For me a‘ preferred supplier’ is one where the management has the right mindset … I should be able to connect to the supplier. He should be thinking about the future … 10 years hence and not just thinking of surviving the day. Mindset that talks of innovation, makes manufacturing LEAN and more efficient and productive. When I say supplier has to think about future, sustainability has to be a part of it. A supplier who understands sustainability is not just adding to cost but actually a better and efficient way of working and who is also curious to understand how I can improve in my area. I also like suppliers who talk about sustainability in their company profile, the initiatives and also about the pillars of sustainability – this is what we believe in, this is what we do for people and for environment. So that is also important. Then, there should be flexibility. Supplier should understand the retail process. As partners, some days I will need you to back us in certain areas; to understand nuances of retail so that they are able to support in the right manner of manufacturing. One set of suppliers is just manufacturing and the other is ready for open discussion and tries to put themselves in customer’ s shoes. Then you can have open discussion; we can see that you can build capacity, you can grow with the factory and then the company benefits, the factory benefits. We can see the future together. So, there should be flexibility. We all want to make profit but in today’ s time, it should be done together. It’ s more of a collaborative effort.
|
Product Development is a part of business, but it depends actually on what the requirement is. For me, it’ s not necessary that I have somebody who has great PD. In my supply base, I would love to have a mix – someone with good production capability and someone who can give creative inputs, but more importantly someone who can give me global quality rather than giving me great showrooms. In the end, the product that reaches the store and does not sell is of no use, no matter how great it looks in the showroom. There are lot of suppliers who have great showrooms but I tell them that I will not work with them if I do not get global level of quality. Some of them give me that global level quality and also look good apart from great service level.
Our job is to secure the procurement while the job of the factory is to manufacture according to the order placed. When I talk about secure the procurement, then it means sustainability, development, capacity building at every level. We connect buying
|
and manufacturing … It’ s not disconnecting. Middle man earlier used to do merchandising but that’ s not my job. The supplier’ s job is merchandising. I don’ t want to be a check point. Every sample that comes to me if I have to reject and check it before sending each time, it is inefficiency … It’ s two people doing same job and that’ s inefficiency. It should be first time right. You do your job correctly first time, so that I can do my job.
My job is to source the right product and make sure I place the right product to right supplier, have a good overview of how supplier is performing and give them the right direction. What was happening earlier was that liaison or a buying agency was so involved in day-to-day activities that we were not able to do our real job and then you talk about empowering suppliers. QCs go and do final inspection. If you have right service level, my QC will go there to tell how you can do better. They can help develop factories to be more efficient. If he is constantly spending time
|
A supplier who understands sustainability is not just adding to his cost but actually to a better and efficient way of working; and who is also curious to understand how I can improve in my area, is for me a‘ preferred supplier’.
to only check garments because vendors are not doing their jobs, then it is not serving any purpose. Our job is to develop supply chains.
A progressive supplier will think how can I use IT to my benefit, how can I service buyers better, how can I give them better product and how can I be the factory of future. If I have to stay a preferred supplier, I need to be in step with what my buyer expects from me … But such suppliers are few; moving forward I think the industry will be smaller, much more consolidated. Ones with right attitude are the ones who will see lot of business moving together. I see it that way. I don’ t see India ever outgrowing this industry completely. There is certain handwriting that India has which has not failed them so far. You cannot get that anywhere else. China too has tried so much to copy, which they are good at, but they have also not been able to match India’ s capability in handwork … So India will always be there, but who will grow, is in the hands of the suppliers.
|