Case study

Tommy Bahama Turns a Complex PLM Migration into a Launch-Ready Business Upgrade

How Tommy Bahama, the Seattle-based casual lifestyle brand with 160+ retail stores worldwide, partnered with ArcherGrey to migrate from legacy FlexPLM to FlexPLM V11 M30. The team built custom ETL utilities to overcome a difficult data migration and meet tight timelines.

Retail, Footwear & ApparelPLM TransformationProgram Management
IndustryRetail, Footwear & Apparel
Solutions

PLM TransformationProgram Management
Background

Seattle-based casual lifestyle brand owned by Atlanta-based Oxford Industries. Designs men's and women's sportswear, denim, accessories, footwear, and a home furnishings collection. Operates over 160 company-owned retail stores worldwide.

The inflection point

A complex data migration to FlexPLM V11 M30.

Tommy Bahama set out to upgrade their FlexPLM system to the new V11 M30 release through a New Install with data migration. The migration of data from their legacy FlexPLM version into the new install proved difficult, and the original solution lacked the data processes needed to make it land cleanly.

Increasing demand and tight timelines added pressure to the project. The team needed an organized, accurate data validation process and a migration approach that could absorb issues as they surfaced, without slipping the launch.

Our approach

A custom ETL approach with staggered deployment and dry runs.

ArcherGrey developed custom loader utilities in the initial stage of the project and built on-the-fly solutions for the migration issues that surfaced along the way. We integrated the new FlexPLM V11 M30 system and ran the migration through a four-stage Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) approach.

What we owned:

  • Library data export and import
  • Linesheet data extraction
  • A custom extractor and loader for components
  • A custom query for sample data, executed via a Java utility
  • New data validation scripts to ensure accurate migration
  • A staggered deployment process with multiple testing phases, two dry runs, and a production go-live
  • Extended support to meet tight customer deadlines

ArcherGrey has shown continued dedication to our success. We are grateful for their help in completing another critical milestone in our project.

— Tommy Bahama

Business outcomes

Live on FlexPLM V11 M30, with new functionality unlocked.

The project went live on July 31, 2018 and has been running successfully since launch. With the upgrade complete, Tommy Bahama employees gained access to the latest FlexPLM features and functionality, and the business was able to start projects that had been waiting in the pipeline.

What we delivered:

  • Successful migration from legacy FlexPLM to FlexPLM V11 M30
  • Custom loader utilities and ETL pipelines built for the project
  • New data validation scripts to verify migration accuracy
  • A staggered launch with two dry runs, then a July 31, 2018 production go-live
  • Access to new FlexPLM features and functionality for the Tommy Bahama team

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