ZUGSEIL uses the article-product concept and basically distinguishes between articles and products. An article is the internal view and has a 1:1 relationship to a supplier. An article can therefore only be supplied by one supplier. If an article is supplied by several suppliers, a separate article is created for each of the supplier. In addition, the article is detailed with a maximum of two variants such as "size" or "colour", and any number of individualisations such as "sleeve shortening" or "logo application".

Article

"Article groups simplify the creation of new articles: Various article groups preset parameters as defaults that can be used when creating new articles, such as warehouse, supplier, etc."

Article Groups

In the product management, all linked articles for the selected product are displayed and the article can be opened directly via a link.

Article Links

Management of articles including storage of all data and information, e.g. article prices and description, files, variants, storage location, etc.

Article management

Enables the management and planning of services for certain articles (e.g. when do fire extinguishers need to be serviced?)

Article service planning

Body sizes and necessary measurements are stored by the employees and preset when ordering a desired, body-size-related product. Data on body sizes and other personal data are only shared with the supplier if inevtiable, the data remain with the customer. Thus you are compliant to the data protection regulation (DSGVO) and swiss nDSG.

Body sizes

Manage body sizes, patterns, figurines, wearing preferences, and customer feedback. Enrich textile products with the necessary information to suggest the right product sizes when measuring employees.

Body Sizes Management

Creation and provision of customer-specific catalogs based on the products with variants and individualizations. Product group-specific product features support the search and finding of the desired product.

Catalog management

Depositing used garments as second-hand goods to circulate resource and material flows in a closed loop and to reduce the need for virgin resources.

circular economy (Second Hand)

The possible customizations are created in the customization templates, e.g. sleeve length change, leg length change, waist width change, etc. These templates are then used when creating customizable items. These templates are then used when creating customizable items and simplify the creation process.

Customization templates

Different depreciation rule sets evaluate the article. The depreciation rate is entered as a percentage and can be calculated when the item is issued, per day in use of the item or per predefined item condition (new, used, no longer usable).

Depreciation Rule Sets 

Solution space for the configuration of customised products. All possibilities of variants and individualisations are stored and detailed with exclusion criteria. This provides the customer with a configurator and supports him in finding the right customised product. In addition, it is possible to link the respective suppliers in order to request the configured product from the supplier or to manufacture it directly.  

Design Studio

Documents are stored at the relevant points such as "article", "product", "customer" or "supplier", as well as specifically for offers and orders in relation to the process. Documents can be pictures, videos or files like PDF, Word, Excel, etc.

Documents

An equipment account is an object for which a transaction account and an associated transaction history are kept. Equipment accounts can have the following characteristics:
- Employee equipment accounts, e.g. for clothing or work protection
- Workplaces e.g. for inventory management such as computers, mobile phones, furniture, etc.
- Projects e.g. construction sites
- Units e.g. cost centres or organisational units"

Equipment accounts

Customizations are specifically recorded on the item according to the respective customer requirements. This can involve adjustments to the item, such as changes in sleeve or leg lengths, or something customer-specific, like applying customer logos, attaching name badges, etc. Any number of customizations can be created and made available for selection. The corresponding price can be set for customization.

Individualisation templates

Management of product groups according to your own product group structures incl. mapping to standardized structures (e.g. UNSPC, eCl@ss) or supplier-specific structures

Management of several own product group structures

Mapping of product group structures (external to internal and vice versa)

The customer-specific classification scheme is created and maintained in the product classification management. A code and the corresponding name are defined for each product group. With characteristics as further characteristics or care instructions or standards, articles and products are further detailed and optimize searching and finding in the order portal for the customer and internally for necessary evaluations.

Material group management

Your own company-specific material group can be mapped to other material groups, such as a standardised material group structure like eCl@ss, UNSPC or a supplier-specific material group structure. This enables to find same articles and products and makes it easier to assign them to the own material group. 

Material group mapping

The classification scheme is created and maintained in the material group management.  In ZUGSEIL.BEST it is mandatory that a material group is assigned to each article and each product. The assignment of an article or a product to a material group allows a better search and find and forms the basis for evaluations.

Material groups/ classifications

Price lists are created for sales (products) and for purchasing (suppliers). Various price lists can be created, e.g. standard, export, etc. Price lists can be created either in a currency or in points for the customer specific ordering portal.

Price lists

Price rules can be stored either directly with the customer or with customer groups. The price rule is named and a price rule type is selected, e.g. order value, general price rule, products, product groups, etc. and the prices are stored either statically or relatively.

Price rules

ZUGSEIL uses the article-product concept and basically distinguishes between articles and products. A product is the external view to the customer and consists of one article. A product can also consist of several articles, if the article is supplied by several suppliers or is customized, e.g. with a print or embroidery of the customer's logo.

Product

Product features detail the description of the product and map the search facets in the customer store. On the top level, the product is specified first, e.g. gloves. Product features that are valid for all products such as manufacturer/ brand, standards, etc. are created as global features. Further characteristics to describe the product, e.g. cut-resistant, oil-resistant, heat-resistant, water-repellent, etc. are created as additional characteristics and assigned to the individual products.

Product features

Definition of product group-specific characteristics and properties (e.g. water-repellent, cut-resistant, cotton, polyester)

Product group-specific features & properties

With the product groups, the products are assigned to company-specific product groups, such as e.g. trousers, jackets, gloves, spare parts, disposable products etc. For product groups it is possible to store different price rules and give the customer additional discounts or surcharges for the respective product group. 

Product groups

In the article-management, all derived products of the selected article are displayed and the product can be opened directly via a link.

Product links

Support for RFID and barcodes: Combination of RFID transponders or barcodes with clothing item and serial number. For example, the number of times a piece of clothing has been washed can be documented and tracked. This function is available in the "Wash-Tool".

RFID / barcode support (lifecycle management)

Search terms are used to find the desired article or product. The search terms can be stored for the internal company search as well as externally for the search in the store. For the external numbers, the respective external numbers from other systems are stored for linking.

Search terms and external number types

A serial number is assigned during production, so the item is batch-managed and the serial number is used to track the item along its life cycle. This makes it possible to determine how old the item is, how often it has been repaired or washed, or when a necessary inspection is due. The serial number is a unique number and is only assigned once.

Serial number

An article can be set to be traceable. This results in further conditions for article management in the logistics process based on the following options: Serial number, batch number, expiry date, maintenance date, or year of manufacture.

Serial numbers, batches, and expiry date

Management of serial numbers and lot numbers in inventory management

Serial- & batch numbers in the inventory system

For several articles with the same variant system, e.g. glove sizes, it makes sense to create variant templates. These are used as support for the initial creation of articles or products. The desired variant template for the article is loaded and the variants are further adapted during creation. 

Size chart/ Variant system templates

The article-product concept enables the application of supply chain concepts. Thereby customer specific rules for procurement or delivery are defined. Example: In the case of a changeover of articles or inclusion of new suppliers, a rule is defined that the old stocks are consumed first and only then the new stocks. This way, sales and batch separation are ensured. Another possibility is to the application of a multi-supplier-strategy with the usage of e.g. two suppliers depending on the variants, such as different sizes. Depending on the selected size, the appropriate supplier is set based on the set of rules in ZUGSEIL.BEST. The product as an external view to the customer always remains the same and in the background the different concepts are defined and implemented with the articles and the sets of rules.

Supply chain rules and regulations

With the availability traffic light rules, desired rules for certain groups of articles, e.g. fast-moving items, are defined and applied. Three status with the traffic light colors green, yellow and red are available and for each status the necessary rules with e.g. stock quantities and the expected deliveries are set and placed in a dependency. In addition, an information text is possible for each traffic light color.

Traffic light / Availability Rules

Variants such as colors and sizes are maintained for the article and displayed as a two-dimensional variant combination. For each variant, variant-dependent data such as price, article obsolete, article sold out, blocked for delivery, etc. is maintained and enables process control in purchasing and logistics at variant level.

Variant

Variant-dependent images are stored for each article and product. If the article is offered in different colours and sizes, the respective images can be stored for each colour and size.

Variant-dependent images

Videos are uploaded as a file on the item or product and used for detailing in the quotation or order process.

Videos

Product Information Management

Internet store for employees to order and manage any equipment such as clothing, work protection, PPE, uniforms and any C-articles.

Internet-SHOP for equipment

Documentation of all orders placed with the necessary information such as customer, items, current order status, etc.

Order history

Secure operation with 98.5% availability of your virtual identity and applications in one of our own clouds in Switzerland, Germany or the EU.

Secure operation in the cloud (ISO27001) in one of our regional data centers

Possibility to order the product range in the company for private use based on stored rules.

Private ordering

Definition of authorizations with rights groups for employees, team leaders, cost centre managers, etc.

Authorization concept (employees/ team leaders/ cost centre managers)

Management of employees and employee groups (e.g. adding/removing employees, creating employee groups, etc.)

Employee & employee group management

Enabling employee onboarding (e.g. uploading relevant documents such as guidelines, manuals, etc.)

Employee onboarding

Management of employee measurements (e.g. body height, trunk circumference, etc.)

Employee sizes & customization management

Pre-configuration of articles for employees (e.g. name badges, etc.)

Employees Article pre-configuration

Storage of unit-specific mandatory adjustments (e.g. career level "Officer" has specific rank insignia, unit insignia, etc.)

Unit-specific mandatory adjustments 

Management of product ranges based on rules and regulations (e.g. "construction worker" employment type requires pants, jackets, safety shoes, thermal equipment)

Assortment management (e.g. gender, job profile, unit)

Management of adjustments and customizations (e.g. sleeve or leg length changes, logo, name tag, etc.)

Management of customizations & individualizations

Management of internal structures (e.g. cost centers, organizational units, etc.)

Management of internal structures

Handling of the lost and found process (e.g. employee has lost jacket and receives additional points for replacement)

Lost and found/ loss report process

Enabling quota override: for example, team leads are authorized to book to other cost centers.

Quota override (authorization-based)

Enabling quota override (e.g. team leads are authorized to issue releases to other cost centers)

Quota override (with approval process)

Management of news and documents (e.g. filing of guidelines, provision of updates, appointment announcements, etc.)

Employee knowledge base with news & document storage

Use of measurement apps on site (e.g. by tailor)

Measurement app (on site with qualified personnel)

Use of measurement apps at home (e.g. by employees)

Measurement app (digital self-service: AI-based)

Recognition of fitting sizes using AI (if supported by the supplier)

Fitting size detection

Enabling offboarding of employees (e.g. employee leaves company or changes department: what and how much clothing does the employee have or must he return)

Employee offboarding

Customization of the login page of the ZUGSEIL store to your corporate identity.

Design adaptation to own corporate identity

It is possible to integrate a desired domain.

Domain of your choice

Option for IAM "Identify & Access Management" (e.g. 2-way authentication)

Integration with standard IAMs (Azure-AD/ Active Directory/ OAuth/ SAML)

Employees with the necessary data, such as personal details, delivery address, and contact details are stored. Company-related data such as organizational unit and account assignment element per employee enable the display of the company structure and execution of necessary reports. Furthermore, the score and the respective sizes of the employee are kept.

Employee management

Contingents describe what is required for individual employees and their job profiles/ types of employment, e.g. pants, jackets, safety shoes, thermal equipment, shirts, headgear, warning gilet, etc. Contingents are assigned to the employment types and filled with the company's rules and regulations. Purchase quantities with first and second purchase are stored on the level of quotas or products with consideration of the employment type. In addition, initial and repeat orders as well as gestation periods are stored, as well as individualizations for the respective product, such as arm length or trouser leg.

Contingent/ assortment management

The job profiles/ types of employment are used to determine who needs what, e.g. train driver, bus driver, track builder, captain, pilot, facility manager, electrician, etc. One or more job profiles/ employment types are assigned to each employee in ZUGSEIL and are thus the link between the employee and the respective contingents consisting of the required equipment.

Job profiles/ employment types

Staff and Company

Offer the purchaser fully configurable products in the store. The system guides the user through the configuration process, taking into account for the product the solution space, appearance and stored rule sets defined in the Design Studio.

Configurator


3rd level support refers to the highest level of technical customer service. This can be provided for software problems, for example.

3rd level support

In the customer administration the specific information about the customer is stored. These are: main data, delivery and invoice addresses, documents, price rules, price overview, orders, revenues, open invoices, contracts, catalogs up to process control in logistics and billing settings.

Customer Administration

Before or during the ordering process, activate the body scan function for automatic size recognition with a smartphone and AI. The system measures the customer anonymously, collects the body measurement distances and consolidates this data with the product data collected in the size recognition management. This eliminates the need for employees to be measured by a tailor/ studio: The employees can be measured independently by the system.

Body scan for measurement

Quantities for the initial equipment are stored in the order proposal for initial orders and the employee can thus order the initial equipment. This may or may not be credited to the points account.

Initial equipment

Wearing times are entered in months and differentiated into new and used goods. It is also possible to adjust the wearing times that are already used by the employees.

Wearing times

Budgets for equipping staff are managed according to points and ensure that budgets can be planned and adhered to. A points account is kept for each employee and the employee can order with the given points.

Points accounts

The employee orders independently and location-independent using the ordering portal based on the company's rules and regulations. The respective products are stored according to the employee's employment type and can be placed directly in the shopping basket. In addition, the selection of quantities and sizes from previous orders is saved and displayed for a direct re-order.

Assissted Buying

In an account-assigned order, the order is not placed on an employee-related base, but with an account assignment element. An account assignment element is usually the respective cost centre or organisational unit in the company. In ZUGSEIL it is also possible to store the account assignment elements in a tree structure to display the different levels. 

Account assigned order

A points history is kept for each employee and the orders are booked against the points. In order to receive new points, a so called point runs are carried out at fixed times or manually, e.g. once a year at the beginning of the year. Depending on the company's rules, points are carried over into the new year or expire.

Points History

Commission models are assigned to the sales employees and form the calculation base for the commission of the respective employees. A commission report is created for each employee individually and is made available to all in a ZIP file.

Commission models

The equipment history shows every transaction that has been carried out for the respective equipment account, e.g. employee equipment account. The following different transaction types are displayed: Order, Return, Points Run, Manual Change, Expired or Shipping Item.  

Equipment history

Sales and Customer Relation

Advanced Guided Buying Assistant enables employees to place orders independently of their workstation. 
Only those products are displayed and ordered that are relevant and permitted for employees according to the rules and regulations.

Advanced Guided Buying Assistant

Customizable articles are created with the ZUGSEIL configurator and made available to the employee for ordering. Based on the options set and selected in the ordering process, the employee is guided directly to the relevant product, with the corresponding supplier also being suggested.

Ordering freely customizable articles

Individualization of the articles to the company or specifically for the employee with logo on the left side of the chest, left sleeve of the jacket shorter or longer, etc.

Ordering individualized articles

Ordering of articles based on stored employee measurements, e.g. body height, trunk circumference, etc.

Ordering made-to-measure items (full size, made-to-measure)

Enabling collective ordering from suppliers, e.g. to make better use of volume discounts.

Bulk orders from suppliers

ZUGSEIL has an article-product concept: A product is the external view for the customer and consists of one article. However, a product can also consist of several articles, if the article is supplied by several suppliers or can be customized, e.g. with a print/ embroidery of the customer logo.
In this way, one product can be ordered from several suppliers, quotations can be obtained and local, small suppliers can also be taken into account.

Multi-supplier strategies

The establishment of a laundry network is possible through the use of b-op technology: small regional suppliers can be taken into account, for example.

Establishment of a laundry network

Thanks to the underlying b-op technology, ZUGSEIL can also integrate external logistics service providers.

Integretaion of external logistic service providers

Support of 3rd party managed inventory (consignment stock), where the stock is managed by the suppliers.

3rd Party Managed Inventory

Integration of logistics providers

In the supplier administration the specific information about the supplier is stored. These are: main data, addresses, and communication channels, contacts, invoicing, and procurement information, as well as permitted services by the supplier, e.g. "supplier may measure employees" or "supplier may order for employees".

Supplier administration

Dashboard for disposition to show necessary activities such as order, transfer or produce. Demand forecasting is performed automatically and serves as an indicator for planning and timely action to avoid supply bottlenecks and reduce inventories. Own warehouses as well as external warehouses at e.g. producers are integrated.

Disposition Manager

In order release, sets of rules for the release of orders are stored. A predefined rule such as release by supervisor, release by supervisor's supervisor or release by a group of persons is added to the respective order value.

Order release rules and regulations

With the procurement cost types the respective cost types of the articles are created: Used goods, new goods and maintenance/ repair.

Procurement cost types

Sourcing, Procurement and Supplier Relation

Current messages about appointments, reminders, updates on approvals or orders are sent to employees by e-mail in addition to being displayed in the dashboard.

Messaging to employees

Definition of release processes for orders such as material release, financial release by stage or delegation of release processes for absences.

Approval processes (freely configurable)

The ingredient list includes all necessary items and also services, such as embroidery or printing, to produce the customized product.

The ingredient list 

Production templates detail the production orders and provide employees with further information on how to carry out the individual steps and what to look out for during execution.

Production templates 

With the production order, the necessary steps for production are recorded and the capacities are planned. The start, planned and setup times are taken into account. Furthermore, necessary articles and raw materials are stored with a bill of material.

Production order

Planning and Production

Procurement option for items without sizes and variants, e.g. radio equipment, shovel, etc.

Ordering articles without sizes / variants

Procurement possibility of articles with sizes and variants e.g. jacket with size - S/ M/ L and color - black/ white/ yellow, smartphone with GB 64/ 128/ 256 and color - black/ white/ blue, etc.

Ordering articles with sizes / variants

Ordering via a cost center for orders that do not relate to or require an employee. 
These can be projects or consumables.

BEST.Lexicon

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