q07
- Touches
- Factory, mill, costing, wash lab, studio, catalog
- Open
- The retailer spec sheet
The impact brief. Development reads it once, then releases the decision.
Sound familiar?
- Sourcing, costing, the studio and the catalog hear about a change at different times.
- The factory quotes on a revision you stopped using weeks ago.
- Nobody can say who has seen the new spec and who hasn’t.
A change that reaches only some of the people who plan around it leaves two versions of the product in the building, and someone builds the wrong one.
Fernway’s canvas jacket, one fabric decision
Eighteen records named the fabric.
Quotes, samples, cost sheets, test bookings, shot lists and catalog copy, found by revision rather than by search.
All eighteen were told, where they work.
The mill, the factory, costing, the lab, the studio and the catalog each got the change in their own channel.
Sixteen acknowledged.
Each owner confirms, and silence is chased. Nothing counts as seen because it was sent.
Fifteen records updated.
Quotes, cost sheets and bookings moved to the new revision. The old sample was withdrawn.
The cheaper quote was for a different jacket.
Q07 cited revision C and a 10 oz canvas that failed its wash test. Quote Q06, on revision D, stands.
| Quote | Built to | Canvas | Real cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q06 · $31.20 a unit | Revision D | 12 oz, wash tested | $31.60 |
| Q07 · $28.40 a unit | Revision C | 10 oz, never washed | $35.10 |
Real cost adds the wash test and rework, and the returns a quote is expected to cause
What changes.
- Who’s affected
- Remembered by whoever made the changeFound by revision across quotes, samples, tests and records
- Telling them
- An email and a meetingEach owner told in their own channel
- Acknowledgment
- Silence counts as yesEach owner confirms, and silence is chased
- Cost
- Found on the invoiceWorked out per unit before anyone commits
- The old version
- Left in circulationWithdrawn, so nothing is built from it
How it works. 7 steps, 5 stages.
- AI2
- Rules and automation3
- Your team2
- Approval
1Spot
AI
Spot what changed
Reads two revisions and flags changes in meaning, like a heavier canvas, as well as changed numbers.
- FlexPLM
- Centric PLM
- Arena
2Trace
Rules and automation
Find every record it touches
Quotes, samples, tests, cost sheets, shot lists and catalog records matched by revision.
AI
Draft the impact brief
Affected suppliers, costs, tests and deadlines on one page, with the sources linked.
3Release
Your teamApproval
Release the change
Development approves the decision and any cost change before anyone is told.
4Notify
Rules and automation
Notify each owner where they work
The mill, factory, costing, lab, studio and catalog each hear in their own channel.
- Outlook
- Shopify
5Confirm
Rules and automation
Track acknowledgment, withdraw the old
Silence is chased, and superseded samples and quotes are withdrawn.
Your team
Close the gaps
Your team follows up what the system can’t, like a retailer’s spec sheet.
Every change leaves a record the next one starts from
What you get. Real work, every week.
| Record | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Quote Q06 | Factory | Stands, on D |
| Mill spec, revision 2 | Canvas mill | Acknowledged |
| Cost sheet | Costing | Approved |
| Retailer spec sheet | Retailer | Waiting |
| Revision C sample | Development | Withdrawn |
Who has acknowledged, by record. Anything still waiting is chased, and shown.
- Cost sheet
$28.40$31.20Week 6 - Factory order draft
Revision CRevision DWeek 6 - Wash lab booking
10 oz swatch12 oz swatchWeek 6 - Catalog fabric
10 oz canvas12 oz canvasWeek 6
The records that moved to the new revision, as they changed.
How you’ll know it’s working.
Time to a confirmed response from each owner
A change isn’t done when it’s sent. It’s done when each owner says they have it.
Records still on a superseded revision
Every one is a place where the old product can still get built.
Re-quotes caused by a change
Shows whether suppliers are working from the revision you meant.
Baselines agreed before we build.
Works with what you have.
PLM & specs
- FlexPLM
- Centric PLM
- Arena
- Specright
ERP, CRM & inbox
- Outlook
Commerce
- Shopify
- NetSuite
- We configure first
- Your PLM already runs change requests. We use its change and release flow, and add what it doesn’t do: reaching suppliers, costing, the studio and the catalog by revision.
- We build when
- A change has to reach people who don’t work in your PLM, and you need proof they’ve seen it.
What a first build includes.
Built in your accounts, around your team. Scope, fee and baseline agreed before we start.
- 1Design
- 2Build
- 3Run it, or hand it over
We build
- A change-impact map keyed by revision
- Impact briefs with costs, tests and deadlines
- Notification and acknowledgment tracking for each owner
- Withdrawal of superseded revisions
We start from
- Revision history and approvals
- Supplier and mill contacts
- Cost sheets, test bookings and catalog records
From your team
- Owner
- Product development lead
- Involves
- Development
- Sourcing
- Costing
- Quality
- Studio
- Catalog
Questions teams ask.
Do suppliers have to use a portal?
No. They can answer from email or the portal they use today. A forced portal can add work for the supplier, so we meet them where they already answer.
What if a document doesn’t name its revision?
It’s held as unresolved and shown to its owner. We never guess which revision a document means.
Can it release a change on its own?
No. A person with authority releases every change, and nothing a model writes can overwrite a released record.
Who owns it once it’s running?
You do. It’s built in your accounts, documented, with training for the people who run it. Ownership usually sits with your product development lead. We can keep running it with you, or step back.
How do we start?
Usually with a development review: two to four weeks, a fixed fee credited to the build, and a plan that’s yours. If the job is already clear, we can scope the build directly.
Part of your development engine. One of 12 use cases, in 5 parts.
See the whole development engineIn suppliers & changes
Works with
Let every change reach everyone it touches. Start with a development review.
We reply within one business day.