From a traditional sourcing base for woven products, India has fast evolved as a major centre for knitted products, mostly circular knits. In the second survey of the series, buyers have ranked India’s performance in woven and knits on 11 core parameters of Quality, On-time performance, Trust, Flexibility, Design capability, Product variety, Lead time, Small quantities, Raw material base, Scale of production and Compliance. The fact that stands out among the main findings is that India is equally strong in both categories with marginal difference in perception which is India’s core strength today. Of the many inferences made on a scale of 1 to 4 from ‘excellent’ to ‘poor’, some of the interesting ones are highlighted below…
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- 37% buyers rank Indian companies in knits as excellent in flexibility.
- Scale of production ranked as ‘good and above’ by 57% buyers.
- 24% buyers are more than happy with the product variety in knits from India.
- Compliances ‘better’ in factories manufacturing woven garments with 63.33% buyers ranking the category as ‘good’.
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Quality of Indian exporters in knits is ‘good’
22% buyers feel that knit products from India are ‘excellent’, while only 13% rank products in woven fabrics to be of excellent quality. But the positive side is that none of the buyers ranked either category as ‘poor’ on quality with a majority in both cases ranking India as ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ on quality.
India strong in raw material base
It was heartening to know that a majority (54%) of buyers see India as ‘excellent’ in ‘raw material base’ for both the knitted and woven categories. But on the flip side, around 12% of buyers feel that India is ‘poor’ on raw material base for woven fabrics, while 7% believe that raw material base for knitted garments are ‘poor’ in the country. In both cases, the buyers who have ranked the country as ‘poor’ are those working with imported fabric for specific needs.
‘On-time performance’ still a concern
While 23% of buyers ranked woven products ‘poor’ on meeting delivery schedules, 13.33% felt the same for knitted products. The difference is a result of the fact that while most of the companies manufacturing knitted garments have in-house knitting units, those working on woven fabrics are dependent on outsourcing, which tends to delay the process further.
Design capabilities considered stronger in woven garments
PD skills are increasingly being considered as core strength from India and the same was reflected in the findings of the survey wherein 66% of buyers find India very good on design capabilities in woven garments with 24% ranking India as ‘excellent’. In knits, 54% buyers find the country ‘good and above’ on design capabilities, with 20% rating it as ‘excellent’.
