Aptean PLM Lascom Edition
Cosmetic Product Development Elevate Your Approach to Cosmetic Formulation with Aptean’s PLM Software
Do these situations sound familiar to you? “I need to keep up with market trends.” Vegan, “free from” (paraben, alcohol, sulphate, etc.), organic, “clean labels”, CBD, etc. the cosmetic and personal care market is driven by both: deep-rooted and ephemeral trends. This constant change means that marketing and R&D teams have to be constantly on the lookout for new opportunities and ideas. They need to be ahead of the curve to stay competitive.
“How can I stay compliant with ever-changing legislation?” On top of these trends, regulatory institutions keep introducing new legislation in line with their mission to protect customers. Cosmetic and personal care companies often struggle to keep up with these increasingly complex legal frameworks. These amendments can involve ingredient restrictions, mandatory documentation, labelling requirements, and others. All your teams will inevitably be impacted at various points of the product formulation process, sometimes in unexpected ways.
“Too many people are involved. Collaboration can be challenging.” In new product development (NPD) projects, most of the company’s teams are involved: Marketing, R&D, Procurement, Quality and Regulatory affairs. External partners are also part of the process, from suppliers and service providers to regulatory institutions; and each one of them tends to handle its tasks as isolated sub-projects. For the NPD to be a success, all relevant teams must be connected via a single information repository. Most of all, your R&D department needs to receive crystal-clear insights from upstream teams as well as communicate smoothly with downstream ones.
“I feel like I’m wasting my time on proof-checkings and validations.” Formulation is a matter of iterations. As you already know, your product’s compliance with marketing, quality and regulatory requirements can only be tested and validated after the prototype phase. Flawed processes and outdated tools will increase your workload, which will definitely slow you down in the competitive race that is the consumer goods market market in which 85% of new products end up failing.
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Cosmetic Product Development – Elevate Your Approach to Cosmetic Formulation with Aptean’s PLM Software
A PLM solution to streamline your product development process
1. Guaranteed Data Accuracy Aptean’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Software is a central information repository. It’s designed to help you digitise, centralise, structure, secure and collaborate on any kind of NPDrelated data. You can store your data in a secure environment, but also provide your suppliers with controlled access to it through a dedicated portal. This will allow them to share input specifications without compromising the confidentiality of your data. Aptean’s PLM software also comes with the INCI ingredient database, which helps you make sure you always use the right ingredient names. It also automatically generates the Quali/Quanti formula to prevent any related mistakes.
Cosmetic Product Development – Elevate Your Approach to Cosmetic Formulation with Aptean’s PLM Software
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2. Formulations that Match your Briefing Instructions Thanks to Aptean’s PLM Software’s unique multi-level structure, you can easily get a comprehensive view of your product’s bill of materials. Even better: you can change the composition or quantity of any raw material and bulk, at any time. In case of non-compliance with the original brief (paraben-free, sulphate-free, organic…) or regulations, you immediately get a detailed alert. This means, among other things, that you can remain in line with the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCra). This new legislation will affect not only cosmetic companies in the U.S, but also any international business that manufactures or distributes its products in the U.S. Aptean’s PLM Software can then come in pretty handy in this context. The system also progressively and automatically consolidates all the proper documents and elements of the Product Information File (PIF), saving you trouble and precious time. Furthermore, Aptean’s PLM’s formulation tool automatically generates:
› your product’s Quali/Quanti formula › an ingredient statement (in compliance with INCI names) › the allergen list › the applicable claims › the bulk and product costs…
In order to make your formulation tool as true as possible to your own processes, these calculation rules can be fully customised by authorised users. This involves yields, Quantum Satis, losses, 100% checks, and more. This system is a great time-saver, particularly because it helps you identify potential errors in the process as early as possible, allowing your products to be compliant-by-design. Your R&D team can then give their undivided attention to high-value tasks. 4
Cosmetic Product Development – Elevate Your Approach to Cosmetic Formulation with Aptean’s PLM Software
3. Streamlined Collaboration Aptean’s PLM Software also includes a unique workflow engine. It allows you to assign tasks and rights to specific users, regardless of their status (internal teams, suppliers, service providers, etc). This proves particularly useful during the last steps of the formulation process, such as prototype selection: R&D members can send a set of prototypes to Marketing, R&D and Quality managers for comparison. They can then take informed decisions based on raw specifications or syntheses of these prototypes. If any information is missing or further work is required, the approval process is reset. This gives the R&D project manager, the packaging project manager and the product manager full visibility over the NPD process. All involved stakeholders can sync to guarantee that all required specifications are compliant and delivered on time.
Cosmetic Product Development – Elevate Your Approach to Cosmetic Formulation with Aptean’s PLM Software
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4. Manufacturing Stage Preparation Aptean’s formulation tool can handle both prototypes and industrial formulas distinctively. You can simulate them separately, and then send the exhaustive specifications to either your Quality department or your client. This helps you to potential errors together, before going through bench and industrial tests. The system keeps track of every iteration so the R&D team can quickly dig into past projects to capitalise on all the work that’s already been done. The PLM Software also stores the bill of materials and the manufacturing process, which can be sent to the ERP to generate the batch sheet(s). This ensures a seamless transition between your design chain and the manufacturing stage. This also helps you reduce errors related to data manipulation and reduce time-to-market.
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Cosmetic Product Development – Elevate Your Approach to Cosmetic Formulation with Aptean’s PLM Software
Aptean: Empowering Cosmetic Businesses with Trusted PLM Solutions Aptean’s PLM Software was designed to help you at every stage of the product lifecycle. During the formulation phase, it will allow you to align your marketing brief with regulatory requirements, as well as select the right raw materials and ingredients through detailed screenings. It will help you streamline 3 core processes of product development: prototyping, approval and manufacturing. With a PLM Software like Aptean, you can even check the compliance of your product throughout the development process, and manage potential changes in its formulation.
Some of Aptean’s references › Sephora › Bvlgari › Groupe Marcelle › Fareva › Yves Rocher
Cosmetic Product Development – Elevate Your Approach to Cosmetic Formulation with Aptean’s PLM Software
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Are You Ready to Learn More? Contact us at info@aptean.com or visit www.aptean.com.
About Aptean
Aptean is one of the world’s leading providers of purpose-built, industry-specific software that helps manufacturers and distributors effectively run and grow their businesses. With both cloud and on-premise deployment options, Aptean’s products, services and unmatched expertise help businesses of all sizes to be Ready for What’s Next, Now®. Aptean is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. To learn more about Aptean and the markets we serve, visit www.aptean.com. Copyright @ Aptean 2023 All rights reserved.