Chapter 1:
How IT Teams Can Create 3D and AR Roadmaps
Chapter 1:
How IT Teams Can Create 3D and AR Roadmaps
Start by Mapping Your End-to-end Workflow
Identifying the App Categories to Automate Your Workflow
Go-to-Market (GTM)
Planning Integrations
Start Building Your 3D and AR Roadmap to Marketing Success
Chapter 2:
3D and AR Basics for IT Teams
Chapter 3:
How 3D and AR Can Spark Your Fashion Marketing Campaigns
Many IT teams in the fashion industry today are being asked to spearhead 3D and Augmented Reality (AR) initiatives for their organizations. However, they often lack expertise in these relatively new technologies, making it challenging to plan workflows, select providers, or develop customizations. To address this, we’ve put together this guide to help educate IT teams on what they need to know about 3D and AR. In the first chapter of this three-part guide, we’ll show you how your IT team can start building a roadmap charting a path to 3D and AR adoption. We’ll walk you through the essential elements you need to consider while developing your roadmap, including workflows, apps, and integration. Then, in Chapter 2, we’ll look at the basics of 3D and AR technology. Finally, in Chapter 3, we will provide an overview of the benefits of 3D and AR for fashion marketing.
Start by Mapping Your End-to-end Workflow
Before selecting software tools, a preliminary step is to map your workflow. This creates a framework you can use to organize your app selection, and it also helps you identify missing pieces and avoid committing to solutions that won’t scale. Think of your workflow in relation to the business processes your software will need to support. You should consider as many potential end use cases as possible here along with any related 3D requirements for those distribution channels. These include:- Marketing processes, such as promotion on your eCommerce site, search engines, ads, and social media profiles
- Sales processes, such as buyer presentation meetings and self-serve B2B platforms (i.e. JOOR & NuOrder)
- Logistics processes, such as integration of production decisions with supply chain management
- IT processes, such as content management of digital assets
Identifying the App Categories to Automate Your Workflow
Once you’ve got a workflow map, you have a solid basis for analyzing your software needs. Here are some important app categories to think about:3D Creation Programs
Before you can incorporate 3D into your marketing and sales efforts, your team will need to build 3D models of your inventory. Will your 3D designs be created in-house, externally, or both? If you plan to create your designs in-house, you’ll need technology such as 3D design software to build virtual models or 3D digital scanners to capture data from inventory items. You’ll also need the in-house expertise to use this technology. Will you use a single 3D design program or multiple? It’s important to consider whether different design programs will work well together. For instance, are you designing footwear and Rhino, but adding materials in Keyshot? Your material creation is essential to think about at this point in the process. Without high-quality digital materials, the fidelity of your 3D models will suffer. You also want to make sure that the digital materials that are being built will be compatible with all of your potential end use cases. VNTANA highly recommends that materials follow a Metallic Roughness PBR workflow. You can learn more about that here. Alternatively, you can work with a provider who specializes in these areas and already has the necessary technology. VNTANA’s platform makes it easy to upload your own 3D models or to reach out for help with 3D modeling services.3D Collaboration and Feedback
3D modeling creation is a collaborative process, so you should consider how you will integrate your 3D asset creation into your collaboration software workflow. Some questions to consider include:- How do your designers currently share feedback?
- Are they using tools like Stylezone or CLO?
- Are they sharing actual 3D source files, or are they sharing screenshots?
- Are they interacting with vendors in areas with poor Internet connectivity?
- Is PLM your single source of information?
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
PLM software overlaps with collaborative workflow and also plays a broader role in helping you manage your supply chain. When evaluating the role of your PLM in your workflow, consider questions such as:- Does your PLM support 3D integration?
- Do you plan on storing 3D files in your PLM?
- Do your vendors have access to your PLM, or is access limited to your internal stakeholders?
Digital Asset Management (DAM)
Digital asset management is critical to an effective 3D or AR marketing strategy. An effective content management system (CMS) is essential to ensure that both your internal team and your customers can find images of inventory items. When evaluating your DAM, consider questions such as:- Where will you store 3D and AR files?
- Does your DAM have a 3D viewer?
- If so, what files does it support?
- How will you store and deliver files that are too large for 3D viewers?
- Will your DAM serve up assets to places like eCommerce or is there a separate CDN?
Go-to-Market (GTM)
Your go-to-market strategy defines how you plan to reach your customers and outreach your competition. Your GTM solution supports your go-to-market strategy by automating key processes. When developing 3D and AR assets, you’ll need to consider how you intend to leverage them for marketing and sales. One way to approach this issue is by considering the nature of your market. Is your target market:- B2B (such as wholesalers and retailers)?
- B2C?
B2B Considerations
If your market is B2B, here are some questions you’ll want to consider:- What are the required inputs from B2B platforms?
- Do they support 3D files?
- What are the file types used?
- What file size range needs to be supported?
- Are there any other specific requirements?
- Do vendors rework your assets as part of this process? If so, what is the cost, and what type of turnaround time is involved? This is very important as you assess the scalability of a solution.
- Do the vendors have plug-ins for their 3D creation programs?
B2C Considerations
If your market is B2C, here are some key categories of questions to ask:- eCommerce: Load time is critical to make your 3D and AR files accessible to customers on smartphones, laptops, desktops, and other devices, as well as different browsers. A nice web viewer is not enough.
- AR try-on support: Many vendors may require new scans or reworks of your existing 3D assets. A tool that optimizes you files automatically can significantly increase your efficiency, saving you time and money.
- Ad formats: Different social media platforms and Google have different model specifications. You may need a different version of a 3D asset for Meta, Google, Snap, & others.
- Metaverse: In the current state of metaverse marketing, the reality is that almost everything is still being created manually and through agencies. The technology to support true scale is still emerging. This can create a bit of a red herring when leadership asks teams to look into this area, as there are not many options for using existing assets today. However, this will change as the market matures, and it doesn’t hurt to review your long-term needs when considering this area.