UK-based industrial thread and consumer textile crafts marketer Coats Group plc is set to launch Coats Opti Express, an innovative zip sampling service which reduces lead times. Opti Express provides the fastest and simplest zips sampling service in the market and while current lead times for a standard zip sample averages 14 days, Coats Opti Express reduces this to just five days. Production of the sample starts as soon as the request is submitted and the digital tool also helps eliminate several time consuming manual interventions in the ordering and production process. These include technical drawings for bulk production in two days, 3D plastic samples printed within three days and the Coats propriety cast metal prototype, the ProtoPul, ready in five days.
The new service has been piloted in China, Sri Lanka, UK and US and will soon be reaching out to more customers. In the next phase of the project, Coats will add a ‘Bulk’ order facility to help convert sample requests to bulk orders. Coats markets its products in more than 70 countries, employing over 20,000 people across six continents, while 2014 revenues stood at US $ 1.7 billion.
