ACUSHNET DIGITALLY TRANSFORMS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND
PRODUCT LAUNCH WITH CENTRIC PLM™

GOLF EQUIPMENT LEADER FOCUSES ON SPEEDING TIME TO MARKET AND
BOOSTING QUALITY WITH CENTRIC SOFTWARE PLM©2020 Centric Software Inc. All rights reserved.

“As we evolved, we collaborated with more sourcing partners aroundthe globe using emails, Excel sheets and phone calls. We couldn’t run
reports easily, it was cumbersome, and we lacked live and transparent
information. We needed to get more efficient.”
Jordan Harrop, Senior Analyst – FootJoy Operations at Acushnet,explains that the golf equipment company needed a digital platform
to improve collaboration and handle more complex, growingoperations.
Acushnet decided to invest in a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
solution to enhance visibility and communication across its teams
in order to make better products, reduce costs and speed time
to market. After an intense selection process, Acushnet chose toimplement Centric 8 PLM.
Today, Acushnet has freed up teams to do more value-added work
and is enjoying the improved control and better decision-making that
results from “phenomenal” visibility into costing, line planning andproduct development. How did Centric Outdoor PLM transform theway teams work every day at Acushnet?

Global leader in golfing gear

Acushnet’s mission is to be the performance and quality leader
in every golf product category in which the company competes.
Acushnet’s other top-of-the-range golf brands include Vokey Designwedges, Scotty Cameron putters and Pinnacle golf balls. Most
recently, Acushnet acquired Links and Kings, a luxury golf accessory
brand, and Kjus, the Swiss ski and golf performance wear brand. Kjus
has been a Centric Software customer since early 2019.

Need for visibility and control

As Acushnet grew, its supply chains and sourcing practices became
more complex. It reached a point where it became clear that thecompany needed a digital solution to handle communication andcollaboration across teams.
“Taking FootJoy as an example, our manufacturing was once solely
based in the U.S., near Acushnet’s product development center. It
was quite an old-school arrangement. However, over the years
Acushnet grew and we developed a network of suppliers and sourcing
partners across the world. We source leather from the U.K., Ethiopiaand several Asian countries, including Taiwan and China. From aproduct management standpoint, we have offices around the globe,
in countries including the U.K., Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong andAustralia among others.”“Collaborating effectively with vendors and across these various
global teams was very difficult using our previous system of emails,Excel sheets and offline communication, and we knew we needed tochange,” Harrop continues. “We’re a small team and we were spending
a lot of time on mundane, non-value-added tasks. Our vision going
forward was to implement a solution that would enable us to haveup-to-date costing, tech packs and Bills of Materials (BOMs) in one
centrally accessible place. Then, where our global suppliers could
also enter information, helping us to save time, make more informed
decisions and reduce costs.”©2020 Centric Software Inc. All rights reserved.

“A SINGLE SOURCE OF

TRUTH, RAPID INFORMATIONACCESS AND ENHANCEDVISIBILITY ENABLES US
TO FOCUS ON LAUNCHING
BETTER PRODUCTS AT A
BETTER COST, FASTER.

CHALLENGES+ Inefficient communication withsuppliers using email, Excel andphone calls+ Siloed business divisions withdifferent processes and sourcing
practices+ Need for greater visibility acrossmerchandising teams+ Too much time spent on non-valueadded tasks+ Lack of live, up-to-date costing data to
make informed decisions“Founded in 1932 and based in Massachusetts, Acushnet is the global
leader in the design, development, manufacture and distribution ofperformance-driven golf products, which are widely recognized fortheir excellent quality. Acushnet is the steward of two of the mostrevered brands in golf – Titleist, one of golf’s leading performanceequipment brands, and FootJoy, one of golf’s leading performancewear brands.

TEEING OFF WITH CENTRIC		

Acushnet went through a lengthy and demanding PLM selection process
involving RFPs, sandbox environment demos and reference calls. The
company eventually selected Centric Outdoor PLM on the basis of its
usability, configurable implementation and ability to mold to Acushnet’s
specific business processes.
“Centric PLM is flexible, configurable and can be implemented in phases,”says Harrop. “It’s difficult to harmonize across our divisions because they
have different supply models and costing structures, so we needed a very
flexible solution that could be gradually rolled out across all our divisions
and configured in a way that would accommodate each one. Since ourteams’ skills are primarily focused on apparel design, shoemaking andproduct development rather than IT, we wanted to make sure the solution
was robust in terms of usability. Strong user acceptance was key for us.”
Acushnet implemented Centric on time and on budget for FootJoy’s
footwear division and Titleist’s golf gear division. Vendors are connectedto the system, and Acushnet is now rolling out Centric across its appareldivision.

RESULTS+ Single source of truth eliminatesversion control issues and manualerrors+ Live, accurate costing information
drives better decision-making andprofitability+ Vendors enter information in PLM,
saving time for Acushnet’s teams+ Central and regional merchandisers
collaborate effectively withtransparent line and assortment
planning+ Enhanced planning and forecasting
drives efficiencies in getting
products to market

speed, focus and transparent
collaboration						Since going live with Centric Outdoor PLM, product teams have saved time and energy and can now focus on faster, more efficientand more profitable products.
“We now have one place for up-to-date information and real-time collaboration,” says Harrop. “Vendors enter data themselves, whichsaves time and reduces errors, and the visibility is phenomenal. We have the ability to ask what the cost is on anything and get animmediate answer. Before, we would email our factories, ask for a cost sheet to be sent over, eventually get the cost sheet, anddiscover that somebody had made a change down the line so the cost was no longer accurate. The-single-source-of-truth issues really
start to come into play with costing, so we love the ability to see accurate, up-to-date costs and make informed decisions early on in
the process.” “We also now receive costs before we see samples, which is a huge win for us. We will now have a quote and a BOM
complete before the sample comes in.”
Using the merchandising module in Centric PLM, Acushnet has developed a more transparent and collaborative line planning andassortment planning process.
“We have essentially created a menu of products indicating what our management team in the U.S. feels the line will be in the future,”
explains Harrop. “This enables great collaboration and visibility for all of our markets across the globe. Our regional merchandisers in
the U.K., Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia can see each others’ assortments and collaborate with the central management
team to select from the master list of products and provide feedback for better assortment planning.”“From a merchandising standpoint, it’s a gamechanger. Development and merchandising are interconnected when it comes to figuring
out the line plan, so having a system where everyone sees the same thing and works off the same platform is greatly beneficial. The
merchandising module allows us to plan and forecast better, which means we gain greater efficiency across the board.”
As Harrop concludes, “A single source of truth, rapid information access and enhanced visibility enable us to focus on launching better
products at better cost faster.”

Hole in one

Acushnet is in the process of implementing Centric PLM for its apparel team and will continue to add vendors to the system whereappropriate. Acushnet currently uses the Capture It and Factory Audit PLM-connected mobile apps and intends to extend its useof Centric’s market-leading mobile apps further. In a future phase, Acushnet is planning to integrate Centric PLM with its Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) system.
Looking ahead to the future of Acushnet’s partnership with Centric, Harrop notes that the critical elements of Centric’s approach are
the adaptability of the software and the responsiveness of Centric’s team.
“If we have a new division that needs to come on board, we can work it out quickly. If there’s an urgent request, or there’s a new data
point we should be tracking, Centric will add an attribute and test it out, make sure it works, move it into production, and we’re off tothe races. That type of speed is critical for us and it’s really where Centric shines.”©2020 Centric Software Inc. All rights reserved.

ABOUT ACUSHNET HOLDINGS CORP.
We are the global leader in the design, development, manufacture and distribution of performance-driven golf products, which are widely
recognized for their quality excellence. Driven by our focus on dedicated and discerning golfers and the golf shops that serve them, we believe
we are the most authentic and enduring company in the golf industry. Our mission - to be the performance and quality leader in every golf
product category in which we compete - has remained consistent since we entered the golf ball business in 1932. Today, we are the stewardof two of the most revered brands in golf – Titleist, one of golf’s leading performance equipment brands, and FootJoy, one of golf’s leading
performance wear brands.

ABOUT CENTRIC SOFTWARE
From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides a Digital Transformation Platform for the most prestigious names in fashion,retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor, consumer goods and home décor. Centric’s flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric 8,
delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and collection management functionality tailored forfast-moving consumer industries. Centric SMB provides innovative PLM technology and key industry learnings for emerging brands. Centric
Visual Innovation Platform (VIP) offers a new fully visual and digital experience for collaboration and decision-making and includes the Centric
Buying Board to transform internal buying sessions and maximize retail value and the Centric Concept Board for driving creativity and evolving
product concepts. All Centric innovations shorten time to market, boost product innovation and reduce costs.
Centric Software is majority-owned by Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D Digital
Mock Up and PLM solutions.
Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list in2013, 2015 and 2016. Centric also received various excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan in 2012, 2016 and 2018.

www.centricsoftware.com©2020 Centric Software Inc. All rights reserved. Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software.
All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.