Stitch World Editorial Issue December 2016

The more countries I visit, the more I realize that the problems faced by the industry are more or less the same… It is just the culture of the place and peoples’ happiness levels and aspirations that make the small differences in productivity and efficiency levels of the factory.

I have closely observed the industry in India, Bangladesh and now Vietnam…, and one thing is very clear, factories in all these countries need technology management interventions at all levels.

Though there are only a few Vietnamese apparel manufacturing companies in Vietnam with production being dominated by the Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean companies, the problems in terms of management are the same. My understanding after talking to some experts working in the industry is that irrespective of where the country of origin is, all require some kind of production management intervention, similar to what Indian or Bangladeshi companies require.

On the hindsight, it seems that although most of the countries from where garmenting has shifted from – like Korea, the US, Europe and even Japan – have progressed immensely as nations, but garment factory management skills have remained at the same level when they left the country… Case in point is the numerous foreign-owned factories in Vietnam, where systems of effective management are still ‘old school’. These companies have moved out of their respective countries too long back to imbibe any new system.

Technology upgradation is easy as latest machines are available to all, but how to optimize factory resources, including the machines, is another ball game. I strongly feel that to grow, factories require latest intervention in production management as much as any other input, perhaps the need is even more…!

At StitchWorld, it is our effort to provide insights into such production management systems and tools. In this issue we bring to you an article ‘Quality Engineering – An emerging concept to ease quality worries’! which discusses in detail the concept of quality engineering as opposed to quality control as the new mantra to ensure quality of product during the production process.

The various technology interventions for button wrapping from basic machines to fully automatic ones, is the focus in our technology segment. In another interesting read, an ex-NIFTian shares his journey to create a unique business model to support designers with samples and small production runs.

Stitch World Editorial Issue November 2016

Around half the population is of women in the US who earn less than US $ 15 an hour, and it has been said in an article in Apparel Online India that it is very much possible to produce fashion garments at that price… Yes, I am talking about the US! Local designers, small boutique owners, and chain stores specializing in such categories or in athleisure using technical textiles, are all either working with local manufacturers, or are exploring the potential to manufacture in the US.

Manufacturing of designer wear and athleisure wear are two very different categories, yet having common potential of manufacturing in the US. While designer wear has high margin and shorter lead time to qualify for re-shoring, athleisure has longer lead time, yet it qualifies for re-shoring based on high margin and availability of speciality raw material locally. Not to forget that the local manufacturing industry in America is presently worth US $ 13 billion.

Taking advantage, a Chinese manufacturer of casual apparel and sportswear and a big supplier to Adidas, has recently signed an MoU with the state of Arkansas to invest US $ 20 million in Little Rock and create 400 jobs paying an average of US $ 14 an hour plus benefits. This is the first time ever that a Chinese garment manufacturer has invested in the United States. The way the Government has incentivized the Chinese company clearly indicates the interest of the administration to encourage job creating enterprises. And if the statement of the Governor of Arkansas is anything to go by, then more such deals are ‘down the road’.

Made in USA and re-shoring of manufacturing has also re-kindled the automation research. Every technology player is geared up for technology laden offering. At the upcoming ‘Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies’ conference organised by SPESA, world’s leading technology solution providers will jostle for their space with new offerings. It will be interesting to see whether the offerings are aimed towards large commodity manufacturers of Asia or small and medium niche players trying their luck in re-shoring for the local designers, small boutiques, and chain stores specializing in such categories or in athleisure using technical textiles…

What’s left is the need to explore just how to use expertise to best advantage! Are there any takers…, do let me know.

Efficiency and productivity improvement remains one of the key mottos of StitchWorld and we encourage practising managers and academicians to share their experiences and logic. In this issue, Dr. Prabir Jana discusses the simple mathematical technique to improve line productivity during manpower shortage, while Jayapal Nair discusses the efficiency traps to look for.

Stitch World Editorial Issue October 2016

The GTE exhibition in Bangalore and GARTEX exhibition in New Delhi were held simultaneously and still were able to garner visitation, this probably is an indication of increasing depth of apparel manufacturing industry in India.

Over the years StitchWorld reported continuous increase in visitation from non-metro cities and small- and medium-scale domestic players at various machinery exhibitions, which is unabated.With Ministry of Textiles trying to take the industry to north-east, the states inviting industry veterans to establish their factories, enticing them with lots of benefits and even few of the established players venturing outside India, are also the signs of maturity... I am personally visiting the north-eastern states as well as Orissa and Jharkhand to talk to the politicians and officers, and I am glad to see the change in their attitude towards the industry...

I am quite happy to see the depth and breadth of printing solutions being displayed at both the exhibitions, which is probably indicating entry of Indian players assembling the digital textile printers in India. While direct-to-garment (DTG) and sublimation printing is domain of garment manufacturers, quite a large number offering direct-to-fabric (DTF) technology signifying a war with analogue fabric printing which is the domain of textile mills. I look forward to similar spirited display of the same at ITME India in December 2016.

While the seminars have become stereotyped and boring these days, the 4th TANTU seminar which I chaired was a ‘game changer’ one. The seminar for the first time brought together the manufacturers (converters) of technical textiles on a platform to explore and deliberate. I am happy to see the energised discussions amongst panel members and a clear roadmap of collaborative working between the industry and the academia are probably the ‘value’ that can be generated from seminars in future.

Stitch World Editorial Issue September 2016

The latest edition of GTE at Bangalore was quite a huddle affair. Most of the companies were represented by their senior managers like ITC, Texport Industries, Madura, and this is just tip of the long and impressive list of visitors. However, this does not mean that the owner-level visitation was missing. Right from Indian Designs, Golden Seams, Gokaldas Images (from Bangalore) to Sree Santosh Garments, Tirupur and Global Mode and Accessories, Delhi-NCR were represented by their owners, creating quite a buzz among the technology suppliers. What emerged from the various discussions I had with many of them was that companies in Bangalore have created niches in their respective specialized categories based on product development as the growth engine. Also, most of the companies were happy with their growth and very upbeat of the future…

This was in contrast to the feedback I have been getting from exporters in Delhi-NCR, who have had a bad S/S ’16 season due to many reasons, among which the prime reason is the slowdown in Europe, resulting in even more demand for tighter prices… I have even heard that a company doing business of around Rs. 75 crore has lost a major account worth Rs. 50 crore because the buyer wanted a price reduction of around 20 per cent (US $ 3.25 to US $ 2.5) and has since shifted the orders to Vietnam.

Another very strong fact that emerged from my discussions at GTE was that very few exporters are willing to move out of their comfort zone, despite increasing cost of production in Bangalore. The farthest they are ready to go is to the border of Karnataka or coastal Andhra that too because the Government is pursuing them very pro-actively.

Technology providers believe that the migration into new states is a must for the garment industry to grow and many of them claim that they are supporting companies that are willing to make the move. Another strong point made by the stalwarts of the technology industry is that automation alone is not the answer to labour issues… They emphasize onb the need to balance automation with motivation.

Also too much automation is not the solution, it has to be selective automation on those operations where replacing the labour makes sense. After all it is about replacing labour wages that cost ‘rupees per month’ as against western countries where the equation is ‘dollars per day’.

I was also happy to see the equally good response at the inaugural Gartex exhibition held at Pragati Maidan, Delhi. Though the fair was small and focused mainly on value-addition technology that too mostly digital printing with huge participation from all leading players, the attention it attracted was worth noticing. It only goes to show that digital printing is still an opportunity area for many.

An interesting comment from one of the participants that fascinated me, was that exhibiting at the iconic Pragati Maidan was a matter of prestige. In fact, the location was also partly responsible for the huge response… Good infrastructure no doubt adds value to an exhibition and the first-time professional efforts of the Gartex team was appreciated.

Stitch World Editorial Issue August 2016

The global apparel manufacturing map is changing, and alongside old destinations some new areas/regions are fast developing, aided by location advantages, trade agreements, buyer’s interest and low-cost of production. Also changing is the centre of R&D for sewing technology...

With Western Europe and Asian powerhouses (Japan) of sewing machine manufacturing giving up on R&D due to stagnant market demand, and China becoming the epicentre for manufacturing of technology, the evolution of sewing machine development virtually came to a standstill. Until recently the focus of every machine manufacturer was to make cheaper, more energy-efficient and more sustainable machines. No one was even thinking of developing breakthrough technology!

But a few years back, Typical of China presented to the world a completely new innovation with its X-Feed system, which has since then been appreciated and awarded at many technology platforms for its path breaking innovation. In 2014 we saw the development of activeseam from Merrow Sewing Machine, US which again changed the way we perceive sewing. Both these offerings are fundamentally new, and are either comprehensively enhancing existing possibilities or creating new possibilities.

The most recent innovation to hit the sewing industry is ZARIF double chainstitch from Uzbekistan. The new stitch type has great practical implications, promising to re-define the de facto standard of sewing. In this issue we have covered this invention in detail and hope that some large multinational sewing technology manufacturers will grab the opportunity to commercialize this innovation.

Even as the spurt of innovations in sewing excites me, also fascinating is the quest for sustainable production and energy-saving options that is pushing the industry to experiment with new concepts. On my recent visit to one of the most technology-savvy Vietnamese garment manufacturing companies, I was surprised to spot giant fans in their laundry department, which prompted me to explore more on this interesting cooling option.

Relatively unknown in the garment manufacturing scenario, High Volume Low Speed (HVLS) fans are a highly efficient and power saving way to keep any large space cool. I am sure during your many travels abroad; some of you may have spotted these gigantic fans at the airport, but never thought about having them in the factory… In this issue we have given a rundown on HVLS, and I purposely refrained from presenting the attractive ROI figures due to many parameters currently unknown. I am sure you will enjoy exploring this technology in your factory in near future.

Another area of development that never seizes to hold my attention is the growing intervention of IT in garment manufacturing, particularly on the production floor. Not many in the industry really know or appreciate how already exciting ‘apps’ can make their production process so much more systematic and consistent. The article ‘Mobile Apps for Garment Industry’, put together by Team StitchWorld, will be a refreshing read for many of you, and I will not be surprised if some of you will actually want to download a few of these apps and check them out. I will surely look forward to your experienced feedback on the same.

StitchWord Editorial Issue July 2016

The month of June has been like a roller coaster ride with some good news punctuated in-between the events that are disturbing and reason for concern. But the best news first... Apparel Resources launched its flagship brand Apparel Online in Vietnam this month. It was a proud moment for the team and the warm response that the magazine received from the local industry, the textile and garment association and the Indian expat community in the country was an icing on the cake.

There are many Indian expatriates working in Vietnam garment industry, leading both buying offices and factories. The feedback I got from them only makes my resolve firmer to explore Vietnam and present it to the world as the next big sourcing hub of Asia.

The other news that makes me very happy is the appointment of Smriti Irani as the Union Textiles Minister of India. Coming very close on the heels of the ‘Special Package’ announced by the Union Cabinet for the apparel industry, I sincerely hope that the industry will finally get its due recognition through a combination of firebrand leadership and timely policy interventions including some relaxations in labour laws that have been a long standing demand from the industry... However, I do hope that she is not diverted to look after UP politics.

The announcement indicates that finally two things have been clearly understood by the Government – the enormous capability of this sector to generate employment, and the other is that the apparel export sector is not to be clubbed together with handloom.
But among these reasons to rejoice, the exit of Britain from the EU is a matter of deep concern for many exporters as the Pound fell 15 per cent in just a few days riding on negative business sentiments. Exporters whose payments are yet to come will be hit hard, unless they had anticipated and hedged the risk in advance or negotiated payments in Euro…, which I doubt many have done!

‘Brexit’ also means that the negotiations with the EU for FTA will have to start afresh... Many also believe that with the UK out of the EU, the FTA would not be as impactful. Of the US
$ 16-17 billion apparel exports from India, Europe accounts for 45 per cent, within which the UK holds the largest share of 40 per cent. For made-ups, the share of Europe is 20-25 per cent, of which the UK forms 15-20 per cent.

The most worrying development however has been the eruption of terrorist activities in neighbouring Bangladesh. After the terror attack on a cafe in the elite locality of Gulshan in Dhaka that left 20 hostages dead, most of whom were foreigners working in the country, put us all under shock... But the firing and blast at Eid prayers have left the country as well as its well-wishers numb. This will certainly put fear into everyone and buyers may start working with factories closer home or at safer destinations.

Is Bangladesh going the Pakistan way...? Will an industry that is roaring to grow be ‘killed’ by anti-human forces...? I hope not. I have always propagated that the Indian sub-continent is a thriving hub for garment sourcing with each country having its own strength making for one comprehensive region..., but if the terror attacks in Bangladesh are not nipped out soon, we could be getting into an era of business boycotts that would impact the whole region.

StitchWord Editorial Issue June 2016

The way Ethiopia is being promoted by the US retailers and the World Bank, it seems it will not take much time before the country develops into a major sourcing destination...

I have not seen or heard of many Indian companies moving out of their comfort zones to establish factories outside the country... Arvind Mills with its denim plant, Indorama with its polyester plant and beating them is Kanoria Chemicals & Industries which has already inaugurated a denim factory, the first in Ethiopia, with an annual capacity of 12 million metres; and Raymond with its garment factory, and many more have already started due diligence and have assigned people and resources to the project...

What surprised me even more is the interest of Bangladesh entrepreneurs, many of whom are seriously contemplating starting factories there, and why not! The country is young and full of anticipation, offers lot of scope for investment in cotton cultivation and hydro energy, a special duty-free access to the US through AGOA and EU market under EPA, besides competitive labour wages (around US $ 50), improving infrastructure and an industry-savvy Government.

If that is not enough to entice the businessmen, then there are US retailers and brands who are taking delegations to Ethiopia with a promise to fill their factories. A 27-member garment exporter’s team has been selected for an investment trip to Ethiopia from Bangladesh; and last I heard was that DBL, a US $ 250 million exporter from Bangladesh, has already earmarked US $ 100 million investment and factory to begin production in late 2016.

Well-known company of Egypt, Velocity of an Indian entrepreneur Sidharth Singa has already started production in Ethiopia with around 2,000 employees… He has plans to take the head count to 10,000 employees. Alameda Textiles has similar plans to take the head count to 11,000 from 5,500 today. The list goes on… It all sound very exciting and I will surely give you my update in the next couple of weeks with a story on latest developments in Ethiopia.

I was in the USA recently to attend the Texprocess Americas at Atlanta. It is always exciting to meet friends and colleagues from around the world and catch-up on latest trends in market and technology. This time I met many interesting people in the e-commerce and bespoke segment.

These are the two areas that are growing and many retailers/brands are aggressively looking at these options to attract customers who are increasingly becoming difficult to please. Technology providers are also making efforts to keep pace with new challenges in the segment. Another segment that was under debate and direction for constant innovation is Robotics in apparel manufacturing... This issue carries an analysis of some of the interesting technologies that drew attention.

The issue also takes a deep look at how to handle concerns of first-hour productivity by StitchWorld after much deliberation with industry experts in the article Combatting First-hour Productivity Woes. A new series has been initiated from this issue onwards, appropriately titled TechRead, which will update our readers on books, both recent and classics that can help run factories more efficiently by brushing up your understanding of both management/production techniques and technologies.

StitchWord Editorial Issue May 2016

‘Industry 4.0’, is a name that I first heard at TEXPROCESS Germany in 2015, to lure the fourth generation back into apparel manufacturing. And I am now at TEXPROCESS Americas to witness some of the disruptive technologies that the concept is indicative of. It is said that 70-80 per cent of jobs in the present format will disappear in the next 20 years and there will be a lot of new jobs, but it is not clear if there will be enough jobs left in the apparel manufacturing. It may seem that the time is too far away, but the impact of it will be felt much sooner...

Look at what happened to Kodak’s 170,000 employees which used to sell 85 per cent of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they got bankrupt due to digital camera. Welcome to the 4th ‘Industrial Revolution’…

Software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years. Uber is just a software tool, they don’t own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world. Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world, although they don’t own any properties. How much time would you give the software solution and the hardware (robot in this case) to understand the suppleness of the fabric and also to pick and align and sew all parts together?

Already the computer arm has been built which is doing few of the operations and also the computer designing. Virtual sampling of the garments is taking away months of labour time...; now the process can be achieved in real time. I have access to many articles in which it is claimed that the jobs in law (lawyer), medicine (general medics and surgeons), nursing, drivers, insurance agents, etc. will be lost to computers.

The 3D printing technology deserves special mention since the price of the 3D printer is coming down and also it will become 100 times faster, and the first casualty would be the spare parts industry... It is claimed that by 2027, 10 per cent of everything that’s being produced will be 3D printed. Imagine all major shoe companies will start 3D printing of shoes... The traditional concept of fibre to fashion might just change; synthetic wearables will be produced directly from 3D printers without going through fibre to fabric process, which will turn out to be a ‘wasteful’ activity! The possibility of dyeing a fabric without water is already happening in some parts... Self-cleaning garments are already here; just few shakes will do the same job of litres of water! Waterless (or water mist-based) dyeing and processing of fabrics and garments will be common in coming years... There are many other areas that are undergoing transformation and ‘Industry 4.0’ may actually be on the way!

In the meantime, Asian countries are still struggling with challenges that are basic. In India where apparel manufacturing has always been a male-dominated domain, though ironically women operators are a preferred lot, few women have broken free of the gender stereotype and are successfully manning the production floor. StitchWorld talked to three such women who believe that they are equal if not better than men on the shop floor... Enjoy the article ‘Women who broke gender stereotypes in apparel manufacturing industry’ and let us know a few more who deserve to be applauded for the work they are doing.

After the series on whether HR is becoming more important than Technology, which received tremendous response from our readers, we are initiating a new debate – Are we overdoing welfare at the cost of human development? Also a must-read, our industry expert Anand Deshpande, Founder & CEO – Admaa Consulting, talks about shop floor control in apparel production in this issue.

StitchWord Editorial Issue April 2016

I have been saying time and again for a long time now that the technology providers need to come forward to support small and medium manufacturers to make them more productive and efficient, just like they did for the garment exporters in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

There is no better platform to understand it better than at garment technology fairs happening around India. And true to expectations, the recently concluded GTE was visited mostly by the small manufacturers, not only from Delhi and around, but also from faraway places like Indore, Meerut, Varanasi, Jaipur, Kolkata and even from small centres in the south of India.

The fact remains that India has just 200 top garment manufacturing companies that account for around 70% of the exports from this country and only 20 domestic manufacturers worth mentioning in the domestic arena, and these elite companies are already in the radar of the technology providers, who service them well.

I am not saying that they should not lure the top-end companies; all that I am driving at is that these top-bracket companies don’t need to be at local fairs. They sponsor their trips to international fairs to show them their latest machines. This time around 120 companies have got sponsorship from their Japanese principals for JIAM.

The fairs in India are relevant for the smaller companies or job-workers who want to grow but fail because, for one, they do not have enough managerial skills to grow; and secondly, lack technical support. In both these cases, I think the technology suppliers can play a major role and ignite the second phase of development in the Indian garment manufacturing industry!

Another strong belief that I have is that today, digitisation, more than automation, is the need of the industry that has put basic technology in place… To justify automation, one needs to have the right volumes to get a decent ROI. I am sure the technology suppliers will have many more reasons to make you go for automation, but for me it is primarily about saving on labour and achieving certain quality, which with all due respect is also achievable by a good and trained operator. Of course, since the labour is quite cheap, letting go off a few of them will not make a substantial impact on the cost.

Now, digitisation of the organisation is altogether a different matter… It helps increase quick delivery, offers better price to the customer through better managed business, and helps achieve higher productivity and efficiency. Although everyone agrees that digitisation is important, but a mistake most companies that are getting into digitisation commit while imbibing the IT technology, is investing in creating a strong front-end which impresses all, but fails to deliver. What is required is an equally strong back-end interface to support the front-end.

All international companies have now allocated huge budgets to make the entire company go digital and these budgets are divided smartly over the entire chain from front-end to the back-end for optimal results… The right synchronisation of people and solutions is the answer to take the company towards a path of growth. You may get an order directly in your ERP system with a copy to all departments. But how well it is understood by the people responsible and how efficiently, regularly and diligently they pick up the required directions to execute the style, is entirely a different matter. The smooth and effective translation of communication and quick action on the same is what makes an organisation and defines the success of a digital initiative.

Achieving excellence in the manufacturing of a product is one thing, but ensuring that systems are in place to guarantee that the deliveries are on time and pre-production goes as per schedule, is another thing all together.

StitchWord Editorial Issue March 2016

Another year, another GTE and 4 days of hectic display of technology… For me, more than seeing new technology, which we also get to do at other international technology fairs, it is the excitement of meeting old friends from the technology companies and interacting with the industry which is the attraction. The four days, right at the starting of the year, sets the tempo of what to expect from the industry and also presents an insight into the minds of players from all segments on the way forward…

While some real cutting edge technologies are waiting to be unfolded at GTE, the rest is merely the fight over cost of technology. Now manufacturers have also become knowledgeable and it is heartening to see serious discussions around ‘total cost of ownership’ while procuring some technology. Technology suppliers have to continuously reinvent themselves to remain in the limelight and not get marginalized by ‘happening’ management practices that promise results without the investment in technology…

The serious buyers are stretching the suppliers in threadbare discussions on value of technology. Frivolous technology features can no more win brownie points. Although I am a bit worried about the current scarcity of technology expertise and the dwindling role of technologists in apparel factories…
In a thought-provoking article Dr. Prabir Jana has questioned the positioning of a technologist in an apparel manufacturing setup… He analyses the role of a technologist, and how most of the roles have now been outsourced to agencies/technology providers who have expanded their role from mere providers of technology to full-service providers with special divisions working to support the companies through the process of selection and maintenance of the technology.

In the age of core competency, if the IT companies can outsource data centres to the cloud, why not technology outsourcing? Ultimately jobs should be done most efficiently and effectively; and if outsourcing a technologist’s role to ‘experts’ works for everyone…, then why not?
How can we forget the practice of outsourcing ‘cutting jobs’, where small manufacturers hire services of cutting masters who move from factory to factory carrying along their straight knives or around the corner shop ‘kaaj-button’ (button hole and button sew) guy doing the jobwork for some sewing fabricator?

Pondering over, be it in-house expertise or outsourced, technology continues to play an important role in mass manufacturing segment… I am confident that the role of technologist will never lose its importance… What is happening is the realigning of core roles within the industry at large.
It’s time to celebrate the technology and the technologist… Look forward to seeing you at GTE and will be more than happy to take the discussion forward…!

StitchWord Editorial Issue February 2016

If we are really serious about the future of garment manufacturing and export industry, then we should be concentrating on developing new players who are serious about manufacturing. Just improving what we already have is not going to get us too far…, fortunately we now have the right tools in ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skilling India’ initiatives.

To utilize the opportunities and explore new possibilities under both the schemes…, ‘out of the box’ measures need to be taken. Nothing can be achieved by cocooning ourselves and staying put in one place, always thinking inwards. We need to move out beyond our confines and comfort zone to address growth bottlenecks.

No one says that it is an easy path, but that’s what we (garment exporters) know how to do and do it well… No doubt, we will have to face many of the infrastructural and resource bottlenecks but that can always be resolved by using the right tools now available to us.
I have said in my earlier editorials that before we blindly get into a ‘mad’ rush to set up manufacturing units, it would be better to first get our house in order… I frankly feel that the first thrust should be on ‘Make India’ before we head-on into implementing ‘Make in India’. The three areas that need attention are: ‘Clean India’, ‘Healthy India’ and ‘Corruption-free India’. If these three areas are taken care of, then all other requirements for sustainable growth of manufacturing will follow automatically.

With a cleaner country other infrastructural issues and bottlenecks will fall in line. ‘Healthy India’ is about a vision of a physically and intellectually strong country where every citizen is aware of personal hygiene, health care and need to be educated. It is often said the real wealth of this country is its people…, but weak and illiterate masses can be constraining chains to growth. Again a corruption-free system will only support the tools that can make India a stable economic growth juggernaut.

The direction in which the Government is moving, strongly suggests that the era of Government funding and subsidies for business houses and industry segments is over; in fact, the Commerce Minister has clearly said so in so many words. The Government has started its campaign to facilitate better processes for ease of doing business for new entrepreneurs. I expect the budget to remove advantages the rich have enjoyed on their wealth and earnings…; now they need to look beyond the safe savings!

Bihar, Orissa, and North Eastern states are waiting to be explored for the opportunities that they have in garment manufacturing… The Government has shown the way by setting up textile and apparel parks and even opening skill centres in these regions. Now the industry has to come forward and take up the challenges… By developing these areas, the industry will create fresh beds of production.

Everyone is talking about China letting go of its garment manufacturing business, and a recent study by McKinsey says that 30 per cent of sourcing directors are looking to hike up buying from the country over the next five years, making it the third preferred sourcing destination after Bangladesh and Vietnam... But as an industry are we ready for the business? I come back to where I began… We have to create more manufacturing competencies and develop new players… that is the only way the country can live up to the expectations of the global community and also realize the latent potential in regions yet unexplored or underutilized.

StitchWord Editorial Issue January 2016

In an evolving industry, the evolution of technology and management tools cannot be far behind..., in fact they are the engines of evolutions supporting the industry to stay ahead and prepared for all the challenges.

As we enter in the New Year, the team reviews various subjects of focus for StitchWorld over the past one year where eight clear directions have emerged – IT, Sustainability, Less Explored Products, Technology for Value Addition, Automation, IE, Quality Management, and Bonding & Welding... These directions are indicative of how the industry is moving ahead to stay competitive.

In 2015, SW took a deep look at how technology providers and industry are better using IT solutions to add value to their operations. From virtual prototyping to appbased solutions to M2M communication, a lot has been happening in this area... Our Retrospect takes the reader through the various articles that deal with the subject. Sustainability is today perhaps the most discussed topic in all spheres and the garment industry has also been evaded with ways to keep systems, processes and factories sustainable. Efforts are at both ends – at industry-level and technologylevel, and with an intelligent synergy of both, companies are successfully taking the sustainability route to growth.
For an industry looking at options for ‘differentiating’, SW has identified some new products that have the potential to give a competitive edge. Also in focus is technology for value addition..., after all India cannot run away from its core strength; and how to get better, faster and more economical results in value addition, is the key.

Today, no industry can ignore the need for automation and over the year many articles lay out the various interventions and technologies that help in automating operations for both better productivity and quicker response time. A detailed series on IE and the various roles and responsibilities of the IE department threadbare areas that earlier did not even exist, like ‘ergonomics’.

The major goal of any manufacturing company is to produce quality products and the same is equally important in a garment factory, if not more... SW has dwelled on various ways to manage quality and how to implement QMS in factories. We have been talking of Bonding and Welding now for some time and the concept is growing bigger by the day... New developments of 2015 are discussed in some penetrating articles. I firmly believe that the technology is here to stay and co-exist with traditional sewing.

StitchWorld will continue with its journey of discovery to talk about new innovations, management tools and also benchmark practices. As always, I invite my readers to share new ideas and also suggest topics that they would be keen to read about. Wishing all of you a very busy and fruitful year ahead. Happy New Year...!