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ecTrack stands for Events and Communications Tracking. It is a web-based transaction/ project management system that provides trading partners with a single platform for monitoring production events, starting with pre-production, all the way to store delivery. ecTrack enables trading partners to define, monitor and control key tasks and activities involved in the fulfillment of an order, and allows buyers and suppliers to share, update and communicate status of critical events via the Internet. It also provides for early warning to impending and actual delays through an advanced e-mail notification system based on user-defined rules.

ecTrack’s unique technical attributes also allow it to dynamically forecast schedule changes based on event exceptions and deadline slippage. It is customizable to individual tasks like lab dips and color monitoring via its pre-production system which provides web-forms along with a configurable workflow.

ecTrack ensures that members of a supply chain work together easily and efficiently…by keeping track of events as they happen…and by making sure that critical information is available to all parties at all times.


How does it work?

In its simplest form, ecTrack can be thought of as a web-based project planning solution. Members of the supply chain access the ecTrack website and input key production events onto a timeline, with the objective of producing a single project plan that contains every event that will occur in the production of an order. The supply chain partners then collaborate and modify this plan until it satisfies all their requirements. Once they agree, a notification system is then setup to proactively manage the plan or to trigger an email notification to the concerned party should there be any slippage from the approved project plan. This involves defining tasks, responsibilities, predecessor event logic, and hierarchies, among others.

In addition to this core function, ecTrack provides other features that enhance this process. For example, ecTrack has functions for managing the sheer volume of the email that goes back and forth during the course of an order – functions that allow rapid and intelligent searches, data mining, and so on.


Features and Functions

The functionality of ecTrack has been refined over the course of many years in collaboration with several major apparel retailers and manufacturers, resulting in a simple system that meets the real needs of its users.  ecTrack’s feature set contains the kind of flexible functionality that is necessary when dealing with the apparel supply chain.

Major functionalities include:

• Dynamic forecast scheduling
• Complex linear and non-linear project plan functionality
• Parallel tasks
• Responsibilities and workgroups
• Leads & lags
• Backward and forward pass schedule computing
• Hierarchical structure
• Connect sub-plans to master plans
• Drill down from Master plans to sub-plans
• Create new sub-plans on the fly
• Flexible Communications
• Attach notes or documents by task
• Maintain detailed notification strings per event
• Alert notifications
• Customizable web-forms per event
• Comprehensive Reports
• Drill down easily into event levels or by vendor
• To Do list based on log-in credentials
• Search notes by plan attributes or header information
• Compare order dates or slippage with other plans
• Customizable reports based on event web-forms

Benefits:

The ecTrack allows every stakeholder in the supply chain to work on the same set of assumptions as every other stakeholder. This ensures that all supply chain partners are in sync, and reduces errors due to miscommunication to a minimum.

Benefits:

• Order Status shared transparently throughout the supply chain
• Decreased searching emails
• Automatic notification of exceptions and resulting consequences
• Real time communication of Time and action plans from the factory
• Complex searches and data mining are easily performed due to system reports.
• Vendor performance is recorded and maintained for future analysis.