January, 2012

The first issue of 2012 focuses on the 8 influences bound to impact the apparel manufacturing scenario in a major way. Ranging from newdevelopments in sewing machines to alignment re-alignment between sewing machine manufacturers to critical issues related to labour shortage as well as the impact of rising wages, all have been taken under consideration. Also included is ‘Survival of the Leanest’. The Apparel Industry seems to be smitten by Lean. Either we can say that all initiatives are convergingtowards Lean or Lean initiatives have broadened their scope to include all efficiency improvementtechniques.A Real Time Data Collection System on the sewing floor which empowers the organization to track operatorperformance, maintain an operator skill matrix, monitor the increase/decrease in efficiency andproductivity, among others. The ‘Influence 2012’ issue also includes ‘Sustainability’–the one trend which has for the last few years consistently found a place in our final toptrends for the year… the movement just seems to get bigger by the day.