MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS IN GARMENT INDUSTRY
Rapid technological changes and customer expectations demand from manufacturers to improve their quality of fashion products constantly and thus survive in the market. The process of making clothes is very complex and the application of the latest technological achievements is not enough for producing high-quality clothes.
Due to frequent changes in fashion trends, overcrowded markets, low purchasing power, as well as changes in habits and tastes of consumers, we are faced with a permanent decline in product sales. Changes in the world market require creating and maintaining development policy to be based on identified customer needs. Preconditions of development of workable strategies of corporate fashion industry are primarily the assessment of market potential, its own strengths and weaknesses. It is necessary to explore and explain all phenomena and laws of modern production-market-environment, in order to obtain information indicating what products to produce so that the market would accept them, and that a design as a creative discipline can create optimum products with very different characteristics.
Organization of the technological process of making clothes is different for different garments, because each item is different and requires a different organization of technological processes. Therefore, it is necessary to find the most economical ways of work and time required to perform work operations.
Production of clothing does not bring results if it does not tend to the necessity for improvements, which will lead to the growth of productivity, rational usage of productive resources and reduction of costs. It is necessary to see the growing need to change management, capacity and planning. This implies the implementation of new solutions in manufacturing, information systems, management techniques, design, etc. For successful survival in the market, it is necessary to establish control over other stages of the production cycle such as procurement, sales, promotional activities, logistics, pricing the final product, etc.
Optimization of production within the global logistic chain in the 21 century is all about the problem of determining the optimal production quantity in time, provided that the costs of purchase, costs of production, costs of storage of finished products, transportation costs and demand costs are minimal. Activities of the logistic chain begin by customer specification, and end when a satisfied buyer pays for the clothing supplied. Modern logistic chains are dynamic and flexible networks, which operate on the principle of "predict and do" versus the traditional approach of "produce and sell." Fast response to changes in demand requires solutions in all phases of the logistic chain: production, procurement, warehousing, transportation and distribution.
The world trend is to be the best, not just successful. Being competitive is not a question of success but it is the question of survival, and production business systems must be flexible, innovative and constantly improving. If the production is viewed as a chain of values that include activities which bring or do not bring the value to the product, the goal of modern production is to reduce the activities that do not bring value.
This book is the author's attempt to show, apart from introducing classical technology of production of clothing, the importance and need for improving the organization and methods of work, ways of thinking and finding new fashion markets. It is intended primarily for students of textile technology, engineers in garment industry, as well as top managers and production managers in garment industry.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN GARMENT INDUSTRY
The dynamics of international strategy for garment
industry is accelerating with development of concepts and new demands of rapid
changes in the market. The whole world is seen as a potential source of
production, and simultaneously as a single market of garments. The final goals
should be ultimate success for those manufacturers whose products are cheaper
and better than the competition.
With the development
of markets and increased competition,
there are many fashion producers who
want to sell their products and impose on the world market. Garment producers
are forced to be even more initiative in the
field of innovation and further
reduction of operating costs. Social
development has changed the
lifestyle of consumers, and due to demographic changes there is an increasing number
of consumers with different demands and needs, thus requiring from garment manufacturers to develop new marketing strategies and methods.
Developing strategic marketing orientation is
a long-term process and represents a unique form of investment. This
investment involves a change of organizational
culture and organizational climate
in a way that the
common values, expressed through the satisfaction of
consumer needs and ensuring the quality
in all activities, strive to be the motto of all
employees.
In order to sustain garment industry it is necessary to meet consumer demands concerning the quality, price and delivery time. These criteria can only be met through restructuring of existing production-business system, introducing new technologies, changes in organizational forms, i.e. finding organizational design that will enable using all potentials of employees and motivate the entire organization.
Turbulent environment, as a result of rapid development in technology and diversification possibilities, meets the increasing needs of consumers who seek for even more original and unified products and forces modern management to dynamic adjustment of production-business systems and changes in the environment.
The survival of garment producers increasingly depends on the ability of management to understand and manage changes. A strategic change should be viewed as a continual process that takes place in certain circumstances. Carrying out changes depends largely on the nature of activities to be performed as well as the expertise and skills of employees. The success of a garment producer is determined by his ability to achieve dynamic harmony with the changing environment, i.e. it is a result of flexibility (efficiency) and adaptability (effectiveness) of business.
Strategy implementation and moving garment producers in a desired direction requires a special kind of expertise. Formulating a strategy requires an entrepreneurial focus and emphasizes the ability to conceptualize, analyze and weigh, whereas applying strategy has a primarily managing focus. All fashion companies must, regardless of their current situation, develop a long-term strategy. There is not a single strategy that would be optimal for all companies, because each of them must determine a strategy in accordance with its objectives, capabilities, resources and market position.
The philosophy of global management approach focuses on exploiting market opportunities and identifying opportunities for acquiring resources in other countries, aiming to achieve full synergy in realizing mission and goals of a company. Organizing business in the international market differs from one company to another and depends primarily on the goals and tasks set by the company, available resources, management and marketing strength, competitive position, the degree of involvement in international affairs and market attractiveness of fashion production and sales program.
This book is the author's attempt to show advances in business strategy in the garment industry for current and future managers in garment industry, students of textile technology, engineers and top managers in garment industry.
The third book written by Gordana Colovic in an original way, with the
examples from the garment
industry and with a detailed
scientific analysis of ergonomics,
points to the importance and necessity
of this interdisciplinary science. Its application through the standardization of micro and macro environment in the garment industry provides an example of how to design
the present and future processes.
The author’s analysis of the ergonomics as
a scientific discipline gives a
very detailed explanation in
Chapter 5 about how to provide
the greatest long-term effectiveness through high-impact and permanent ability to work in the garment
industry.
Historical overview from Hammurabi, through Taylor and Chapanis to the IEA
in the first chapter describes designing the efficient system of work for the proper design of
work, how the employees are
motivated and how the division of responsibilities between management
and work was carried out. Psychosocial factors of work in the scientific
management system through the relationship ergonomically placed in the human-work system or Human–Machine System enable reducing monotonous and repetitive tasks to
the ergonomically best designed system.
The Second chapter analyzes the ergonomics through a series of modern
scientific disciplines including
biological anthropology, genetics,
anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, psychology and design. Due to its interdisciplinary character,
the ergonomics gives a complex approach to work: psychological, physiological, economic,
organizational and sociological, so today in the age of
high technical and technological development it is
necessary to adapt the machines to human's bio-psycho-social
constraints and requirements in order to use the
machine more efficiently, safely
and more reliably (Human-Machine System).
Employee satisfaction is a set of conditions that motivate employees to
perform their tasks successfully and to respect ethical principles in their
workplace. Simultaneous employee satisfaction can lead to larger support of the
employees in achieving the goals of the organization, creating a larger market
of fashion products and achieving higher profits. On the other hand, the employee
satisfaction can improve the relationships in PBS based on trust, communication
and coordination between functions. In the third chapter, the author discusses
the importance of psycho-physiological components that affect humans directly.
When the demands of work are such that a man can overcome them by putting an
effort into it, the functional ability of his body and his health are not
harmed and there is an ergonomic balance.
The analysis of
anthropological and biomechanical characteristics
of a man leads to the correlation with ergonomic principles set out in the fourth chapter. Unless the
ergonomic principles are obeyed,
a man is exposed to a number of risk factors: the action
of force, repetitive movements, uncomfortable posture, poor posture, vibration, stress and cold... So the authentic examples from local and international garment industry are
used to provide the examples
of the analysis of
a workplace (standing and sitting),
movement analysis, the application of
the principles in designing work
processes, work time, the use of tools, as well
as in the environment (light,
noise, vibration ...).
The fifth chapter deals with the
ergonomic design of whole process of production,
distribution and sale of apparel products.
Many apparel manufacturers in the world still operate in the
conventional way, with technical and technological preparation being carried
out in the offices without computers and the constructional preparation without
using CAD systems. Traditional constructional production preparation and the sale
of garments are very difficult both mentally and physically, and we believe
that this authentic book will help those who take care of their employees,
those who design the machines in garment industry as well as the processes and
human relations in their companies.
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