PREFERRED SUPPLIER
Flexibility to Innovation
R I T U K ATA R I A SI N GH
Managing Director, RNS Sourcing
around the world and the same
is true for those in India. Speed
to Market, because we need to
get our goods on to the shelves
faster and innovation because
the type of product categories
that we work in are evolving
very fast and the only way to
remain ahead is to keep our
iconic brands at the top of
innovation.
Yes, vendors nowadays are
adjusting to changes but it
takes lot of time to make them
understand about changes and
requirements. If I compare
neighbouring sourcing
countries who are India’s
main competitor, price is the
main issue that needs to be
addressed, but in all reality, I
cannot blame exporters alone
for the struggle as India is
expensive than other countries
(Vietnam, Bangladesh) due
to many different reasons
which has more to do with
policies than any other factor.
Yet, pricing is important if an
exporter has to be in garment
business. They cannot have the
luxury of big margins and need
to be more practical. Exploring
tier 3 cities for manufacturing
will also help in reducing
price due to better minimum
labour rate.
In the current situation, I
would rank Speed to Market
as the biggest challenge faced
by us because maintaining
lead times is entirely in the
exporters hand, and still there
is long way to go in terms of
having better lead times to
come closer to what other
countries are offering. A lot
of work needs to be done to
improve the manufacturing
process to deliver faster. Next is
Product Innovation, more and
more innovation has to happen
and for that exporters need to
come out of the shell to offer
different products.
C
hoosing a supplier today,
is not only about how good
the supplier is, but also requires
the understanding of what your
customers are looking for and
being able to match the two for
best results. Since I stay away
from basics and work for some
high-end brands and retailers
in the US that specialize in
embellished and value-added
products, and which are special,
sourcing is done from in and
around NCR vendors.
It is globally acknowledged that
the exporters in NCR give some of
the best embellished products in
the world. In fact, this niche has
remained one of India’s biggest
attractions for buyers and that
is why this is the segment of
exporters who continue to thrive,
even as other manufacturers
who are competing on price find
it difficult to survive. But then,
even if a number of companies are
doing similar product categories,
each supplier has his individual
strengths that make him a
‘preferred supplier’, which are not
necessarily related to the product.
TNA calendars and a concerted
focus on quality. To serve a
client that is asking for high-
end embellished products, the
operations of the supplier need
to be flexible to innovations
and change.
If I consider the most important
factors that make any vendor a
preferred supplier, for me there
are many ‘must haves’ and all
are centred around what my
customers expect from me. Among
them, one of the most important
criterions when selecting a
supplier is ‘financial stability’,
which in our business is a must,
as buyers are willing to pay
only when the order is accepted
and not having enough means/
resources to follow an order
through, however good you may
be, is a definite disadvantage. Since the products that we do
are very fashion-driven and need
to be on the shelves in time, my
customers always want updates
on their orders and suppliers
who have invested in a dedicated
and professional team to handle
my customer are definitely
preferred. On the same thought,
the team should share details
about the order in a transparent
way, companies that try to hide
details or are not open to sharing
so-called internal issues, are not
at all attractive to us. For us it
is critical to know the movement
of the order – when fabric/trims
are ordered/delivered, how the
production is being planned,
etc. This helps in pre-empting
any delays.
Of course, basics like compliance,
strong product development
skills and technology support to
deliver the products are still a
must. We also prefer to work with
companies that are well planned,
meaning there is adherence to One of the biggest challenges that
we face in generating business is
meeting price points, as costings
from Indian vendors are higher
than global expectations. And
though the industry is in sync
with the changing requirements
– they need to be in order to
survive – much more can be done
to be price-competitive. The
business environment is getting
very tough as the industry is
shrinking because the global
buying patterns are changing.
Customers are moving to online
shopping and retailers are closing
brick and mortar locations and
moving to e-Commerce.
In a competitive retail scenario,
India suffers even more as the
industry has the reputation of
not being reliable – buyers still
have to deal with uncertainty
when business is placed in India
– delayed shipments et al. This
reputation will impact the overall
business from India in the future
also, if manufacturers do not get
their act together and seriously
attempt to challenge this negative
reputation.
Having said this, India can
never really disappear from
the global sourcing net because
of great product development,
flexibility to handle smaller
volumes, value addition – multiple
processes on a single garment
and hand embellishment. These
are qualities that not many
manufacturing destinations
can boast of.
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