FABRIX has stood the “test of time”

When Phil and Barbara Jones launched the FABRIX software management system 17 years ago and targeted the ragtrade as a key area of their DDNC operation, garment manufacturer, Cliff Foxton, was among the first to appreciate that “this was the way to go”

Cliff, who headed the then LWR owned company of Beardsley Pearce in Levin, and involved for many years in garment manufacturing and administration, chose FABRIX and, in fact, stayed with it throughout the following years – and into a further new management system.

When cliff moved to become managing director of Bouzaid & Ballaben in 1997, now an independent company within Canterbury International Group, the FABRIX management system (previously involved with the Beardsley Pearce operation), along with other hi-tech manufacturing programmes, moved with him to Greytown, Wairarapa.

Cliff is proud to claim to be the first of the FABRIX licensees in the DDNC line up. His company, Bouzaid & Ballaben, which employs a staff of around 112 people, is involved in the manufacture of women’s and girl’s fashion apparel, with production of around 1.5 million garments per year.
The company’s FABRIX system is totally integrated with all customer-oriented systems; production planning and control and general ledger systems, among others.
Cliff proudly makes claim to having worked with the FABRIX team in the initial programme of development some 17 years ago, which has evolved into the dynamic system that FABRIX is today.

He says: “If the system hadn’t been right, we wouldn’t have persevered with it”. And while updating of the systems have naturally been standard requirements throughout the years, these upgrades have not cost an “arm and leg” in Cliff’s words. “FABRIX gives us total control,” he says.

And Phil Jones, ‘mastermind ‘ behind FABRIX, comes in for special praise from Cliff in the years the pair have been involved in it’s development. “He understands what’s involved,” says Cliff. “He’s a business oriented person as distinct from a programmer of systems. That’s important!”

The Bouzaid & Ballaben system optimises and uses most of the 22 system modules. B&B gain maximum benefits from the production and raw material control modules, particularly utilising and benefiting from the batch/colour shade management feature of the software. The production resource planning modules, with garment tracking, enable staff productivity and rewards to be monitored and evaluated. The integration with the accounting modules, ensures quick and accurate financial control of the business.

Another important feature of the FABRIX system to be used by B&B is the EDI or Electronic Data Interchange between B&B and its clients. This feature automates the sales order capture between customer/client, minimising inputs and ensuring real time information is available.

FABRIX is an evolving and constantly changing system, with new releases and versions being offered frequently. These new releases are available to all clients as part of the annual software upgrade fee, ensuring all users benefit from the advances being made in the software. Various new features are available to clients including E-commerce, Web interfaces, Email Ordering links with customers, to name but a few.

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