Tips for Making a Successful Clothing Business
Importance of Strategic Management Process in Textile and Apparel Industry:
Most of the Bangladeshi clothing manufacturing factories are not in the right tracks of appropriate management. Many owners and top executives believe that pilling up a good number of sewing and auxiliary machineries, laying them one behind the other make up an apparel factory. The rest is catching up the buyers or subcontracts and working day and night. This is how, many apparel manufacturing factories, in the initial stage thrived and prospered. Most probably those old golden days are gone. Besides, running apparel factories under mismanagement may rob off your peace and happiness. You may be under continuous threat of order cancellation, rejection of goods ready at store, discount, air shipment, so on and so forth. The ownership of apparel manufacturing factory may prove to be a nightmare.
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| Fig: Successful clothing business tips & tricks |
Have you ever thought that you might control all these ominous factors? Definitely, you will be able to overcome all the crises lest you determine the most critical factors you need to eradicate & the most important processes and systems you need to launch.
What are the Strategic Management Process in Apparel and Textile Industry?
A running textile and apparel manufacturing factory must do & not do the following things to a successful clothing business and to circumvent problems & challenges and fetch success.
1. Do you deliver monthly salary within the first week of the month?
If not, immediately launch a program to deliver salary within the first week of the month.
2. Do you deliver the overtime on legally mandated date?
If not, please launch a program immediately to deliver overtime within the legally mandated date.
3. Do you recruit personnel & staff based on kinship or references?
Immediately launch a program to recruit manpower based on education, training, experience, personal qualities etc. and not on kinship. Appointment based on kinship would do more harm to your management than benefit.
4. Do you have relatives in the management?
If yes, arrange for their training on related topics.
5. Do you train your manpower?
If not, start training your officers & staff on computer literacy & on relevant subjects they are engaged in. Training quickly improves efficiency and performances of personnel.
6. Do you train your workers and helpers?
Conduct continuous training of your workers so as to make them skilled. Arrange for multi-skilling them. Skilled workers bring for your product quality and productivity.
7. Have you installed internal audit of all aspects of factory operations?
Immediately install internal audits system to monitor production operation system, quality management system, compliance and accounts etc.
8. Have you computerized your office work?
- Immediately computerize salary delivery system and accounting system.
- Computerize material sourcing system and system production and shipment planning.
- Computerize tracking of work from order sourcing up to goods delivery.
- Computerize disciplinary procedures.
- Computerize making of packing list of goods to be delivered.
9. Have you installed ISO 9000.2000?
If the answer is “No”, immediately install the system as its gears your facility to better management, higher quality and right documentation.
10. Have you installed work-study method in your production lines?
Immediately install the system as it gears your facility to higher productivity, analysis of actual situation and finding out problems and bottlenecks so that they may be eliminated. It is the most important to for boosting productivity.
11. Have you made your facility safe against fire and accident?
- Make your factory foolproof against occurrence of fire.
- Install fire extinguisher, fire hoses, smoke detectors etc. in adequate numbers as mandated by law and requirements.
- Install fire alarms and public address system to use them in case of hazards; conduct regular fire drills and document them.
- Install emergency light in the floor and alarm the stairs or exits.
- Make the machinery equips with eye guard, needle guard, pulley cover etc.
- Train worker to use masks, head scarfs, personal protective equipment (PTE) etc.
12. Do you have male workers in significant numbers?
Make plans to train male workers and replace them with females. If you don’t do it, you may have to face sudden workers explosions, because male temperament does not fully fit to the work culture in the apparel manufacturing industry. Train helper girls to gradually replace male workers. This is not difficult as there is always significant worker turnover in the industry.
13. Have you placed complain & suggestion boxes in your facility?
If “no”, place complain & suggestion boxes in your facility so that workers can ventilate their grievances and suggestions. The management can also understand worker and employee feelings and temperament ahead of time to forestall any hesitation. Clearly mention the person responsible to open the suggestions and complain boxes with designated day and time of opening the boxes.
14. Is your factory capable of sourcing materials on time so that production does not suffer?
If “no”, please introduce quick response merchandising and supply chain management so that you can source all the materials on time so that you can deliver goods on designated date.
15. Is your factory a compliant one?
If “no”, put your factory on compliance mode. Introduce WRAP or SA-8000 codes. Also introduce ISO 14000. Compliance steers your facility to an ideal factory.
