Garment Manufacturing

When Superior Service Levels Matter

Low barriers to entry. Intense, price-based competition. Supply and distribution chains that stretch around the world. Product lines that switch out completely every two to three months. Fickle and unpredictable customers. Low margins. These are the business realities for garment manufacturers.

You would think that such challenges would have forged one of the most efficient and competitive industries in the world, but that’s far from reality. When it comes to operational efficiency, the pursuit of lowest cost labor can hide a lot of sins.   TBM has worked with over 30 garment manufacturers to combine any labor advantage that they might enjoy with value chain process excellence.  They’re able to deliver superior product more quickly, and escape the commodity trip, while simultaneously improving the safety of the work environment, reducing overtime, increasing employee flexibility, and dramatically improving retention.  Our clients have weathered today’s economic storm by leveraging partnerships with key customers to drive process improvements and maximize cash flow. Longer term, success in the garment sector is all about staying close to your markets, both on the design side and manufacturing, and producing a non-stop stream of innovation.

TBM has worked with a variety of clothing manufacturers to speed new product launches, boost capacity, increase productivity, reduce batch sizes and meet the service-level requirements of their demanding, brand-name customers. For example, to improve overall service levels, we worked with a contract manufacturer to implement Lean Sigma production methods in its factory and achieved the following performance gains:

Some of the other characteristics that distinguish the operations of our garment sector clients include:

• Tight alignment between capacity and demand
• Low defect rates on high-margin, Grade-A material
• Contractor compliance with international labor standards
• Lightning-fast product and process development
• New products that consumers really want, and will pay a premium to own
• Discontinuation of unprofitable offerings
• A positive culture that contributes to comparatively low labor turnover rates
• Lower overall development costs

Our standardized assessment process helps garment manufacturers move forward across multiple facilities by establishing common goals, communicating consistently, and sharing best practices. We assess both the mastery of Lean Sigma tools and the organizational culture, then develop current and future state maps that clearly show the opportunities for improvement. We provide go-forward plans, on-site feedback and company-specific training to speed implementation and results.

To learn more about TBM’s garment industry experience and how we can help your company move forward, contact Bill Swisher at 800-438-5535.