LIST OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. i
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.ii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY OF
THE CLUSTER SURVEY..................................................................
1.1Background Study
1.2Objectives
1.3Methodology
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 BIAC.
2.2 Volta Fashions Pvt. Ltd..
CHAPTER 3: PRIMARY DATAANALYSIS
3.1The Observation..
3.1.1 BIAC
3.1.2 Operational Units
3.1.3 Supply Chain Management
3.1.4 Challenges in the Supply
Chain.
3.1.5 APAC
3.2The Interview/ Recordings
3.2.1 Production Unit 1
3.2.2 Production unit 2
3.2.3 Lean Process
3.3The Apparel Cluster Survey.
3.3.1 Infrastructure
3.3.2 Employment and Training..
3.3.3 Sourcing
3.3.4 Operation unit output and Innovative Technology..
3.3.5 Productivity Efficiency of Machines

3.3.6 Supply Chain Management and Related

Problems..
3.3.7 Retail Outlet
CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...
CHAPTER 5: LEARNINGS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION; OBJECTIVE AND

METHODOLOGY OF THE CLUSTER SURVEY
1.1 Background Study
1.2 Objectives
1. To understand the basic functioning of how apparel park(Brandix and Voltas
fashion) work , process in general
2. To understand the various functions and the manufacturing process of both the
companies

1.3 Methodology and data collection

The primary objective of doing this project is to get the first-hand knowledge of
Functioning Brandix and Voltas Fashion. As we were learning the manufacturing
procedure. Hence
exploratory research design is the need of the hour.
Research Design
In Primary data, Qualitative research through In-Depth Interviews & observation has
been
adopted. Interviews, Recordings were taken through survey forms and in-depth
discussion with the companys employees.
In Secondary data, both internal & external research was done. For internal research
Ready to use documents available with the organization were used. (Company
manuals,
GE video)
For external research Internet website & published book, annual report were
Consulted.

1.4 Scope and limitation The aim of this project report is to unfold stepwise all process and complexities
involved in Brandix and Voltas Fashion.
It gives a detail idea of how different departments in an Apparel export house
(BRANDIX) work in
synchronization so that an export order is processed.

It also gives the process knowledge of Apparel park (VOLTAS FASHION)

Time constraint in terms of visiting the parks and regional language used.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 BIAC:
Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) is a revolutionary development in the apparel
industry; a unique, integrated apparel supply chain city, managed by Brandix
Lanka Ltd. Spread over 1000 acres in the port city of Visakhapatnam (or Vizag for
short) in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, it brings alive an Avant garde 'Fiber
to Store' concept. BIAC will bring together world class apparel chain partners from
the design table to consumer brands in flawless integration.
Honble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Konijeti Rosaiah inaugurated
Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC), on May 3 rd 2010, which is located within the
Andhra Pradesh Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) in Visakhapatnam at a grand
ceremony.
Honble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. K. Rosaiah on the event of the
Inauguration of Brandix India Apparel City said, Brandix India Apparel City is
one of the largest textile industry-specific special economic zones in the world, and
the only one of its scale and concept in South Asia

"I congratulate the Management of BIAC for developing this Park, which will
drive the Industrial development of the State. BIAC, from its side has stood by its
promise of providing jobs to the villagers. So far, at BIAC, the factories operating
within it have provided over 5,075 jobs to the rural people mostly girls, and when
the Park is occupied fully, about 60,000 jobs should be available. Government has
also supported them by providing land and excellent infrastructure to allow a
smooth flow in their operations.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh and Brandix has established this textile and
apparel Park under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP)
Government of India

Supported by an MOU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Approved under Government of Indias Textiles Ministry: Scheme for

Integrated Textile Parks

Granted Special Economic Zone status by Commerce Ministry, Government
of India.

BIAC VISION
Be the preferred global sourcing hub for apparel

Conceived and nurtured by Brandix, Sri Lanka's largest apparel exporter, BIAC
hightlights India's phenomenal synergies in the world of textiles. To leverage
India's immense potential for economies of scale and other robust business
fundamentals in its fast growing economy, Brandix brings 30 years of industry

expertise and invites other world class experts to join its value chain to enjoy
assured mutual benefits of investment.
The apparel park will be managed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) named
Brandix India Apparel City that is promoted by Sri Lanka- based exporter Brandix,
Lanka among other global textile and apparel manufacturers

Brandix India Apparel City has been established under the governments scheme
for integrated textile parks (SITP). Under this scheme the government provides up
to 40 percent of the cost of setting up the park subject to the limit of Rs 40 crore.
Companies such as Quantum Clothing, DEB Fashion, Seeds Intimate Apparel,
Pioneer Elastic India and Ocean India have already established set up their
operations in the Brandix India apparel park.
The Ministry has been making serious efforts to attract Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) into Indian textile industry and the Brandix India Apparel City is a shining
example which would motivate similar and large scale FDI players into Indian
textile industry
FUNDINGS
Leading Investment Holding Ltd (LIHL) is an alliance of globally renowned
partners in which the Brandix Group is the largest shareholder with management
control. The three other global partners are Jacob BAC (a subsidiary of Brandot),
Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile Ltd (CMT, Mauritius) and Pioneer Elastic
Holdings Ltd (Hong Kong).

LIHL was formed to invest in companies that fall within the apparel value chain.
LIHL was formed to invest in companies that fall within the apparel value chain.
The short term focus will be on potential opportunities within Brandix India
Apparel City (BIAC) in Visakhapatnam, India. LIHL is also open to other
industries which support and synergize with the apparel value chain such as real
estate, logistics, leisure and other infrastructure. The longer term focus will be to
invest within the South Asian subcontinent.
LIHL operates as a Private Equity Investment Fund with primarily a medium to
long term investment term (2 to 5 years) although the duration may vary depending
on the type and nature of investment. LIHL would invest either directly or by
arranging syndicated financing.
The first investment fund was initiated in March 2008 with the acquisition of
stakes in Ocean India (Pvt) Ltd (a knitted fabric mill) and Pioneer Elastics (India)
Private Ltd (a narrow fabric elastic factory), located within BIAC in
Visakhapatnam.
LIHL provides the following services:

Private Equity and Venture Capital Investments

Project Appraisal

Financial Structuring

Syndicated Debt Financing

Synergies within our portfolio of investments

Expertise of our partners in the apparel value chain

Company Formation and Administration

BIACS vertically integrated supply chain dramatically reducing lead time and
costs. BIAC is positioned to be the preferred global sourcing hub for apparel
solution. Producing 4 leading labels

Victoria Secret

Pink

M&S

BIAC provides unmatched value to manufacturers through vertical fiber to store

integration which enables both garment producers and buyers to source all their
materials requirement from within the park.
The area surrounding the park has a vast labor pool which is easily trainable and
cost effective with low attrition rates. Units within the park can operate on triple
shifts ensuring maximum utilization of capital assets.
Andhra pradesh is the 3rd largest producer of cotton in India this offers
manufacturers a reliable and cost effective source of raw materials.
The dynamics of the apparel market demands the key value propositions of speed
to market, least cost, flexibility & assurance of compliance. BIAC is built on this
premise. Its smooth flowing verticality will ensure minimum lead times, the most
critical competitive factor.

BIAC offers the total convenience of a fully-fledged industrial city with modern
infrastructure including 'Plug and Play' for immediate production. BIAC provides

business partners with immediate access to all their requirements from sourcing to
transportation. An internal single window clearance facility enables speedier
documentation processing and authorisation from a single point. The city will
enjoy world class facilities and conveniences such as a training institute, banks,
recreational and township amenities and close proximity to key international
gateways.
Recognized as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by the Government of India, BIAC
displays a state of the art infrastructure. It also enjoys a host of attractive financial
and operational incentives for investors, as well as comprehensive support to
facilitate seamless and rapid start-up of operations.

Brandix India Apparel City is an ambitious example of innovation, technology and

efficiency that provides a platform for end-to-end apparel solutions. The
breakthrough concept of seamless Fibre-to-Store integration offers unmatched
advantages for global apparel chain partners. BIACs seamless concept ensures that
all needs are met, encompassing raw material sourcing to the shipping of final
products all in one place

ADVANTAGES OF SEZ SCHEMES

FISCAL BENEFITS

Concessional income tax rate of 20% for a period of 15 years from the date
of commencement of commercial production as against present corporate tax

32.45%
Units can import goods without payment of duty for manufacturing and

operation purpose
Services tax is exempt
Procurement of goods from Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) without payment of

duty
DTA sales are permissible (subject to duty), provided net foreign exchange

earner
SEZ is a designated duty-free enclave and treated as foreign territory for

trade operations, duties and tariffs

Permit 100% FDI with full & free repatriation of export proceeds
Full repatriation of dividends
Full freedom for sub-contracting including sub-contracting abroad
Single window clearance facility for clearances
Units could dispose of rejects, scrap in domestic market on payment of
duties

NATURAL RESOURCE AVAILABILITY IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Cotton production in Andhra Pradesh

2nd largest cotton producing state

12% of countrys production

Cotton with long staple fibre

Energy
-

Adequate supply of coal from neighboring states

Water
-

Perennial water supply: Eluru Canal (source: Godavari river)

Brandix India Apparel City is the next generation of business development that
encompasses all aspects needed for any investor or partner to be able to setup
immediately without having any difficulty concerning infrastructure, amenities and
utilities. Located in one of the biggest apparel hubs in the world BIAC offers close
proximity to cost effective labor, raw materials and resources that are needed to
create our Fiber-to-Store concept.

In addition, BIAC enjoys numerous financial benefits provided by the

government of India which are extended to each and every partner that invests and
sets up in BIAC.

Fiber - to Store concept: benefits all members of BIAC

Placement of unit offers unmatched speed an essential element for Apparel
Industry.
SUPPLY CHAIN CONCEPT

Real Time Connectivity and Seamless Integration

Delay in sourcing and receiving material.
All units connected with ERP network.

Right Cost - Most competitive price location

Benefits of Economic scale

SEZ Fiscal benefits
Competitive utility cost
Efficiency & saving in front end cost
Centralized logistics
Banking facility
Common ETP & WTP.

 No increase in Power, water & other cost for 5 years.

Total Convenience
No travelling, no sourcing hassles, No time waste
World class supply chain partner
Full-fledged industrial city, with all amenities and facilities provides Plug &
Play Infrastructure where investors can simply setup shop immediately.
Absolute Assurance
BIAC offers one of the most environmentally friendly locations to operate
your unit. It provides the best of both worlds- operating ease as well as
environmental and socially conscious policies implemented far beyond the
established standards.

EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT

The park common effluent treatment plant meets the strip test environmental
standards and is capable of treating 56 million meters of effluent discharge per day
which is then piped 9 kms and discharged off shore via 7.5 million USD marine
outfall pipeline.

Manufacturers need not conduct pre-treatment process as the park will seamlessly
meet the needs. Companies manufacturing within the park will have peace of mind
because that guarantees, compliance with the governments environmental
regulations. The national pollution control board has recognized this environmental
commitment and has granted BIAC a 3 years consent for operations permit. Instead
of the normal 1 year certification the parks environment management system has
also gained ISO 14001 certification the 1000 acre from vizag port and well
connected through road & rail to other major ports. An onsite customs processing
station ensures quick and secure logistics.
WATER TREATMENT FACILITY
Godavari river under 400 million liter rain water harvesting pond provides the park
with an ample supply of water the ultra-modern water treatment facility in the park
is capable of treating 60 million liters of raw water a day.
POWER
There is a continuous stable supply of power to all operating units with a dedicated
200 MW power substation. Power is obtained from 3 different sources to minimize
interruptions. It offers 33 KV of ready to use power right to door step of each
operating unit.

INTERNAL ROAD NETWORK

The 1000 acre facility has an extensive road network to allow for easy
transportation of materials to and around the park. The internal road system is 8 km
long, 36 mtr wide fully carpeted, 4 lane main road with sidewalks and roadside
greenery including 51 km of 24m wide secondary roads.

The Internal road system has been linked to national highway to allow for easy
transportation of products to and from the nearby ports.
WATER TANKS
Two overhead water tower with a capacity of 1ML each.
NON PROCESSING ZONE
Over 250 acres of land dedicated to non-processing facilities including 120 acre
green belt, housing, hotel rooms, recreation facilities, meeting spaces, and fine
dining options.
TELECOMMUNICATION TOWER
Dedicated ICT (voice, data, mobile WIFIMAX broadband) facilities provided by
BSNL.
CURRENT MANUFACTURERS IN APPAREL PARK

Brandix Apparel India UNIT I

Brandix Apparel India UNIT II

Brandix Apparel India UNIT III

Ocean India

Seeds Intimate Apparel India (Synthetic)

Quantam Clothing (Inner wear and Mens Shirts)

Pioneer Elastics

Thermax : Energy Solutions

Screenline Printing : Printing services

S&S Underwire for Bras

International Trimmings & Labels : Manufacturing tags & labels

Ribbest Ribbons and Bows (India) Pvt ltd : Manufacturing ribbon & bows.

Shore to Shore

Vardhman Yarns & threads Ltd

PRODUCT FOCUS: PHASE I

Knits Category
Product Groups:
Knitted Undergarments
Bras
Innerwear/Yoga pants/T-shirts

NEW UNITS BEING AGGRESIVELY SCOUTED PHASE 2

Spinning mill
Yarn dyeing

 Synthetic Warp knitting

Woven textiles
Garment Textiles
Accessory
Foam based cup moldings for brassiers
Lace Manufacture

TAX
Import Duties Complete exemption of import duty on
Capital equipment including second hand machinery
Building structures
Raw materials
Consumables
Trade Benefits: Duty free access into japan through the indo japan FTA.
2.2 ABOUT VOLTA FASHION
Volta Fashions has years of solid grounding in manufacturing quality products. The
company has promoted by technocrats with over a decade experience, with a single
minded motto of devotion to excellence in quality, delivery and price to suit all
types of requirements and occasions i.e. can it be for promotional or retail sale,
chain stores or wholesale. The company has a pool of designers, who are
constantly busy trying to make the products itinerary versatile on every count.

Volta Fashion products hold the credit for their excellent quality, beautiful prints
and on time delivery schedules. Volta Fashion products range includes shirts, pants,
ladies wears, etc. Volta Fashion export Volta Fashion products to Spain, Italy, U.K.,
France, Netherlands, Germany, U.S.A., Japan etc.
VOLTA FASHION MISSION
To constantly work on developments by using world latest technologies, in order to
respond to customers demands, competitive prices and quality control are part of
the most the successful results that Volta Fashions brings to its clients.
VOLTA FASHION VISION
The company aims to become one of the most important foreign investment groups
in Asia, in the field of textile.
VOLTA FASHION GOAL
Volta Fashions Pvt Ltd will always look for the best management and
people, as well as the most effective machines, to reach the top level of
quality control, cost efficiency and Eco friendly.
To place the clients fulfilment as a permanent target.
The customers satisfaction
With the above Volta Fashion will insulate Volta Fashion business against
any possible global economic slowdown by higher customer centricity and
offer increasing value added services and products.
MACHINERY
Garmenting unit is equipped with hitch Japanese sewing machines and other
essential supporting machinery like lay-cutting machines, steam irons, stain
removing stations etc... To make contemporary quality garments. The trained skillset Volta Fashion have include experienced pattern masters, cutting masters,
supervisors and tailors who work as a team.

Department
Fabric

Machine Name

No's

Section:
Inspection Machine

01

East man straight knife machine

East man band knife machine
East man end cutter

02
01
04

Fusing Machine Hashima

Pinning table with laser NgaiShing
Kannaigaiser

1
1
1

Collar Trimming NAGAISHING

Cuff Blocking NAGAISHING
Automatic Pocket Creaser Machine MAICA
Placket Folding Machine MAICA
Front Placket Machine KANSAI

1
1
1
1
1

Juki single needle lock stitch machines(DDL 8300N)

Juki single needle edge cutter machines With control
panel and under bed trimmer(DLM 5400N)
Juki 5th over lock machines(MO 6716)
Juki button attaching machine(LK 1903)
Juki button hole machine(LBH 1790)
Kansai special machine (for shirts front placket)(DFB
1404 PSF)
Kansai special machine (for trousers waist band)(DFB
1404 WB)
Yamato 5th flat lock machines(CF2300M)
Juki bartack machine(LK1900)
Durkopp adler single needle (UBT) machines with
control panel
Durkopp adler eyelet machine
Nagashing snap button machine(NS 45)
Juki feed of arm machines with puenamatic roller(MS

100
8

Cutting
Section:

Fusing
Section:

Mid
Processing:

Sewing
Section:

6
1
2
1
1
6
3
16
1
1
4

1190)
Kanasai special machine for pocotting(PX 302)
Ramsons and silty bottle ironers
Teressure bling hemming machine(BS 101)
Juki double needle lock stitch machine(LH 3168)
Juki double needle lock stitch machine with split bar (LH
3100)

1
8
1
3
3

Finishing
Section:
Body Press VIET
Collar/Cuff Pressing VIET
Semi-automatic folding table VIET
Steam Boiler With pressing table RAMSONS
Stain Removing systems RAMSONS
Thread sucking Machine RAMSONS
Compressor

1
1
5
5
1
1

PRODUCTION CAPACITY
A well-equipped garment unit, planned and well stich infrastructure forms the
backbone of the garment business processes at Volta Fashions Pvt Ltd
Apart from Volta Fashion garment unit, Volta Fashion also deal with suppliers of
garments who regularly work for us. This enables us to meet timely-dispatches and
bulk orders.
Volta Fashion use sophisticated machinery and processing methods to meet the
customized requirements of Volta Fashion customers. These processes enhance the
durability and the look of the garments products.

Per day Production Capacity

For half sleeve shirts

1500 pcs. Proposed Production P/D by

May 2011 9000pcs

For full sleeve shirts with matching

1500 pcs. Proposed Production P/D by

May 2011 6600pcs

SAMPLE UNIT
Volta Fashion have well established separate sampling division with experienced
pattern masters and sample co-ordinators to achieve the quality samples as per
international buyers requirements in time.
Volta Fashion regularly make proto and salesman samples. Moreover are develop
new varieties of fabrics at regular intervals in order cope up with international
fashion trend; and produce samples periodically

CHAPTER 3: PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS

We have visited two Apparel parks Brandix Apparel India and Volta Fashion which
are located in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Our primary research involves
collecting data about operations, techniques and general information directly from
the employees of the Apparel Park. This section includes details about interviews,
surveys, observations, and analysis.
Data is collection method is qualitative via interview and observations and
quantitative via survey forms.
The Interviews which we have taken are recorded. The survey is divided in three
categories Apparel Cluster Survey, Customer Perception and Retailer/ Buyer
Survey. The observation is done by taking notes in written format while going
through the induction part.
3.1 THE OBSERVATIONS
The observation part is consisting of written notes which we have taken by
observation and during the induction part.
3.1.1 BIAC
Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) is a revolutionary development in the apparel
industry; a unique, integrated apparel supply chain city, managed by Brandix
Lanka Ltd. Spread over 1000 acres in the port city of Visakhapatnam (or Vizag for
short) in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, it brings alive an avant garde 'Fibre to
Store' concept. BIAC will bring together world class apparel chain partners from
the design table to consumer brands in flawless integration.
Conceived and nurtured by Brandix, Sri Lanka's largest apparel exporter, BIAC
hightlights India's phenomenal synergies in the world of textiles. To leverage
India's immense potential for economies of scale and other robust business
fundamentals in its fast growing economy, Brandix brings 30 years of industry
expertise and invites other world class experts to join its value chain to enjoy
assured mutual benefits of investment.
The dynamics of the apparel market demands the key value propositions of speed
to market, least cost, flexibility & assurance of compliance. BIAC is built on this

premise. Its smooth flowing verticality will ensure minimum lead times, the most
critical competitive factor.

BIAC offers the total convenience of a fully fledged industrial city with modern
infrastructure including 'Plug and Play' for immediate production. BIAC provides
business partners with immediate access to all their requirements from sourcing to
transportation. An internal single window clearance facility enables speedier
documentation processing and authorisation from a single point. The city will
enjoy world class facilities and conveniences such as a training institute, banks,
recreational and township amenities and close proximity to key international
gateways.
Recognized as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by the Government of India, BIAC
displays a state of the art infrastructure. It also enjoys a host of attractive financial
and operational incentives for investors, as well as comprehensive support to
facilitate seamless and rapid start-up of operations.
Brandix India Apparel City is an ambitious example of innovation, technology and
efficiency that provides a platform for end-to-end apparel solutions. The
breakthrough concept of seamless Fibre-to-Store integration offers unmatched
advantages for global apparel chain partners. BIACs seamless concept ensures that
all needs are met, encompassing raw material sourcing to the shipping of final
products all in one place
Brandix India Apparel City is the next generation of business development that
encompasses all aspects needed for any investor or partner to be able to setup
immediately without having any difficulty concerning infrastructure, amenities and
utilities. Located in one of the biggest apparel hubs in the world BIAC offers close
proximity to cost effective labor, raw materials and resources that are needed to
create our Fiber-to-Store concept. In addition, BIAC enjoys numerous financial
benefits provided by the government of India which are extended to each and every
partner that invests and sets up in BIAC.
Fiber - to Store concept: benefits all members of BIAC.

o Placement of unit offers unmatched speed an essential element for

Apparel Industry.
Real Time Connectivity and Seamless Integration
o Delay in sourcing and receiving material.
o All units connected with ERP network.
Right Cost - Most competitive price location
o Benefits of Economic scale
o SEZ Fiscal benefits
o Competitive utility cost
o Efficiency & saving in front end cost
o Centralised logistics
o Banking facility
o Common ETP & WTP.
o No increase in Power,water & other cost for 5 years.
Total Convenience
o No travelling, no sourcing hassles, No time waste
o World class supply chain partner
o Full fledged industrial city, with all amenities and facilities provides
Plug & Play Infrastructure where investors can simply setup shop
immediately.
Absolute Assurance
o BIAC offers one of the most environmentally friendly locations to
operate your unit. It provides the best of both worlds- operating ease
as well as environmental and socially conscious policies implemented
far beyond the established standards.
o Industrial units within the park can make use of the multi-million
dollar Effluent Treatment Plant for responsible sewage discharge, a
Water Treatment Plant which recycles and purifies water to drinking
standard, and a Rainwater Harvesting Unit for production purposes.

PRINTING

Receipt of Print Designs from customer

Color separation by using AVA color separate software ( from UK)
Each color will have different screen
Colorwise design will be separated
Engraving will be done through Laser (Laser engraving will be done then
chemical coating on roller and machine engraving)
Screen supply for printing
Printing screen roll Cost Rs.10$
Roller cannot be reused,they will store the roller in design bank,if the same
design repeats they will use the roller from design bank.
2-3 yrs fashion repeats
Dyes only pigments dyes are used here

5S OF BRANDIX:-

To identify the problem

Know the standard
Activity standard should be fixed
See the difference
Eliminate the inventory
US TEAM JAPAN TOYOTA FOR LEAN PROCESS

7 Types of waste:-

Transport
Inventory
Motions
Waiting
Over production
Over processing
Defects

Activities will be checked & they will eliminate waste

Goods receipt note
Value screen mapping
Dispatch
30- 40 days to complete on order

SMV 3.5 minimum to finish one garment

Past planned efficiency 60%
Present Planned efficiency 80%
Value added activity: When the person start to work on fabric from cutting till
sewing(employees involved in work for core product)
Non value added activity
Receipt of fabric from supplier
Storing the goods
Quality checking
Problems faced by brandix

Huge cost on transport

Lead time - goods from china
Inhouse transportation
Layout plan (Initial it was 22 now it reduced to 11)

BRANDIX FACILITY
Ginning and spinning is not inhouse
Yarn procurement from outside supplier( cotton suppliers
maharastra.gujrat& AP)
Major fabric supplier for Brandix Ocean India from srilanka
They exports to US & UK not having business with India
UNIT 2 Exclusive for M&S

Main Production Vests

3100 employees (both shifts)
Production output 1002000 pcs /day
Decentralized management
11 operation and 2 modules(1 module cut to pack & quality checking)
Total 12 modules

from

 7 plants in srilanka
Brandix is vertical integration( If customer demands materials from abroad
they will import from outside)
TURBILITY TESTING
Raw water Ph 8.02
Sedimentation Ph-7.54
Sand filter - Ph 7.48
Effluent TP:
Ph 10.42 maintained
Colour 4192
If Chemical oxygen demand increases oxygen demands 584 mg/litre and
Chemical oxygen demand should be less than 250 ( standard)
Sedimentation
Ph 7.83
Colour 768
COD 292 mg/litre
Treated Effluent
Ph 7.12
COD 147 mg/litre
Cost of treatment - Rs.35/litre

3.1.2 Operational Units

Brandix Apparel India UNIT I

Single largest ladies underwear manufacturing factory in India.
First factory in BIAC
Brandix Apparel India UNIT II
Current manufacturers hosted by BIAC include Brandix apparel India. Land
allocation 15 acres, products Underwear (ladies)

Brandix Apparel India UNIT III

Manufacturers of Lounge wear ( Yoga + T-Shirts)

Ocean India
Product : Cotton and cotton/lycra circular knitted fabric
Fully equipped testing lab
Knitting, dyeing, printing & finishing operations

Seeds
Intimate Apparel India (Synthetic)
A four way joint venture between Brandix (Sri Lanka), Brandot & Mast Industries
(USA) and Clover (China)
Managing Director - Dave Rana Singhe
Primarily for VS bra Production

Quantam Clothing (Inner wear and Mens Shirts)

Quantum is the largest hosiery suppliers to Marks & Spencer UK and was formed
in 2000 with the management buyout of Coats Viyella. Quantum Clothings policy
is to offer its customers high standards of quality in all of its products. A Quality
Management system, based on the requirements of ISO9001-2000, and an ongoing audit monitoring program ensures continuous improvement throughout their
business and help to achieve the financial performance they have targeted.

Pioneer Elastics

A Hong Kong based company manufacturing narrow elastic for intimate wear,
underwear, and sportswear. With three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in
China, Thailand and India, their monthly production exceeds 50 million meters.
They are certified in ISO 9001, ISO14001, ISO18001, and Oeko-Tex Standard 100
and have been internationally recognized for its high quality standard. Combining
with the strengths of their computerized production equipments, advanced
operation and management system, Pioneer Elastic is the perfect source of narrow
elastic.

Thermax : Energy Solutions

Screenline Printing : Printing services

S&S
Underwire for Bras
Manufacturers of Underwires for Bras

International Trimmings & Labels : Manufacturing tags & labels

Ribbest Ribbons and Bows (India) Pvt ltd : Manufacturing ribbon & bows.

Shore to Shore

Vardhman Yarns & threads Ltd

Dyeing of Sewing Threads

Brandix facilitates:

Vertical integration
Speed- for value chain partners
Value- Economies of Scale
Conversion- Plug and Play, minimum lead time
Assurance- Government supplies and policies
Innovation- Environmental Friendly location

STATISTICS:

13 operating units; 7 are large

15000 people, 11500 women
35% CGR
Processing Zone- 750 acres
Non processing Zone- 250 acres

 Turnover: 550 million USD

Marks and Spencer

80% Innerwear and 20% V neck vests

3000 employees
1,20,000 pieces of production per day
Follows cut to pack module ( including quality check and packaging)
Development merchants of the company does the pricing and quality;
shipping done on Fridays and Saturdays (along with samples)
Generally takes about 30-32 days
Method of Lean- ( waste integration) 40-50% efficiency to 60-80%
efficiency
IU Instant underwear has a turnaround time of only 15 days from cut to
pack
Identified 7 types of Wasteful activities:
Transportation
o Transport is the movement of materials from one location to another,
this is a waste as it adds zero value to the product. Why would your
customer (or you for that matter) want to pay for an operation that
adds no value?
o Transport adds no value to the product, you as a business are paying
people to move material from one location to another, a process that
only costs you money and makes nothing for you. The waste of
Transport can be a very high cost to your business, you need people to
operate it and equipment such as trucks or fork trucks to undertake
this expensive movement of materials.
Motion
o Unnecessary motions are those movements of man or machine which
are not as small or as easy to achieve as possible, by this I mean
bending down to retrieve heavy objects at floor level when they could
be fed at waist level to reduce stress and time to retrieve. Excessive

travel between work stations, excessive machine movements from

start point to work start point are all examples of the waste of Motion.
o All of these wasteful motions cost you time (money) and cause stress
on your employees and machines, after all even robots wear out.
Over production
o The most serious of all of the seven wastes; the waste of
overproduction is making too much or too early. This is usually
because of working with oversize batches, long lead times, poor
supplier relations and a host of other reasons. Overproduction leads to
high levels of inventory which mask many of the problems within
your organization.
o The aim should be to make only what is required when it is required
by the customer, the philosophy of Just in Time (JIT), however many
companies work on the principle of Just in Case
Over processing
o The waste of Overprocessing is where we use inappropriate
techniques, oversize equipment, working to tolerances that are too
tight, perform processes that are not required by the customer and so
forth. All of these things cost us time and money.
o One of the biggest examples of over-processing in most companies is
that of the mega machine that can do an operation faster than any
other, but every process flow has to be routed through it causing
scheduling complications, delays and so forth. In lean; small is
beautiful, use small appropriate machines where they are needed in
the flow, not break the flow to route through a highly expensive
monstrosity that the accountants insist is kept busy
Waiting
o How often do you spend time waiting for an answer from another
department in your organization, or waiting for a delivery from a
supplier or an engineer to come and fix a machine? We tend to spend
an enormous amount of time waiting for things in our working lives
(and personal lives too), this is an obvious waste.
o The Waste of Waiting disrupts flow, one of the main principles of
Lean Manufacturing, as such it is one of the more serious of the seven
wastes or 7 mudas of lean manufacturing.

 Inventory
o Inventory costs you money, every piece of product tied up in raw
material, work in progress or finished goods has a cost and until it is
actually sold that cost is yours. In addition to the pure cost of your
inventory it adds many other costs; inventory feeds many other
wastes.
o Inventory has to be stored, it needs space, it needs packaging and it
has to be transported around. It has the chance of being damaged
during transport and becoming obsolete. The waste of Inventory hides
many of the other wastes in your systems.
Defects
o The most obvious of the seven wastes, although not always the easiest
to detect before they reach your customers. Quality errors that cause
defects invariably cost you far more than you expect. Every defective
item requires rework or replacement, it wastes resources and
materials, it creates paperwork, it can lead to lost customers.
o The Waste of Defects should be prevented where possible, better to
prevent than to try to detect them, implementation of pokayoke
systems and autonomation can help to prevent defects from occurring.
Other wastes
o Waste of Talent; failing to make use of the people within your
organization. This is an issue that many of our companies in the West
fail to address. We still tend to operate within a command and control
environment and take little real notice of what our employees really
think and what they can contribute. Your employees are your greatest
asset by far and can help you to drive out many of the other wastes.
o Waste of resources; failure to make efficient use of electricity, gas,
water. Not only does this waste cost you money it is also a burden on
our environment and society as a whole.
o Wasted materials; too often off-cuts and other byproducts are just sent
to landfill rather than being utilized elsewhere.

Any activity that changes the WIDTH, FORM or FUNCTION is a value added
activity; the others need to be reduced Main component of Lean
Lean Six Sigma is a results-oriented approach to improving processes across the
organization. It combines by integrating the tools and processes of Lean and Six
Sigma - a powerful engine created for improving quality, efciency and speed in
every aspect of your business.
Brandix Lean Six Sigma consultants are focused on ensuring that all business
improvement initiatives achieve results - support through implementation auditing.
Our business improvement offering at Brandix includes improvements across:
Order to Delivery Workflows
Creating efficient workflows through optimized processes, planning tools and
effective integration of KPIs and metrics to measure & monitor performance for
operational excellence.
Planning, Procurement & Inventory
Optimization of re-ordering, maximizing capacity usage, follow up and freight
planning through planning tools and real time insights of the production process
Production Efficiency and Cycle Time

Implementing ideal processes with supporting tools such as centralized data cells,
web based file directories and automated manual processes that eliminate nonvalue adding tasks and reduce unnecessary communication between departments
KPIs and Dashboards
Bringing greater visibility of day to day operations such as shipment due dates,
delivery status, performance indicators and other critical organizational
information through relevant and accurate insights Accounting Transaction
Processes
Improved performance and control of the administration of finances via
redesigning and automating the manual, non- value adding and time consuming
activities
Wastage and Overheads Reduction
Wastage reduction presents the best opportunity to gain savings and improve the
quality of operations. We help achieve this through reduction in overall delivery
cycle times; better visibility through easy to maintain job status tracking, redesigned shop floor layout to streamline the workflow and limit waiting time and
resource wastage.
Benefits of Lean Manufacturing
Significant bottom line cost savings
Improved quality of product or service as perceived by internal and external
customers
Improvements in the Cycle Time and Delivery Efficiency
Quality driven attitude and approach by staff
Ocean India

Order to shipment- 70 days

In emergency about 15 days (instant underwear)
Circular knitting- Lycra, cotton, CVC, Melange
Yarn- Infotech , local spinning mills
76 knitting machines; 20 tonnes per day
60% of the production is supplied in BIAC and the rest is exported

 200 different varieties of fabric

Single jersey, double jersey and interlocks
Supply to
o Limited Brand (M&S and Victoria Secrets and Pink)
o PVH ( CK, Tommy Hilfiger)
o Decathlon
o Jockey
Store 15 days worth of inventory in fabric and 30 days worth of inventory
for yarns
Price of the fabric varies from $6/kg to $14/kg depending on the finishes and
prints and end product quality
The dyeing machines are imported from China whereas the knitting
machines are sourced from Taiwan
Dyeing

20 tonnes per day, 13 dyeing units

1000 kg one machine
AVA color operating software
CAD FILE-----color separator-----laser engraving
One screen upto 10,000 meters and 12 designs for 6 months
2-3 years fashion repeats
Types of prints: Pigment, Rotary and linen out

HUD HUD- 570 crores; 1 month productivity

3.1.3 Supply Chain Management

When considering present value chain activities of Brandix six distinct valueadding activities can be identified
R&D
o This value-adding function includes Brandix that engage in R&D, as
well as activities related to improving the physical product or process
and market and consumer research. Still brandix has low involvement
in this stage.
Design

o This stage includes Brandix that offer aesthetic design services for
products and components throughout the value chain. Actually
Brandix has buyer wise product development team. Design and style
activities are used to attract attention, improve product performance,
cut production costs, and give the product a strong competitive
advantage in the target market. Still brandix has low involvement in
this stage.
Inbound:
o This stage refers to the inbound processes involved in purchasing and
transporting textile products. Raw material such as Fabric, buttons,
zippers, labels, cartons, polybags, hangers, sewing threads are
commonly used to manufacture and finish a garment and components
such as parts of the sewing machines, furnace oil, water and electricity
supply are indirectly support to the production Most of time Brandix
cant produce all raw materials under one roof. It includes physically
transporting products, as well as managing or providing technology
and equipment for supply chain coordination. Logistics can involve
domestic or overseas coordination. In Brandix has anther additional
group called Brandix logistic to control and advice for unbound
logistic activities
o Most of the raw materials are sourced from within the group raw
materials suppliers. Sometime Brandix sourced raw materials from
India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and China. All the foreign raw materials
merchandize as a FOB orders.
Operations
o Production/Assembly/Cut, Make, Trim: Brandix cuts and sews woven
or knitted fabric or knit apparel directly from yarn. The group
specialized in manufacturing casual bottom, intimate apparel,
underwear, lounge and sleepwear, bras, woven and knitted fabric and
host of apparel industry accessories.
o Each plant has their own fabric and trims store, cutting department,
technical department, sewing floor and ironing and packing
department. Productions starts after doing the pilot run and it helps to
minimize measurements and other quality related issues. The cut-andsew classification includes a diverse range of establishments making

full lines of ready-to-wear and custom apparel. Sometime Brandix

performing cutting or sewing operations on materials owned by
others.
o For the manufacturing brandix has been using lean manufacturing and
modular systems. Brandix can purchase textiles from another
establishment or make the textile components in-house. All Brandix
apparel manufacturing plants going under higher efficiency its help to
reduce production lead time.
Outbound
o Brandix after apparel is manufactured, Brandix has one warehouse in
every manufacturing plants. Sometime
Brandix responsible for
value-adding activities outside of production. Like do some packing
activates in warehouses. Most of time brandix do free on board orders
that time have to responsible for outbound logistics activates also.
o Internal logistic activates and Shipping is done by third party logistic
supplier and there is a separate supplier to deliver the containers to the
ports and to handle documentation work.
Bradix has additional group for monitor all logistic activities.
Sales and Marketing
o Brandix has marketing departments in New York, London and Hong
Kong. In Sri Lanka brandix buyer wise brandix has marketing teams.
This function includes all activities and companies associated with
pricing, selling, and distributing a product, including activities such as
branding or advertising.
Services
o This includes any type of activity a firm or industry provides to its
suppliers, Buyers, or employees, typically as a way to distinguish
itself from competitors in the market. Also defectives are found by
them in the final inspection as well as their auditing point before send
to retailers. We have to replace the shortages to avoid dissatisfaction.
Further to that we are claimed discounts for poor quality products.
Managing the production of the company's good and services, monitoring, storage,
inventories, coordinating with suppliers and ensuring timely distribution of goods

are some of the key functions covered by supply chain management (SCM). When
consider Brandix the supply chain is actually made up of five important
components of plan, source, make, and deliver, return. It also includes three flows
which are cash, product and information within the chain. .Through these
components and members, the Brandix management of the supply chain allows
efficient inventory control. As a dynamic process, the SCM requires the continuous
exchange of information, finance and materials between and within the members
of the chain. These elements of the SCM also make this business aspect
challenging to implement and maintain.
The Brandix is one of company those who have been applying this strategy.. In
India, the apparel industry is one of its important and highly contributory economic
sectors, hence, various local apparel manufacturers and businesses are employing
different innovations so as to operate successfully,
Brandix Supply Chain Network

Brandix
Functions

Supply

Chain

Management
Transport

management system

Transportation involves many different parties within and outside a

company who are required to routinely share information and
ideas. Specially involves some foreign countries also. Brandix use
fully functional transportation management system should provide
the basic components of a shared information system to support:
Content such as rates, routes, roles, and contracts at interenterprise generic levels
Commerce to support and create transaction sets, documents,
and information exchanged to facilitate the booking, execution,
o
The data model and data dictionary of the TMS should thus
support a wide and diverse range of interactions. The combination
of these robust system infrastructures and collaborative
applications should enable the user to perform all necessary
functions involved in the planning, execution, and analysis of
transportation movements.
Operations manufacturing
o
Manufaturer bears the responsibility over the production of items
according to the requested quality and the shipment of the right
quantity to the right place on the right time. A lot of value addition
is there for the items produced since sourcing is done locally
unless it is an exceptional case; this is quite rare in the Sri Lankan
apparel industry. The company focuses greatly on the control of its
operations and the quality. This is the consequence of vertical
integration and company seeks highest quality at every stage of
production. Operations lead time depend on buyer requirement.
Now our lead time depend on 90 days to 10 days. Brandix has
falsities to complete all manufactures process within 10 days also.
Supplier Relationship Management
o
Brandix supplier Relationship Management is a relatively new way
of categorizing softwareborn out of the concept that you have
customer relationship management systems for managing
customer-facing processes, enterprise resource planning (ERP)
systems for internal processes and SRM for both supplier-facing
processes and managing the supply base. Actually now Brandix
use Fast React software to there , enterprise resource planning
o

(ERP ).The heart of SRM is sourcing and procurement, which

differ from their internally-focused ERP counterparts primarily in
that the SRM modules have a much greater emphasis on
integrating and connecting with the suppliers. SRM also includes
interactions with the supply base throughout the full lifecycle of
processes from design through to fulfillment, manufacturing, and
settlement.
Warehouse management system
o Brandix warehouse management system (WMS) provides database
and user-level tools in order for a company to optimize its storage
facilities while at the same time providing user level task direction
and activity support. The combination of system-directed operations,
supported by real-time, paper-less, and interactive information
systems will provide warehouse management and personnel with the
tools to direct, control, measure, and report on distribution operations.
Demand management systems
o Today Brandix has moved beyond the narrow concept of statistical
forecasting to encompass both global and cross enterprise trading
partner processes. In addition, the real-time nature of todays business
requires that rapid feedback from markets and adjustments to demand
assumptions are propagated through the supply chain to improve
delivery and cost performance.
o Demand management means identifying and creating demand
(marketing, merchandising, and promoting), modeling (forecasting,
pricing, and life cycle planning), and collaborating (communicate,
simulate, and create consensus) with the network of trading partners.
It also means evaluating results and creating learning cycles where the
market, including geographic, demographic, and economic
assumptions are evaluated and improved upon to constantly improve
the performance of the chain.

3.1.4 Challenges in the SCM

Shrinking lead times
o Brandix identified rapidly shrinking lead times as one of the biggest
challenges for the apparel industry. The growing demand for instant
gratification by trend-driven consumers could result in manufacturers
being given hours rather than days to deliver new designs within the
next 18 to 24 months.
Increasing no of style changers
o With is short time of period styles and designs are changing. When
come new style for manufacturing plant they take some learning curve
to come high efficacy level. Because this situations operations side
cant do manufacturing products in high efficacy.
Not enough capacity for own raw material suppliers
o Brandix own raw material producers cant supply total garment
manufacturing capacity of brandix. That time brandix has to import
raw materials form foreign suppliers. It manly effect to our value
chain. As an example if import yarn and our factory produce fabric
mean can add some ting to our value chain. In this fabric mils low
capacity problem we had to export fabric from our suppliers it effect
to our value chain.
Poor flow of information
o Poor flow of information in both forward and backward in the supply
chain. Our customers requirements, information and specifications
may not pass to manufacturer/ suppliers and quality issues of the raw
materials also not been informed to suppliers. Sometime above details
not pass within group suppliers also. So, suppliers are able to send
anything they produce as they do not get any feedback.
Demand forecasting problems

o Poor demand forecasting. There is an issue in production planning and

as result delivery are not met on time. Some raw materials such as
packing trims are not in housed on time and unfinished goods are
remaining at packing.
Logistics problems
o Brandix has large number of logistics problems. Internal and external
logistic problems increasing now day by day.
Logistic and
transportations problems effect to the on time delivery. Lack
communications, non-skill human resources, dealing with lot of
logistic companies those are the main reasons for logistic problems.
Inventory management problems
o Poor inventory management. Raw materials such as interlining, has to
maintain minimum stock as they widely used. Sometimes they are not
available and it affects to production. WIP in embellishment division
is higher and as a result garment finishing cannot be done as
scheduled
3.1.5 APAC: Volta Fashions Pvt. Ltd
- CAD - Software used - Rich peace and Gerber
- 1 line - 40 machines
- 1 line 1 style
- Per day production 250 pcs
- Total no of machines 2500
- Sample approvals - 4 days leadtime

3.2 THE INTERVIEW/ RECORDINGS:

The interviews are taken during our Apparel Park visit and the recordings are taken
as per their permissions.
3.2.1 Production Unit 1
The standard time SMV , a standard time the product need to be completed,
but in a normal scenario no module will ___them, so obviously we want
around 40-50% efficiency-2mins it takes 4 mins 50 % advantage, the lean
___the logic is that we do atleast 80-90 percenimprovement..there will be
less work in progress in the module, to ensure that the product flows
smoothly that was the ideology why we came up with this. The Plant right
now I running around 12 modules, our plan is, at least by the end of the
financial year-end march or atleast april-the entire package should be, as in
all the module should be lean There are people who sit over there and they
lie with the customer. Suppose there is a development merchant, normally
when you do the manage, marketing you manage, so they will tell you that
these are the products that they want it to be done. So obviously those are
the products that will develop by the development merchant with the
samples.
So why you do that to give a price for the product. They will give you
samples to various companies- srilanka brandix and __ are the two number
one competitors in this business, so they will play for both and we should
give a better pricing to get the order with the quality. Its not simply the price,
sohe ll do the sample,so once you get the things approved the bulk order will
come to you, so obviously they are front end planners so they will identify
these orders will go to india, some will goto srilanka, in our cluster we have
9 factories so some modules come here, some modules gone to srilanka. So
based on the plant capacity, the moment order is placed here,there is factory
managing. With factory planning we identify which particular style will run
on which particular module and whatever is the time duration. So based on
that we get all the R___, so we have a layout, so then the production starts.

In a nutsell that is how that happens. So normally every Friday-Saturday is

our shipment day. The order will get shipped out on those days. Factory-how
we fuction. So here there is no merchandiser, no marketing guy sit here
they will put in the head office and VS order will go to one, M&S order will
come here, few M&S order will go to srilanka. Brandix as a corporate we
are falling under the cluster called brandix essential. So under essential
cluster we have VI1 VI2 and 7 plants in Srilanka. Likewise we have bra
cluster, you have intimate cluster, you have like that goes cluster wise.
Main is the product category. Essential entails all innerwear and___ then bra
will be a different product. So then likewise it goes.
To understand further we can say, we do a business on the (Brandix) group
level- around 550-600 million dollar business we do- brandix as a whole.
This cluster belongs to brandix essential. Essentials will mainly consider all
inner wear. So our Cluster does 220 million US Dollar business (Brandix
Essential Cluster). Park Is not fully operational. Park is set by brandix. Right
now we are on 7 factories here..Park will get fully operational.
Vertically integrated inside the park. The concept of Brandix coming to India
ensure, our customer what he wants- quality and he wants on time delivery,
to have the one time delivery your supply chain should be so perfect, you
should ensure that all the supplies are kept that is why the vertical
integration concept had come. Whatever the things required to produce-the
garment should be within the reach___..self sufficient apparel theory on a
concept.__ you have to get all the__backward integration is ___
Vertical integration right now if I tell you we have a fabric.(ask
greeshma), we have now labour supply, then we have a print, then we have
vardhaman thread. So to certain extent integrations is there. But the
problem is the customer places an order, he demands some level of quality
so heyou have to get a particular label from his company, may not be
available- we have to import but in the long term, when the customer comes
then we will be able to elaborate all the supply chain__, if they are
convinced.5 years down the line import anythingyou need yarn, you
need pinning mill, you have a spinning mill then you need a ginning
mill

3.2.2 Production Unit 2

M&S is a permanent customer. Yes. They give season advance order. Not
only here, there is another plant in ___ also. So half comes here half goes
there. Not half..two third comes here, one third goes there. The order will be
placed through the head office, _____ from their it gets split to the clusters.
We ship-out from here to the end customers but order comes through____,
we dont directly take order. We are shipping out directly to M&S UKwe
get order from ___our logic is that we should manufacture the stuff and
then we should get loaded-container, this container will go to the port, from
there, there are nominated shipping lines, APL or whatever, so our
responsibility ends the moment we load the container on to the ship, so from
there on it is their responsibility. So obviously from the factory ________.
M&S Bangalore has nothing to do inside. If they come they will come only
to audits.They will ensure product quality as per the ..conforming to the
quality they prescribed. That is the M&S India office. But they will not get
involved with order quantity. Nothing like that. That will come from
___(Columbus). You cant put anything for the domestic market. .Special
economic zone should be 100 %...export to be hundered. Yes you can do
domestic but very less percentage.
We have some reject percentages. There are three atleast hall ticket points.
So these auditors come and they have to check the quality. It should be
rework, independently involved CIFT. CIFT (dept.)are people who will be
like the customer, they will mostly work with the like Bangalore team on the
quality aspect. They have the independent right to fail the order at the end
checking. 3 % random checking on the whole100% here. So if they found
the parameter to go beyond, they will..you need to recheck hundred percent
and they need to rework.
3.3.3 Lean Process
Lean is basically need for our factory. We start up lean 8 months back. Lean
is manufacturing system which addresses the waste elimination throughout
the value stream from beginning to end. When customer places an order, the
point that they raise the ___ form that point of time through the value stream
the raise also starts.When we take an activity, 80 percentso the value

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

added will be only around 20 percent so..necessary..you do some activities

that dont add any value to the end product given to the customer but you
must do that because you cant move the part over there. So the next process
we call that necessary and value added. Others are like pure waste. We
Identify even type of major waste:
Transportation:
Inventory
Motions
Waiting
Overproduction
Over processing
Defects
So you identify the waste throughout your value chain. So when we start the
lean journey, what we did first is do our value chain__. From starting to end.
Now we didnt consider the front end activities since they are happening in
srilanka, so here, from the GRN (Good receiving note) when we receive our
raw materials, thats the first step we do- unloading and GRN, from that we
describe how much activities we have to conduct and what are the essential
activities, how much time will irt take-what is uptime, downtime- likewise
we make the value stream map. You can see sticky note for each process.
Once you do the value stream mapping and also you can identify what are
the value added activities out of that and what are the pure waste. If you take
our total value stream we take around 30 -32 days to complete the total
order. But if you take the SMV (Standard Minute Value) of one garment,
supposed to be taken for one garment is average 3.5mins. Now if you have a
machine, which is supposed to run 10hours a day and you run it only 5 hours
due to breakdown or something else, you dont have work, so the uptime is
50 percent. Downtime is the opposite. 20 percent buffer for human
inefficiencies. Lean plan was 60-65 percent, we grew to 70, now we plan to
reach 80 percent.
Now if you are a customer, if you go and buy a T shirt, for what you will
pay? You will pay for style shape and the pattern. Right? And also for the
fabric quality and then the accessories, say bow whatever things there are
and then you pay to the stitched garment. So consider we are a customer.

What we want is good quality garment (high quality) , at a lower cost, and
when you go and see that you like one Tshirt but the size you want is not
available, then also again as a customer you will be frustrated.
So the three things a customer wants is:
1) On time delivery (it should be available)
2) High Quality
3) Lower Price
So when you get , a businessman, what do they want? They want:
1) More Profits (means sell it to higher price)
2) Lower Cost
3) Continue Business ( a person who comes today has to come again after three
months or so)
The customer wants exact opposite of businessman, except the last one. So
keeping this in mind, what is value added. The activity that we do change
the fit, form or function of the raw material. To achieve what customer wants
and also the customer willing to pay for that then we can say that is a value
added chain.
Example: we bring fabric rolls from a fabric mill, we store it in our fabric
stores: we have a lot of manpower , bring it down, GRN, put it to the racks,
location then keep in maintaining then racing the __ after that issue to the
cutting section , lift the trolleys, they keep under the cutting tables in order
to cut. But after all anything happen to the fabric till now? Nothing. Did the
fit change? NO. Size, form or anything not change, Function not change. So
till cutting table everything is non value added. Value added is from the
point a person starts laying the fabric and start cutting. What happens is you
change the form. Shape is changed. But the fit still hasnt changed.You have
certain entries and everything. Then you pass it to the sewing operater.Then
they start stitching, the fit started to come- these are value added. Then again
it goes to the check table. Quality checker checks. Does anything change in
the garment? No. So quality checking is also a non value added activity.
So cutting and sewing are only value added. Identifying the value added
activity is very important because then you start seeing all others as waste.

Once you can identify then you think how to eliminate. There we start the
lean: elimination of waste.
Certain type of tools. Like 5 S (arrange an orderly work place). Then you
have ten step Problem Solving, Systematic Problem Solving, TPM- Total
Preventive Maintainance (how to predict the machine breakdown earlier and
stop the breakdown before it happens)
So lean is waste elimination, for that we need certain changes, problem
solving approach, then you go to problem solving approach you need to..one
mor important thing is sur__facing the problem to identify the problem. For
that you need to know the standard. Definition of problem is the difference
between standard and the actual. So for that you should know first what is
the standard.
First, write the standard of all the activities separately, as of now what the
standard is- good enough, wait for the standard it will never come, so what is
right now in practice is the standard, then according to it what are the
differences we have, we identify it as the problem.
So to identify the problem, we need to eliminate the inventory first. When
you have inventory, you can hide behind the inventory. We can keep two
days WIP. One line the garment is 100 pieces per day, so we keep 2000
pieces, tomorrow I have a machine breakdown in cutting section but still I
can run my module. So that doesnt get highlighted as a problem. As we
have WIP to cover it up. Thus we need to reduce the inventory. The moment
you reduce the inventory the problems coming up everytime- earlier: from
first operation to nex operation it was 30-40 pieces WIP, now we reduce it to
1. Force them to reduce it to 1. Though we still are keeping 2-3 pieces and
trying to get it to 1 piece. The moment you have 1 piece you can have single
minute machine breakdown. Forces the person to give a permanent solution
to
the
problem.
Then
you
use
the
tool
BDC
approach_______________________________________________.

3.3 THE APPAREL CLUSTER SURVEY

The cluster survey is done for Brandix-Ocean India, Brandix-Apparel India and
Vola Fashions.
3.3.1 Infrastructure
BIAC, Brandix Apparel India operation unit do the manufacturing of
branded product like M&S, Pink and VS. Marks & Spencer and
Victoria Secret are manufacturing units operated under Brand India
Apparel City, both the units have been operating since 8 years. The
business is registered since 2006 under the name of Brand India
Apparel City. These units are not a part of cooperative society but are
a part of BAIC group also encompassing a well-structured
organization.
Brandix Ocean India commenced its production from 2009. The
company is located in BIAC on a 75 acre plot of land. Initially,
having a production capacity 100,000 lbs/day. It is spread over
400,000 sq.ft. and Knitting test operations are also performed.
Volta Fashions Pvt. Ltd is established in 2011. It is an Apparel park
the land is provided by state government of Andhra Pradesh. Total
area is 145 acres includes 18 units of production, 1 unit for washing
and 1 unit for packaging. They do production of mostly local brand
and the other like Leblanc, LP, Ragger koors, Van Heusen, Allen
Solly, Dressberry, US Pollo, DNMX, Pepe. The one unit of
production includes 5 lines for shirt and 4 lines for trousers.
3.3.2 Employment and training
The Brandix Ocean India has employed around 725 full time
employees. Depending on type of employee training is provided
minimum 30 days.
The BIAC operation units Marks & Spencer manufacturing unit
employs only full time employees i.e. 3100, whereas, Victoria Secret
manufacturing unit employs both full and part time employees
i.e.3800 and 500 respectively. A proper training takes places for the
employees before joining the respective units and the duration ranges
from 30- 45 days.

 The Volta Fashions Pvt. Ltd has total numbers of workers are 1000 to
1500. Wages given to them are 3500 to 5000 monthly basis. The
working times are 9am to 5.30 pm. The training period is around
1month providing stipend.
3.3.3 Sourcing
The Brandix Ocean India raw material like yarn, knitted fabric
bundles are easily available where 60% of raw material is procured
locally and remaining 40% is imported by Srilanka. The price of
fabric bundle is $6 to $14 per Kg.
The BIAC operation units both Marks & Spencer and Victoria Secret
manufacturing units raw Materials are procured by vendors coming to
cluster and prescribing the orders.
The Volta Fashions Pvt. Ltd sourcing of material is done from
Karnataka, Tamil nadu.
3.3.4 Operation unit output & Innovative Technology
The Brandix Ocean Indias output of the overall machine is above
average and good efficiency around 70%. The innovation is being
implemented in terms of process efficiency by using the new
technology like automated screen printing with different colors. The
fabric printed and washed is send to the Brandix Apparel unit for the
production of lingeries of brand M&S, VS and Pink. All process of
fabric dyeing, washing and printing is automated. For yarn dyeing jet
machine has used mostly chemical dyeing, for printing screen printing
method has used. Chemical insertion during dyeing is done by
manually.
In the BIAC, there is automation done for both units: Marks &
Spencer manufacturing unit which is lean adjustment as per the lean
process and for Victoria Secret manufacturing unit which is done by
internal Research and Development department. Software used in
Marks & Spencer manufacturing unit is HRMS (internally developed)
and for Victoria Secret manufacturing unit is Movex. Product
modification is done in terms of design by Marks & Spencer

manufacturing unit depending on customer demand to increase the

marketability of product.
The Vola Fahions Pvt. Ltd:- machines used to facilitate the
production are CAD for pattern making, Cuffs fusing machine, thread
absorbing m/c and the productivity of a machine is 200 pieces.
3.3.5 Productivity Efficiency of Machine
The Volta Fashions Pvt. Ltd productivity of a machine is 200 pieces.
The Brandix Ocean Indias output of the overall machine is above
average and good efficiency around 70%.
In M&S and VS manufacturing units the success rate of fit approvals
is by 180% and improving overall productivity by 33%.
3.3.6 SCM & Related Problems
The Brandix Ocean Indias lead time for supply of raw material is less
than 30 days if it is procured locally and 1 to 2 months lead time if it
procured by foreign market. The supply chain problems are related to
time, price of material and sometime the quality of raw material. To
tackle this problem the analyzing team rectifies it by going to the
stage where problem has occurred.
The BIAC operation units Marks & Spencer manufacturing unit the
lead time taken by the vendors to supply the materials varies between
1-2 months. Whereas, for Victoria Secret manufacturing unit the time
taken by the vendors to supply the materials for standard orders it
takes 1-2 months but for speed orders the delivery is done within a
week. There are no problems faced related to supply chain also the
required raw material is easily available to both the units by Ocean
India which is part of BIAC and by other vendors. There are not such
SCM related problems.
The Volta Fashions Pvt. LTD supply quantity of the Volta Fashions is
around 2000 pieces in 2 weeks which is send to head office of Volta
Fashions in Bangalore.

3.3.7 Outlets Information

The Brandix Ocean India doesnt have their own outlet because they
are producing their final product for the input of Brandix Apparel for
manufacturing foreign lingerie brand but the fabric if it gets ruined
during printing or washing is sold as a scrap with 14% of actual price
in the park itself.
The BIACs M&S and VS operation units dont have their retail outlet
as they are exporting it to buyers who are foreign market like US and
UK. Pricing of the product is decided by the head office.
The Volta Fashions Pvt. Ltd has their own outlet in the outskirts of
Vishakhapatnam in Mindi, they sell their manufactured branded
product with 15% of cost.

CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

VOLTA FASHIONS

 Production: The production rates can be increased further by implementing

better techniques and increasing the number of machines. They already have
a large premises most of which is unused space which may be used
meticulously to increase productivity.
Marketing: Marketing can be stronger and more oriented towards the major
brands bringing greater revenues as compared to the smaller local brands
they manufacture for.
Product: The product variety is limited to mens shirts, trousers and denims
apart from some kids wear. They may increase the product variety offered
which in turn would increase the business. Also, since they procure fabric
and dont manufacture it on their own, they may plan a unit regarding the
same in future to ensure proper and continuous supply of quality fabric.
Knitwears can be increased as majorly, wovens were being manufactured.
Quality: Finer fabrics sourced from major suppliers, a probable fabric
manufacturing unit.
Design: Hiring more renowned and qualified designers, producing own
designs, having road shows
Product development: Have currently a good product development process
however, may aim for a more effective development process with lesser time
and better outputs. Bringing in better designs may be of a great help.

CHAPTER 5: LEARNINGS