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Friday, September 03, 2010

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DEEPAK MOHINDRA
(Editor-In-Chief)
EDITOR'S DESK -

SEPTEMBER - 2010

Why blame the garment industry for being unorganized, inefficient, unproductive and non compliant when it is one such industry that has to work with so many variables, some of which are low volumes, multi designs, ever reducing prices, fluctuating currencies, Government apathy and poor infrastructure support. But despite that, it has always been able to deliver on time while maintaining a reasonable quality. May be, at times, the goods get air freighted rather then shipped.
Now compare it with the mess that has happened at the project Common�Wealth� Games� Can one expect any such big blunder by any of the garment exporters? Off time and poor quality�

I would say that Government should have placed a few garment exporters on the Commonwealth Games project planning board, and going by the reputation of managing crisis the stalwarts from the garment industry would have made sure the job gets done and delivered on time using their expert understanding of special technique called jugad, salvaging the situation and the country�s pride (some may argue that jugad is the reason for India�s downfall).

Interestingly, I find few international garmenting companies setting units in India using the FDI route. One such company we talked about in our last issue was Laguna, no doubt it has its presence in India for the last many years but they recently expanded with a new factory using FDI route, and now I have come across another company in Bangalore � Concorde Ventures �with head office in Dubai. Is it a trend we should watch out for�?

What is certainly a trend are methods to improve productivity and efficiencies� and this issue has many articles in that direction. An article which highlights the opportunities to improve productivity by changing the factory�s layout is presented by our productivity expert Paul F. Bowes entitled �Improve Factory Layout to Boost Productivity�. The importance of training cannot be undermined and in the article �Operator Training in Apparel Manufacturing�, Francesco Bellino, an apparel manufacturing specialist elucidates the significance of scientific training.

Why is one employee earning more than the other and with what justification�? What criteria should be considered while fixing his/her salary�? These questions have nagged the industry for quite some time now. Team StitchWorld, with Prof. Prabir Jana, through the article �Job Evaluation in Apparel Manufacturing � The Compensable Factors� � attempts to bring to you the guidelines on fixing remunerations, how to calculate it and on what basis?

Deepak Mohindra
Editor-in-Chief

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