StitchWorld Editorial Issue September 2018

Positive, Domestic Market Growing

Last month was a very busy month for us, with the dates of both Gartex, New Delhi and GTE, Bangalore clashing. It created quite a chaos for some companies that would have liked to be at both the places, but overall, the fairs were successful.

Though the focus of the two fairs was different, the feedback from the industry was very similar. At Gartex, the emphasis was on digital technology, embroidery and denim, while GTE was mostly about sewing technology. And, both fairs saw good visitation along with a significant presence of the domestic market which was noteworthy.

The fairs revealed that the domestic market is thriving with opportunities and not only have the bigger manufacturers upgraded themselves, but even smaller units are looking for growth avenues.
It was enlightening to talk to these small, often considered marginal players, to know about their keenness to explore new technologies, specially in the value addition segment, which was indeed amazing. Many of them actually placed orders for digital printing technologies!

As for the exporters, they also came, but their attitude was more cautious and reserved. Enough has been said on the role or rather on the absence of a role, by the Government, particularly of the textile ministry supporting the industry in its time of need. The good thing that has come out of all this is that the industry has finally come to terms with the fact that they have to pave their own road rather than just waiting for things to happen.

It is obvious that the industry has evened out and only those who are ready to change will remain and prosper. Opportunities are floating, but grabbing them requires a strong mindset and a competitive manufacturing set-up. It was good to see a more practical industry, ready to take on the challenges.

A technical review of both fairs can be found in the following pages of Stitch World. Besides these reviews, some of the other interesting analyses include an ever-raging discussion on the performance of men vs. women at work. For any other industry, the views are very subjective, but on the shop floor, women sewing operators seem to have emerged as clear winners. Read on to find out what the industry thinks…

Check shirts are men’s favourite, be it casual style or formal… every male has a check shirt in his wardrobe. The beautiful, symmetrical checks take the maximum time in cutting department due to mitering requirements in different areas of the garment. While mitering or matching of checks (in different parts of the shirt) enhances the aesthetics of the shirt, some become a nightmare (the ones which are made symmetrical to create brand identity). Dr. Prabir Jana, Professor, NIFT, Delhi questions some of the critical parameters of shirt making in the article ‘Shirt Making: Technical Excellence or Design Nightmare’.

Another important topic touched upon in this issue is on the ease of PMTS solutions. While one requires a formal training to operate the time and motion study software, timeSSD breaks all such barriers with an interesting experiment conducted among NIFT students.

Stitch World Editorial Issue May 2018

Many of you may remember that the first edition of StitchWorld magazine was launched 15 years ago in 2003…; but it seems like yesterday!

The journey was an enriching one which primarily included understanding, analysing and implementing existing technologies and systems to improve quality, productivity and work methodologies. Hardly any time or pages were devoted to the future.

The changes that did come, were incremental or to the best ‘mild riffles’ in the prevailing pool, but certainly not disruptive or even significantly different… A small change here, a minor intervention there or an introduction to automation were the exciting highlights of the magazine.

But 2017 really changed the outlook… Suddenly a whole new plethora of technologies exploded in the marketplace…; technologies that challenged the old way of thinking, changing and disrupting the way we knew production till date, shaping a new course for production in the future!

Technologies, systems and processes that seemed far-fetched a few years ago, suddenly became possible and practical… We were looking at the future, not as an imagination in time, but a reality waiting to happen.

After 15 years of talking about the same old concepts, we were faced with new thoughts and ways of working. Always fast to move with the changing time, StitchWorld too transformed and updated its scope and content…, preparing not for the present, but for the future.

I am sure you would have seen this change being reflected in the pages! Do let me know if the change is acceptable and in the right direction.

Stitch World Editorial Issue April 2018

Even as manufacturing technology moves into the Industry 4.0 zone, one cannot ignore the rapid intervention of technology in retail. The whole process of sourcing, manufacturing and retailing is undergoing a dynamic revolution, and technology is at the centre of this change.

Everyone is talking about e-retailing and how it has challenged the retail landscape, but a number of interactive and responsive technologies are actually enhancing the in-store experience, which is one of the most important attractions for the millennials today.

From this issue onwards, StitchWorld is introducing a new section, specially for retail technologies. It is an acknowledgment to the growing number of technologies that are aimed at the retail segment.

It is only appropriate that after working so hard to support the manufacturing industry in understanding and developing effective systems for the back-end, SW now takes a step forward without moving from its primary focus on the ‘sewn product’ industry.

The series of articles will throw light on new directions in retail and how technology is providing the solutions. The first article in the series is on the concept of ‘Magic Mirror’ which captures much more than the onlookers’ image.

I am sure my readers will find value in the series and I look forward to suggestions on technologies and topics we can talk about in this new section.

The current issue also contains a special tribute to women in the Tech Industry. Though they are fewer in number, the ‘punch’ they carry is no less than that of their male counterparts. Federica Giachetti, President Morgan Tecnica, shares her journey in a man’s world and how today, she is not looked upon as a woman, but as a successful entrepreneur.

Ludhiana is going through a dynamic change… while players are now exploring new products like lingerie, hitherto unheard of in the city and are moving beyond the knit centre title; new technologies are coming in and the openness to adapt to these technologies is on a high.

Bringing in this change with enthusiasm are a set of new generation inheritors and more affordable technology that suppliers are offering from around the world. The synergy between the willingness to change and the expanding offerings is writing a new chapter in the evolution of the Ludhiana industry.

Stitch World Editorial Issue February 2018

January month has always been a busier month hustling with activity and business owing to multiple technology trade fairs being held around the same time in both India and Bangladesh. What makes it even more interesting and spirited is the opportunity that it gives us to meet several old and new acquaintances and get the real pulse of the industry… undoubtedly, this time also I was successful in drawing many leads.

However, what perturbs me still is the industry’s ‘not-so-vibrant’ scenario, as they continue to struggle under the ongoing product-price war, and are even more badly hit due to bank’s tight lending, thanks to the NPAs and the GST, and the final nail in the coffin being the abolition of duty drawback.

Nevertheless, I was elated to come across few exporters who managed to put up a good show amidst such testing times… Here my special mention goes to Magnum Resources, a technology supplier, whose stall at GTE Delhi, apart from giving a feel of international styling also depicted the prosperous time it saw last year. From next year onwards, the company intends to take a bigger leap by not only having a larger stall but also a double-storey set-up. I must compliment their consistent courage and determination which has made them emerge as a winner in this sluggish position.

The twist in the tale was ‘automation’ or as I should say more emphatically ‘affordable automation’ which stole the show. Certain automats like cuff runstitch, collar runstitch machines, which have made their presence felt since last three decades, are finally finding a place on the shopfloor. We may have been still far from Industry 4.0 compared to the West, but automation has silently crawled its way to become an integral need for our industry’s successful survival in face of rising cost and labour crisis.

What continues to concern me though is the absence of newcomers in such potential events. I have kept harping on this time and again as I don’t get to see the new generation coming to these fairs, lacking the required inquisitiveness towards developments with regard to the industry. Now I don’t even chance to meet the regular generation next… Is this not sad?

All said and done, apparel may not be doing well but non-apparel products are already on their growth path, and as per my understanding and information, the major expansion is taking place in this segment. StitchWorld definitely endeavours to have more such nonapparel products such as gloves, backpacks, wallets and more on its pages for its readers… Our next issue will update you on the detailed happening in the technological front and their implementation in India and Bangladesh.

If you don’t know yet, my company Apparel Resources has recently released a book Industrial Engineering in Apparel Manufacturing and has also used GTE as a launching pad for our Apparel Resources Jobs portal… Don’t miss further information on these new ventures in our upcoming Apparel Online magazine and our website apparelresources.com.

I must admit that I have stated only a small fragment of the vast pool of thoughts which surround me, and more will be shared with you shortly…

Stitch World Editorial Issue January 2018

Even as we welcome the New Year with its vivacious colours, wishing a bright future for the industry, my sincere advice is that the quicker we forget about the happenings of last year and move on to chart a new growth path, the better and wiser it would be for all of us.

Yet, recalling the eventful year gone by and the manifold jolts it gave to the industry, I am in a way unable to drive myself out of its dominant impacts. First, the demonetisation which seeped the entire liquid fund from the market and then the imposition of GST which blocked whatever money was left and now the hammer on duty drawback...; of course, not to forget the external impediments of price squeeze by the buyers and loworder volume.

In all fairness, it seems that the entire last year was spent on matters which were not productive, but rather disruptive.

Moving ahead, we would be required to take many bold steps to stop the downward trajectory, the first among them would be to give the reigns of the industry into the hands of the younger generation… It’s high time we understand and appreciate that there are companies which do not hire employees who are more than 35 years of age, and even retire them at 52. Employees of such companies are even given the privilege of bringing in new and innovative ways of working, not training them to think in old ways.

In what can be called a massive shift in the thought process, you have to permit these young Turks the scope to make alterations which at the onset might seem difficult to accept…But on honest analysis, the realisation soon dawns that there is merit in it.

Metro cities from where we have been operating for a long time is our comfort zone; we should certainly endeavour to move to smaller cities to take advantage of the low wages and also taxation incentives offered by the State Governments. We have some successful examples in the industry itself; just look around you.

We should also seriously start catering to the domestic market as well..., operationalize our sewing lines in such a way that they can service both the domestic as well as export customers. In not so far future, you will find that the international brands operating in India have started procuring from the Indians as well as from markets closer home.

Reflecting upon examples of several international stores closing down due to their reluctance to source from India, we earnestly need to pull up our socks and stretch our flexibility level to produce what the Indian customers want. If the industry needs to survive, it needs to make large investment on warehousing and manufacturing in India.

These are just some of the short goals of a long journey where we need to create brands and a stamp of quality for our products. A vision quite similar to what has been done by Italy, France or closer home in SriLanka. The driver now is value-based branding even though quantities may not be large.

This first issue of the new year, RELIVE 2017, takes the readers through a retrospect journey of the various subjects which were in focus last year. These can be aptly summed under eight core areas – People, Technology 4.0, Production Management, Human Resource Management, Product Management, Production Technology, Information Technology and Event.