merchmix

For product development teams evaluating PLM software · merchmix forge compared with FlexPLM

A changed trim needs an owner.

forge takes a product from sketch to costed and approved. This page compares it with FlexPLM on the work your team does every day, and lists what to see proven in each demo.

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FORGE · PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Coast rain shell

CR-014 · Coastline SS27 · Outerwear · Maya Chen

Approved
Coast rain shell · MossConcept reference
MossSlate2 colourways

The development record

All required fields complete

Materials & colour

Lightweight ripstop · Moss

House standard CLR-027 · lab dip round 03 approved

Reviewed

Bill of materials

Revision 03 · frozen

6 components · £15.70 materials per garment

Reviewed

Specification & samples

Fit sample approved

Base size M · XS–XL · signed off 04 Sep

Reviewed

Cost & sourcing

Harbor Tex · awarded

£21.00 ex-factory · RFQ-027 · 2,400 units

Reviewed

Linked to core · SS27 / 014

Moss product and colourway information synced 09 Sep, 11:42.

Documents on this style

Technical specificationRevision 02 · approved
Fit sample reportRound 02 · approved
Supplier offerRFQ-027 · final quote

Recent decisions

09 Sep · SourcingHarbor Tex award recorded
04 Sep · DevelopmentBOM revision 03 frozen
02 Sep · ColourMoss lab dip approved
Design, materials, cost and approvals stay on one product.Example product record
1 hour
A demo with sales and product.
Free 6-week POC
On your own data, no contract.
12 to 15 weeks
merchmix live, end to end.

Every handoff leaves a trail.

  1. A sample comes back off-toleranceforge holds graded measurements and tolerances on the spec, and shows which points fall outside them. In any demo, see who is told and what changes next.
  2. A supplier queries the fabricThe material record carries composition, tests, certificates, lead time and minimums. Similarity search finds a known alternative. See where the answer is kept, and who can find it later.
  3. The trim cost goes upThe cost sheet recalculates material, ex-factory and landed cost by colourway. A what-if scenario shows the margin before the baseline moves. See how a cost change reaches whoever signs off the price.
  4. Approvals are still openProduct, colour and BOM decisions route to named approvers, and the critical path shows which open item could delay delivery. See how an outstanding approval surfaces before it costs a date.

merchmix and FlexPLM

Evidence first, verdicts later.

Both are PLM software for fashion and retail product development. forge is built for mid-market teams who want product development on the same platform as planning and suppliers; PTC positions FlexPLM for large, multi-brand product development. On the left, forge capabilities available now, with any condition stated. On the right, not gaps: what to see demonstrated, on the modules and licence you would buy.

Connected PLM

merchmix forge · Available now, conditions stated

  • Design boards with themes, references and concepts, attached to range-plan options
  • Specifications with revisions, graded measurements and tolerances
  • Multi-level BOMs with colourway costs; compare, restore and freeze on approval
  • Tech pack content (spec, BOM and measurements) on one versioned product record
  • Materials with composition, tests and certificates; colour standards and lab-dip rounds
  • Sample requests by stage, with fit status against tolerance
  • Cost sheets by colourway, landed cost, margin and what-if scenarios
  • Approvals routed and recorded, including recall and supersession
  • Critical path with milestones, dependencies, slack and at-risk activities
  • Supplier directories, compliance, scorecards, RFQs, negotiation rounds and split awards
  • Product information: completeness scores, localised copy, assets, GTIN and GS1
  • Qualified: channel publishing needs a connection to each destination
  • Qualified: live co-editing needs the collaboration service; comments and history do not
  • Qualified: migration imports from connected source systems, with an outcome per record
See the platform

Established enterprise PLM

FlexPLM, by PTC · Not yet verified here: see it demonstrated

  • Design and concept tools, and any 3D links, on your licence
  • Specifications, measurements and grading
  • BOM structure, revisions and approval locks
  • Tech pack creation, including the automation PTC announced in January 2026
  • Materials, colour and lab-dip workflows
  • Sample tracking and fit review
  • Costing, quotes and margin views
  • Approval routing and change history
  • Calendars and critical path
  • Supplier access: what a vendor can see and edit, and what it costs
  • Product information and channel content
  • Connections to your ERP and planning tools, and who builds them
  • Which modules and extensions are in the quote

core

This parka changes 3 times.

An illustrative parka, followed through forge from concept to approval: a fabric swap, a cost change and a revised BOM. Under each step, what to verify in FlexPLM.

  1. Concept

    The parka starts on the seasonal design board, attached to an option in the core range plan. yukti creates the new style shell; you approve, or let it run. Verify in FlexPLM: how a concept links to the range plan you already use.

    FORGE · DESIGN BOARD

    Coastline · SS27

    Quiet utility. Made for changing weather.

    Draft
    Outerwear · Owner Maya Chen Saved
    CanvasConcepts 1
    Create concept

    01 / INSPIRATION

    Where land meets waterSoft horizons. Weathered surfaces.
    Tactile protectionLightweight ripstop
    DIRECTION

    Protection without bulk.

    Relaxed shapes, useful pockets, a softer colour story.

    Seasonal palette3 house colours

    Moss

    Sand

    Slate

    02 / CONCEPT

    CONCEPT 012
    RIDGELINE

    Coast rain shell

    Moss · relaxed fit · lightweight layer

    OuterwearSS27Concept
    LINKED TO CORE
    SS27 Outerwear · Option 014

    Rain shell · Moss

    Creative direction, connected to the range.

    2 references · 1 concept · 1 linked optionExample board

  2. Specification

    The product shell takes its category's fields. Colourways, sizes, the BOM and a graded spec with tolerances follow, and every revision is kept. Verify in FlexPLM: how category rules and spec revisions are set up, and by whom.

    FORGE · SIZE SPECIFICATION

    Coast rain shell

    Values in mm · Base size M · Grade rule per point

    Graded measurements in millimetres, base size M
    Point of measureToleranceXSSMBaseLXL
    Body length± 5 mm700710720730740
    Chest width± 5 mm540560580600620
    Sleeve length± 5 mm820835850865880
    Hem width± 5 mm520540560580600
    Hood opening± 3 mm300300310310320
    • XS · Requested
    • M · Approved
    • XL · Requested
    Example size specification

  3. Fabric change

    The shell fabric misses its minimum. Similarity search finds a known alternative, and an RFQ compares 2 quotes on weighted criteria before the award is recorded. Verify in FlexPLM: what suppliers do themselves, and on which licence.

    FORGE · REQUEST FOR QUOTATION

    Coast rain shell · SS27

    RFQ-027 · Moss · 2,400 units · GBP

    Awarded
    3 suppliers invited3 offers received2 negotiation rounds

    One brief. Comparable offers.

    BOM revision 03 · base size M · ex-factory price per garment

    Final offers

    Round 02 · 08 Sep 2026
    Final ex-factory quotes, lead times, minimum orders, and weighted supplier scores
    SupplierUnit priceLead timeMOQScore / 100
    Harbor TexPortugal · Awarded£21.0045 days1,20091.75
    Summit ApparelTürkiye£20.4060 days2,40085.25
    Coastal WorksVietnam£21.8050 days1,80083.50

    Weighted comparison

    Price 40%Quality 35%Delivery 25%

    Reviewer ratings / 100, in the same order:

    Harbor Tex90 / 95 / 90Summit Apparel95 / 85 / 70Coastal Works80 / 90 / 80

    Harbor Tex · negotiation history

    £21.50 → £21.00 per garment in round 02.

    Supplier confirmed the 45-day lead time at 2,400 units.

    Award recorded · Harbor Tex

    2,400 units · 100% of the award · £50,400 ex-factory

    Highest weighted score. The shorter lead time and stronger quality rating outweigh the £0.60 premium to the lowest quote.

    Maya Chen · Sourcing lead09 Sep 2026, 11:20
    Offers, negotiation and award reason stay on this RFQ.Example RFQ

  4. Cost

    The new fabric changes the BOM cost. The cost sheet recalculates ex-factory and landed cost by colourway, and a what-if scenario shows the margin before anyone merges it. Verify in FlexPLM: where margin is visible, and to whom.

    FORGE · SHOULD COST

    Coast rain shell · Moss

    SS27 · CR-014 · Harbor Tex · GBP / garment

    Draft scenario

    Proposed landed cost

    £24.00−£1.00 vs active baseline
    Target landed cost
    £24.00
    Net selling price
    £80.00
    Expected margin
    70.00%

    Cost per garment

    Active vs proposed
    Example cost breakdown per garment: active baseline against proposed scenario, in GBP.
    ComponentBaselineScenarioChange
    MaterialsFrom BOM · revision 03£15.70£15.70—
    LabourPer garment£4.20£3.80−£0.40
    OverheadFactory allocation£1.60£1.50−£0.10
    FreightConsolidated shipment£1.20£0.90−£0.30
    DutyIllustrative allowance£2.30£2.10−£0.20
    Landed cost£25.00£24.00−£1.00
    Expected margin

    68.75% 70.00%

    Gap to target cost

    £1.00 over On target

    Scenario 01 · Consolidate & simplify

    Lower labour and overhead estimates, consolidated freight, and a revised duty allowance. Materials stay on BOM revision 03.

    Awaiting sourcing review · Maya Chen

    Baseline stays active until the scenario is merged.Example cost sheet · margin uses the net selling price, excluding tax.

  5. Approval

    The revised BOM routes to its approvers, then freezes as the version sourcing and planning use. The critical path shows whether the change moved delivery. Verify in FlexPLM: how a frozen revision and a slipped milestone show up.

  6. Into the range

    Approved product and colourway information goes to the core range and option plan, and core keeps ownership of the plan. Verify in FlexPLM: what reaches your planning tool, and how often.

Approved products keep moving.

forge stands alone, or sits with the rest of merchmix. core plans the season: budgets, MFP (WSSI), OTB, ranges and sizes. beacon is one portal for suppliers. Everything is live, in seconds.

forgemost start here

Every product, from first sketch to costed, approved and ready to sell.

Specs, BOMs, materials, samples, costing, RFQs, approvals and the critical path on one record.

See forge
core

Plan the season in one place.

Budgets, WSSI, OTB, ranges and sizes, connected. Approved products from forge land in the range plan.

See core
beacon

One portal for your suppliers.

Orders, shipments, invoices, on time.

See beacon

Every product stands alone. Start with the one that hurts most.

Staying on FlexPLM can be right.

Stay where FlexPLM is embedded across your brands, suppliers and integrations, the set-up matches how you work, and the problem you need to solve sits outside product development. forge can also run beside an incumbent PLM: with a connection to it, field authority rules surface conflicts instead of silently overwriting values.

Investigate a replacement when renewal is near, when product data is re-keyed between development and planning, or when suppliers work outside the system. For each option, establish deployment, configuration, migration of products, BOMs and specs, training, integrations, licensing including supplier access, and total cost over the same term.

Trial forge when you want evidence on your own products. merchmix is live in 12 to 15 weeks, end to end, at about 1/10 the cost of enterprise suites. Those are platform figures, not a quote against FlexPLM, so have the forge scope priced and planned in the demo.

See the integrations

Questions, answered.

What is the difference between merchmix forge and FlexPLM?

Both are PLM software for fashion and retail product development. forge takes a product from sketch to costed and approved, on the same platform as planning in core and suppliers in beacon. FlexPLM is PTC's retail PLM, positioned for large, multi-brand product development. Compare them on your own workflow, step by step. See all comparisons.

Is forge a FlexPLM alternative?

For fashion and apparel teams, it is worth evaluating. forge covers design boards, specifications, BOMs, materials and colour, sampling, costing, RFQs, approvals and the critical path. Whether it replaces FlexPLM for you rests on what you use FlexPLM for today. See forge.

Can forge import our existing product data?

forge imports product, supplier, BOM, specification and colour records from connected source systems, with an outcome for every record and a migration status. Whether a ready-made FlexPLM connection exists for your instance is a question to settle in the demo, on your data.

Do we have to switch off FlexPLM to try forge?

No. The free 6-week POC runs on your own data, no contract. During a transition, field authority rules decide which system owns each field, so the two can run side by side.

Does forge integrate with FlexPLM?

This page does not claim a native connection between FlexPLM and forge, core or beacon. Ask for your FlexPLM instance to be shown in the demo.

How do suppliers work with forge and beacon?

In forge, sourcing teams invite suppliers to an RFQ, capture quotes and negotiation rounds, and record the award, to one supplier or split. beacon is one portal for suppliers: orders, shipments and invoices. See beacon and supplier management.

How much does forge cost compared with FlexPLM?

Neither price is on this page. merchmix is about 1/10 the cost of enterprise suites, priced by scope as one annual subscription with no per-seat fees. That is not a quote against FlexPLM. Compare total cost over the same term, including supplier access, integrations and services. See pricing.

How long does implementation take?

merchmix is live in 12 to 15 weeks, end to end. That is the platform figure; have the forge scope, with migration and training, planned in the demo.

How does the proof of concept work?

Free, 6 weeks, on your own data, no contract. Week 1, you share anonymised style, sales and stock data. Week 2, we set up every product. Weeks 3 to 4, training. Weeks 5 to 6, you use it. See the proof of concept.

Your own products settle it.

A 1-hour demo with sales and product, on your workflow. Or a free 6-week POC on your own data, no contract, while FlexPLM keeps running. Bring the parka that changed 3 times.

Book a demoStart your free 6-week POC

Updated 23 October 2026