Innovation

Anticipation, vision and collaboration: the vital sparks that drive our innovation philosophy

The innovation imperative

In today’s increasingly global, complex and fast-moving world, fashion, furniture and automotive companies looking for profitable, sustainable growth need to constantly invent new competitive advantages. Innovation brings differentiation and differentiation is essential to lasting success.

Lectra’s vision of innovation

Connecting the dots between emerging trends, market evolutions and future-focused business solutions for our customers is the core of Lectra’s innovation strategy. Experience and experimentation, successes and failures, and passionate, pragmatic people allow us to bring pioneering ideas to life.

The strategic acquisitions of Gerber Technology, Neteven, Retviews and Gemini CAD Systems have enabled us to integrate businesses with proven innovation abilities into the larger Lectra group and build up a portfolio of solutions that expand our footprint along the value chain so that we can cover even more of our customers’ needs.

R&D at Lectra

people

500

patent families

23

revenue reinvested annually

12%

Leveraging new technologies to shape the future of industry

Practical innovation has been a part of our identity from the beginning

We continue to harness the driving forces of progress with projects that respond to companies’ needs for in-depth customer knowledge, retail expansion and transparency and traceability in the supply chain. Projects on the application of virtual reality for collaborative fit reviews, machine learning for automated fabric defect identification and artificial intelligence for predictive collection planning are just some of the avenues we are exploring.

Vector

The first connected cutting solution on the market with a built-in system of predictive maintenance

Discover

Versalis

The first Industry 4.0-ready leather-cutting solution, equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) technology

Discover

Gerber Accumark

The first PC-based patternmaking, grading and marker system for the apparel market

Discover

Collective intelligence

Innovation is also about people and how they work together

Openness to other mindsets, other ways of working and other industries is how we continue to power our innovation engine. We have cultivated an open innovation community--partners in research centers, universities, consulting firms, technology incubators/accelerators, internal teams and customers--to collaboratively identify future opportunities and potential for synergies.

Lectra’s Innovation Lab engages with startups, organizes “think tanks” and convenes advisory boards to continue exploring the boundaries of what is possible and finding ways to push past them. The Innovation Lab also joined the Brand and Retail program of the Plug & Play network, the world's leading innovation platform connecting startups, investors, and pioneering companies.

A long tradition of industry firsts

Lectra is the first and only company to adapt its solutions to the specific business needs of the fashion, automotive and furniture industries. Our technologically advanced equipment is impervious to threats or data loss and features ergonomic design delivered ready-to-implement, in a single crate. The following are just a few of our groundbreaking advances.

Vector iP

First cutting solution on the market to enable zero-buffer cutting on a wide variety of materials

Discover

Fashion On Demand by Lectra

First dedicated solution to automate on-demand garment production, from product development to fabric cutting

Discover

FocusQuantum

First-ever integrated airbag solution, comprising state-of-the-art laser-cutting equipment, software and services

Discover

Versalis

First Industry 4.0-ready leather-cutting solution, equipped with IoT technology

Discover

Gerber AccuMark

First PC-based patternmaking, grading and marker system for the apparel market

Discover

Vector

First connected cutting solution on the market with a built-in system of predictive maintenance

Discover

GerberCutter System 70

The first-ever numerically controlled fabric-cutting machine for apparel manufacturing

The Future of Fashion

Virtual Fit and Design Review

The fashion industry has come under increased scrutiny for its contribution to climate change, notably in terms of textile waste. Part of this waste is generated during the traditional sample development process. The explosive growth in online sales has magnified one of ecommerce’s biggest problems: returns. Around 70% of these returns are attributed to fit and style issues.

In collaboration with our partners and customers, Lectra has been working on a virtual reality fit and design review proof of concept (POC) that can help fashion companies surmount these issues.

Virtual reality fit and design reviews will allow teams around the world to annotate and measure garments together in real time. They can instantly change garment colors and motifs to compare looks without using physical fabric. They can also change the environment to see how the garment looks under different lighting.

Using virtual reality also eliminates the carbon emissions generated when shipping samples back and forth between contractors and overseas vendors.

Innovation visitors can see up close

Our innovation centers showcase disruptive new technologies and their future applications through partnerships, pioneering projects, events, specialized training and peer networking:

Innovation Lab, Bordeaux-Cestas, France
Innovation Center, New York, USA

Our customer welcome centers allow customers to see our software and equipment up close, as well as benchmark their performance through testing and demonstrations. Each location provides a singular environment to experience our world-class services and confer with our technical experts: Atlanta, Georgia, United States ; Bordeaux-Cestas, France ; Milan, Italy ; Shanghai, China (2 locations)

Play video

Shedule a visit to one of our Innovation Centers

Book a visit