Towards Digital Integration: Platform Thinking in the Fashion Business

The competition between companies is growing. Customers are demanding lower prices, a larger range of products and faster product innovation. In the same period steady streams of advanced technologies are becoming avail¬able which are supposed to pro¬vide adopters with the capability to respond ade¬quately to changing demands in their business activities. However many companies find it dif¬ficult to achieve the full poten¬tial of these technologies as practical advices that can help companies and the management in their decision-making, selecting and implementing new technology are rare (Boer and Krabbendam, 1998). The intention of this paper is, through illustrative case studies from France and Denmark within the highly competitive business of optical frame design (fashion) to present a model for strategy as well as a practical model for improvement of time to market of styling objects by use of digital platforms. Aspects are: 1) selection of platform from a strategic point of view, 2) selection of 2D and 3D CAD from a practical point of view and 3) creation and implementation of digital platforms. Finally, briefly aspects of teaching of platform theory at the department of Architecture & Industrial design at Aalborg University versus handling digital platforms in practice, are discussed.