Sopheon, the international software and services company, announced today that Unifi, Inc. has selected the Sopheon Accolade® product development system to help increase revenue generated from new products by capturing and managing product ideas and providing an automated, best-practice-based process structure for turning them into viable offerings. The company has deployed Accolade to users in product development and marketing at its North Carolina facilities and plans to extend the implementation to include additional users in locations worldwide later this year.

With global headquarters in Greensboro, NC, Unifi is one of the world’s largest producers and processors of textured yarns. Unifi products are used in applications ranging from automotive, home furnishings and apparel to industrial fabrics, home upholstery, hosiery and sewing thread. Like other suppliers in the textiles and fabrics industry, Unifi has recently experienced the negative business impact of increased importation of fabrics and apparel and decreased consumer spending. In response to this challenge, the company is moving aggressively to fortify its business position by developing and introducing innovative products and shortening development-to-market cycles.

Unifi chose the Accolade product development system after reviewing several software solutions. A principal reason for its selection was the unique way in which Sopheon’s software reinforces Stage-Gate®, a widely used product development process methodology that Unifi is adopting. Accolade supports the Stage-Gate structure by providing embedded best-practice process manuals and other specialized content that helps to ensure the steps of the process are properly executed. Ease-of-use and the speed with which it can be deployed were also considerations underlying Unifi’s choice of the Sopheon solution.

As part of its focus on innovation, Unifi is also using Accolade to help make sure that it takes advantage of internally generated product and technology ideas. Accolade offers a simple idea-submission process that is made available through the company’s intranet. Submitted ideas are channeled into an automated tracking system and archived for ongoing access and possible reuse. Decision-support capabilities include customizable scorecards that solicit, record, and tally idea evaluations so that every idea submitted receives objective, appropriately thorough consideration.

"Product and service innovation is central to Unifi’s strategies for defending domestic markets, expanding globally, and ensuring the continued strength of our company," said Tim Albright, Unifi product development manager. "We looked at a range of product life cycle and portfolio management offerings that claimed to increase product development speed and efficiency. We chose to partner with Sopheon because Accolade communicates and reinforces Stage-Gate best practices at every step of the developmental process, while promoting adherence and supporting individual and team success. We concluded that Accolade could help us drive innovation and development-to-market excellence. It has exceeded our expectations."

Sopheon’s Accolade is the industry’s first product development solution that integrates human-based decision-support services and process-enabling technology for the comprehensive management of product and technology portfolios. Among the system’s components are tools that enable the early identification of product winners and losers; industry-specific research centers that give users access to external information and expertise that can aid in assessment of the value and feasibility of new product ideas; and functionality that improves knowledge sharing by making question and answer dialogue among team members available for reuse and providing pointers to internal expertise.