Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine June Issue 2018 | Page 29

EXPORTER STRATEGY
D
haka-based garment
manufacturer, Mahmud Jeans
Limited, produces 60,000 denim
bottoms per day. That’s a whopping per
day output compared to that of many
other jeans manufacturers who claim
themselves to be big but actually are
working to get even one-tenth pieces
per day output in countries other than
Bangladesh. “We are inaugurating
our new unit soon, and then our daily
combined production will be 2.5 lakh
jeans,” claims Gazi Mahbubul Alam,
Director, Mahmud Group.
Mahmud Group, with a vertical set-up
in denims from spinning onwards to
jeans manufacturing, has many firsts
to its credit and this started with its
strong belief in automation. We all
know that over the years, machines
have taken over the last surviving
manual job of cutting and sewing
of jeans which humans performed
for hundreds of years. Mahmud
installed Vibemac machines for jeans
manufacturing almost a decade ago
when other jeans giants were not so
open for the same.
“When I bought Vibemac machines in
2008, everybody said that it’s a waste of
money. I am proud today to prove others
wrong as, in the present circumstances,
you cannot even imagine to make a
factory viable without investing in
automation,” says Gazi.
The other first of Mahmud Jeans has
been its realisation to rationalise
human intervention by imbibing and
implementing many systems, and
system governed tools. The result is
for everyone to see and emulate. A
few years ago, the company used to
have a man-machine ratio of 1:2.4 but
now it has brought its man-machine
ratio down to 1:1.8 in 2018 and it is
further working strenuously to reduce
it to 1:1.6 in the coming months.
Supporting the low man-machine
ratio concept, Gazi avers, “Earlier,
there used to be a lot of helpers in
sewing units, but now the mode of
transportation within the factory has
changed. Movable tables and conveyor
belts are doing work more effectively,
so human intervention has to reduce
in order to become more profitable.”
Another reason for Mahmud Jeans
Product ensemble of Mahmud
rationalising the workforce has been
its understanding that the women
workers hold 80 per cent of share
in Bangladesh’s garment industry
and they contribute in it for a short
period of time. Explaining the same,
Gazi says, “There are less chances
of women workers coming back to
the factory once they get married
due to family pressure. So, instead
of searching for workers, I went for
more automation to reduce human
involvement and, at the same time,
to be more productive and deliver
quality.” 
Timely deliveries, building all
operations in-house under entirely
compliant conditions, being
competitive in pricing and a significant
emphasis on quality have always kept
the company ‘scoring’ high among
all its buyers. Scoring also has a
physical attribute and that relates to
buyers rating its vendors. Scoring 80
per cent or above ensures a business
of three years for the company from
the customers. Interestingly, from
Kmart, the company has got 98
marks, the highest among all the
denim manufacturers. “The ranking
parameters are environment factors,
compliance factors, workers and
management factors, salary, shipment,
sample service, lead time and
contribution to the profit margin and
we have done exceedingly well in all
these areas,” comments Gazi.
In today’s time, the buyers are
constantly asking to reduce the unit
price, whereas the cost of production for
Timely deliveries,
building all
operations in-
house under
entirely compliant
conditions, being
competitive
in pricing and
a significant
emphasis on quality
have always kept
Mahmud Jeans
‘scoring’ high
among all its
buyers.
the manufacturers is going up because
of the increase in the input cost and
also because the buyers are preferring
to work in socially and environmentally
compliant factories. All these reasons in
a combined way increase the financial
load on the manufacturers. In such
circumstances, the only available path
left is to increase productivity by having
a complete control on the entire supply
chain.
“Since we have our own denim mill,
it gives us the leverage to control the
price. Also, we have a mechanism due
to which we are somewhat immune
to the price fluctuations of the fibre.
Thirdly, even after this, if the rates
seem high to the buyers, we work
with them and explore ways and
means to bring the cost down by way
of twitching the length or changing
the seam style or removing some
operators all together,” explains Gazi. 
However, amidst such capacity
expansions, Mahmud Jeans has not
ignored the social and environmental
obligations. It’s a fact that jeans
finishing and washing require soft
water and to mitigate this, the
company has invested majorly in a
technologically advanced ETP which
is provided by the Italian pioneer
Sigma to preserve and treat the
rainwater. The installed ETP is spread
over 25,000 square feet area and is 35
feet deep. “Technology for innovation,
sustainable processes and better
control of quality are the focus for
further investments,” concludes Gazi.
www.apparelresources.com | JUNE 2018 | Apparel Online Bangladesh
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