Stitch World Editorial Issue January 2017

StitchWorld is in its 14th year, and has evolved tremendously in its content and reach. We have graduated from topics like operator and supervisor training to concepts like IoT, M2M and automation, moving towards Robotics and the era of 3D printing and 3D pattern making. Yet, the focus of the magazine has not changed at all - productivity, on-time delivery and quality - still remain at the core; how to achieve these goals are evolving, resulting in new concepts and management tools.

Today, managing a factory is a very complex game; it is no longer about just building a state-of-the-art factory. How the factory is managed, and what are the external influences and challenges of profitability are critical elements that can make or break even the best of factories… Through the year, my editorials have reflected these challenges…, emerging from factors both within and outside the factory.

It all sounds very nice, but the industry is taking a cautious stand… They know that Governments don’t really understand the nuances of the industry, and just by giving incentives to set-up a unit is not going to help the cause. I have pointed out many
times that the issue is inter-related to many concerns… In my editorial in February, I had said, “The three areas that need attention are ‘Clean India’, ‘Healthy India’ and ‘Corruption-free India’. If these three areas are taken care of, all other requirements for sustainable growth of manufacturing will follow automatically.”

Another interesting point that evolved over the year and strongly advocated by the stalwarts of the technology industry is that automation alone is not the answer to labour issues… They emphasize on the need to balance automation with motivation. I fully endorse this view and we are almost ending from where we started - operator training; only the focus is not so much on training but motivation!

I had pointed out in my September editorial that too much automation is not a 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 in dollars per day.

External influences like terrorism, Brexit, US elections have all been contemplated on, and 2017 will see how these events of the past year will push business interest. New innovations, technology service outsourcing, re-shoring and new global manufacturing destinations like Ethiopia and Myanmar have all found place in various editorial musings… But what I would like to say fresh is that the time has come to reassess the scope of StitchWorld - sewing industry is now too big to be limited by the literal context.

This year we propose to re-orient focus within the gamut of garment manufacturing and management. The new focus areas besides the core subjects of production technology and production/product management will be on: Technology 4.0 that will talk about future technologies; Information Technology - a rundown on latest offering from the segment; Global Sourcing - acknowledging that manufacturing in one country is a culmination of sourcing from various destinations; Sustainability - the future no doubt; HR Management - a step upward from pure labour issues; Value Addition - creating differentiation for companies and countries; and finally Knitting Technology - a reality check, recognizing that garmenting is both
about woven and knitted products.

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.