Stitch World Editorial July Issue 2018

Saving cost is one of the biggest agendas for every garment exporter today… Every company is looking at how to reduce its running cost and save enough so that the bottom line is healthier.

While some companies are working within the factory to squeeze out an extra penny, others are exploring new destinations that are cost-effective. All said and done…, a solution has to be found!

When the ‘cost’ bug hit the industry many years ago, we saw factories being shifted from established hubs to interiors outside the city limits. While many Delhi based companies opened factories in Manesar, the fate of most of them is a sad story today…, only a few found success like Sarita Handa; others have either rented out the premises or are operating at below optimal levels.

The biggest reasons that exporters quote when questioned about the failure, is difficulty in getting trained manpower and the travelling woes of the middle management leading to fast turnarounds.

Similarly, other hubs too saw movement to the interiors… Laguna went to Kanakapura on the outskirts of Bangalore, while GO GO International travelled to Holenarsipur, Hassan, again on the outskirts. How fruitful these moves have been, is debatable and open to interpretation.

Armed with past experiences, companies are now therefore more keen to travel to Tier-2 cities, being backed by State Government support. Here, besides the initiatives being offered, which are quite attractive, there are facilities like airports, schools, hospitals, etc, which a company needs to set up a people-oriented industry like garments.

I have been saying for long that moving to outskirts is not a very viable option because the ecosystem for conducive business is not available. Rather the smaller cities like Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar are much better options.

The number of investments that we are seeing in these cities from companies like Shahi, Matrix, Pearl, Orient Craft, Texport, Arvind, Madura Garments, Page Apparel, Kishore Exports, Shakti Wear, Meenakshi Ltd., JP Sports Apparel to name a few, is impressive. I am sure once these factories set the trend and prove successful, many more investments can be expected.

While in India, we are still struggling to save cost mostly from workers’ wages, the West is looking at high technology to get manufacturing back without the pressure of wages!

Exhibitors at Texprocess Americas this year echoed the future of apparel industry with the theme ‘Digital Apparel Microfactory’: A manufacturing set-up where various different technologies are combined together to fill customers’ orders in quantities as low as one. It can be started in even a small room and has become the strength for manufacturers based in USA. This issue of StitchWorld highlights this trendsetting concept and how the companies are embracing it.

Exploring new product categories apart from apparel has always been StitchWorld’s interest. This time, our team visited HH Interior’s factory and explored the quality and manufacturing aspects of car seat covers. A must read…

Continuing with our Poll section, read interesting views from industry experts on the topic ‘Will mass manufacturing return to the USA?’

Stitch World Editorial Issue June 2018

On-demand manufacturing gets streamlined with automation

Though the concept of ‘On-demand manufacturing’ may be in existence for long in the industry as claimed by many of the fashion technology solution providers, the practice of the same or what is now being referred to as ‘Purchase Activated Manufacturing (PAM)’, is not only being talked about currently in every forum, but is also being principally followed in the industry as well.

Though the concept may still be in its nascent stage where the companies are experimenting and improvising the concept…, looking in for ways on how to make all systems and technologies to be in sync, and ‘talking’ to each other to address the challenges posed by On-demand manufacturing, the implication of this movement is far-reaching.

Till about four years ago, the discussion in the US centred around ‘Made in US’, Inshoring, Reshoring, and about two years back, the discussion shifted to putting micro factories, store factories, speed factories, and smart manufacturing systems in place with the sole idea of bringing manufacturing of fashion back to the US…, the intent still continues.

Hence, another two years onwards, the concept has gained such a momentum that I now find many companies which have started to build reasonable-size factories to cater to the increasing demand of locally made products… with the effective support of the On-demand manufacturing concept.

My recent visit to Texprocess Americas supported my conviction. I was not surprised to see around 8 cutting solution companies showcasing single ply, vision-aided automatic cutters. I could not find specific sewing or transport solutions supporting the concept, except for autonomous mobile robot for bundled cut parts collection and transportation – through design-print-cut to robotic sewing stations across the aisle. It was but obvious that technology for customisation is finding takers.

In this issue, we have successfully covered the stories of three such US companies which are making a mark in terms of technology solutions they have put in place. Their experience only underlines more assertively that the concept of On-demand manufacturing is here to stay.

Certain topics will always be the centre of debate, with different people having different opinions. What the industry thinks and knows and if they will stand for change is critical for the future… Taking an initiative in this direction, the present issue marks the beginning of a new column ‘SW Poll’ where key industry people cast their votes on a topic of relevance. The first question revolves around the debate on automation, which is: ‘Will it be able to compete on the cost offered by mass apparel manufacturing hubs?’

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 March 2018

Industry 4.0 is very much in the news and also a hot topic of discussion in magazines and seminars, the world over. We are also following the market trends and discussing the many facets of this topic in the pages of StitchWorld. In this issue too, we bring you insights into the latest discussion on agendas covered by experts sharing the multiple benefits that Industry 4.0 offers.

It is another matter if we would be using any of these concepts in apparel manufacturing and in the context of the Third World countries, in the near future. But then, apparel is not the only industry using sewing technologies. It's being used in industries manufacturing products right from water rafts, parachutes, sails, airbags, tents to all other industries which are using technical textiles as a substitute for hard materials. Significantly, products being manufactured by these industries require high precision and speed and for which the price of the product is not so much of a constraint.

Understand that the concept 4.0 is presently at a very early stage of evolution. It will take few years for it to settle down with a definitive direction. SW is also transforming and growing with the evolution of this concept. That's what we as editors of StitchWorld do, keep a close watch on the evolving trends.

Many years ago, we caught the concept of ‘Lean’ in the apparel manufacturing industry at a very early stage and covered it intensively from all dimensions in our pages. Today, we are bringing out a book on 'Lean concept and its implementation in the apparel industry’ with case studies based on the articles published in SW from time to time.

On similar lines, you would be seeing many books and reports in the next couple of months… This is the fruit of our efforts to compile concepts, formulated and discussed over time and at length, in one comprehensive format as an easy reckoner for practitioners and students of the industry.

The current issue of SW brings to you some interesting technologies that drew attention at the recently concluded GTE. In addition, you will also get an insight into Utah Fashions Ltd., a Bangladesh based apparel exporter that has been carving a benchmark in lean with the practices it follows. Following the growing importance of fire safety, Team SW also brings out the vulnerabilities in factories which lead to fire accidents.

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.