Press Releases
Casual Male Selects Van Gennep’s PlanSystem3
PlanSystem3 simplifies and streamlines Casual Male’s catalog
production
SUSSEX, WI, April 5th, 2007– In early 2007, Casual Male Retail Group,
Inc. began using Van Gennep’s PlanSystem3 creative workflow management
solution to facilitate catalog production for its 5 catalog titles and its
direct mail.
Casual Male operates over 500 store locations throughout the
United States, one store location in London, England, plus substantial e-commerce,
catalog and direct mail operations, making it the largest specialty retailer
of big and tall men’s apparel.
QuadSystems, Van Gennep’s exclusive
distributor in North America, installed and supports PlanSystem3 at Casual
Male.
“
We’re very interested in being out front in adopting new technologies
as needed,” states Michael King, Print Manager at Casual Male. “When
we decided to streamline our creative and production workflow process,
we reviewed a series of content management systems from high-end systems
with
complementary price points to more moderate systems. We felt that PlanSystem3
offered several important opportunities to further streamline our production
process for a very affordable cost.”
Van Gennep’s PlanSystem3 automates key creative and file management
tasks and communicates to all users in real-time across the entire workflow,
from layout and copy editing to final design and file release. PlanSystem3
allows users to quickly perform tasks that previously required significant
amounts of time. Accuracy and quality are improved, while process time
is greatly decreased.
Since PlanSystem3 was installed, Mr. King has seen a positive impact in
time and cost management. “PlanSystem3 allows the Marketing group to view
and manage all projects in our three main channels: web commerce, catalog
and retail stores/direct mail,” he says. “This enables our group
to manage files more efficiently. “The system ensures that only one
person is able to work on a page at a time. That means no overlapping changes,
everyone working on the most current version...all of which makes a tremendous
difference in our accuracy and efficiency.”
This unique level of control also greatly benefits production management,
according to Mr. King. “We generally have a significant amount of
projects in various states of production at the same time. PlanSystem3
simplifies
our ability to know and review the status of each and every project at
all times, which allows us to improve our production turnaround times.”
PlanSystem3 also provides the ability to maintain history and versioning
control of all jobs. “In retail, changes and revisions are an important
part of our lives,” Mr. King explains. “Now we have the opportunity
to go back in time and quickly and easily recapture changes that were made
earlier.”
Another important PlanSystem3 feature is its open architecture. Completely
file agnostic, PlanSystem3 provides the ability to organize and track all
file formats. “I believe this level of integration demonstrates Van
Gennep’s and QuadSystem’s forward-thinking attitude,” Mr.
King states. “It also makes for a smooth transition as we grow in
our content management system opportunities and capabilities.”
According to Mr. King, Casual Male’s multi-year relationship with Quad/Graphics,
QuadSystems’ parent company, was a factor in the selection of PlanSystem3. “Quad/Graphics
handles all of our catalog printing and prepress needs. Quad doesn’t
look at our relationship as just supplying printed material. They’re
willing to explore the technical arena and are very savvy about offering
solutions and efficiencies to improve their customers’ workflows
and total marketing capabilities.”
About QuadSystems
QuadSystems delivers integrated solutions that optimize the entire publishing
creative and production workflow. It offers software systems, hosted solutions
and a full range of professional services. As part of Quad/Graphics, one
of the world’s largest printers, QuadSystems evolved its products and
services from a consistent and diligent focus on what its publishing customers
need to be more successful. QuadSystems’ development and support
teams are based at Quad/Graphics' headquarters in Sussex, Wis. Dedicated
sales
and professional services teams are also located in New York City and Washington,
D.C.
About Casual Male
Headquartered in Canton, Mass., Casual Male is recognized as the largest
retailer of big and tall men’s apparel. It operates over 490 Casual
Male XL stores throughout the United States and London, England. It also
maintains its e- commerce sites, catalog business with five titles, Casual
Male at Sears-Canada stores and 24 Rochester Big & Tall stores.
About Quad/Graphics
Headquartered in Sussex, Wis., Quad/Graphics is the world’s largest
privately held printer of magazines, catalogs, direct mail and other commercial
products, and the third largest printer – public or private – in
the Western Hemisphere. Through a network of print production facilities
on three continents, Quad/Graphics offers services from front-end design
and photography through data solutions, digital imaging, printing, finishing
and distribution. The company employs more than 12,000 people worldwide
and has annual sales of $2 billion.
CONTACT:
Gerda Oppewal
+31-20-6976029
Van Gennep – M.A.C. BV
Burg. Stramanweg 105
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
press@vangennep.com