13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON APPAREL AND HOME TEXTILES
ICAHT – 2015
11th International Conference on Apparel & Home Textiles
(ICAHT) – 2017
9TH SEPTEMBER 2017
THEME: PEOPLE, PURPOSE & PASSION: THE PATHWAY TO SUCCESS
Organized by- Okhla Garment and Textile Cluster (OGTC)
CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Apparel manufacturing industry in India today is witnessing a sea change amid several impacting factors – domestic as well as global. On one hand where the manufacturers are continuously on their feet because of tax reforms in the country, they are also facing the challenge of manufacturing excellence to maintain their profitability.
In order to provide a common platform to the industry experts and Government bodies to address the aspects which are being faced by the companies that is hindering the growth of apparel industry in India, Okhla Garment and Textile Cluster (OGTC) hosted International Conference on Apparel and Home Textiles (ICAHT) 2017 on 9th September, 2017 in New Delhi with the theme “People, Purpose and Passion”. The conference highlighted the challenges prevailing in the segment with a special emphasis on the role people play in the development of an organization.
The event was attended by industrialists, manufacturers (mid and high level management), research institutes and government representatives. The speakers and delegates shared their views about the current status of the segment, challenges being faced and discussed the initiatives that are required to take this sector ahead. The conference was divided into two sections; presentations and workshops on production, merchandising and human relations.
INAUGURAL SESSION
Mr. R. C. Kesar, Director General, OGTC inaugurated the conference and welcomed the dignitaries of the conference. The importance and criticality of involvement and commitment of professionals and workforce has been emphasized again and again at all forums. The theme People, Purpose and Passion: The Pathway to Success of today’s OGTC Conference may also appear to have the same connotation. The simple answer may look yes but the deeper analysis of the presentations and Workshops scheduled in the conference will highlight and focus to a new priority. Let me elaborate the thought process behind selection of the theme and presentations.
Similar to the effects of globalisation, disruptive technology has been an unstoppable force of change across the world, where consumers reap the benefits, but not everyone else. Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, outsourcing and offshoring made possible by rapid technological advancement have meant jobs getting destroyed.
At the end of the day, the best employees are the ones that create value for their companies. Workers who upskill are likely to exhibit stronger problem-solving abilities, a higher level of productivity, and better performance overall. Learning new skills also enables you to be useful to your business in a wide range of ways, making you a great candidate for promotions or switching smoothly to more comprehensive roles in your workplace.
Ladies and gentlemen this conference is a message of change. People are important but will remain important only if they will Acquire T-Shape skills. A T-Shaped skilled person is someone who has a deep understanding of a particular skill (denoted by the stem of the T), but also has a good understanding across a broad range of topics (denoted by the top of the T). Having a good understanding across a number of disciplines allows you to collaborate more effectively, allowing you to fit into any team with ease.
The moral and the message of the story is with every sunrise is a different day’s start upskilling and innovating.
SESSION 1: DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATIONS
Session Chairman: Mr. Animesh Saxena, Neetee Apparel LLP
Speakers:
- Dr. A.N. Singh, Quality Council of India – World Class Manufacturing through Zero Defect Zero Effect Model
- Mr. Gunish Jain, Aakriti Apparels – Artificial intelligence and its impact on the Fashion Industry
- Mr. Prashant Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, Wazir Advisors – Effect of People’s Orientation on Business Profitability
Dr. A. N. Singh initiated the session by explaining the major aspects of ZED; requirement of ZED, certification process, structure of ZED model and the ways for successful implementation of ZED. He discussed that sustainable growth could be achieved by focusing on four areas which include financials, customer, process and people. He further explained the benefits of obtaining ZED certification which has five different levels depending on how well are the company’s processes matured to deliver zero defect products and identified the twelve main areas of management and process maturity score.
Mr. Gunish Jain, highlighted the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the apparel industry and demonstrated the transformation happening in apparel industry with developing technology, helping companies to increase their efficiency. He started the session by drawing special attention to the major technological developments in world citing example of moon landing, first flight, etc. He then emphasized on the need of artificial intelligence in the apparel industry which would help not just in the better planning with software but execution as well by use of AI in quality control, designing and production.
Mr. Prashant Agarwal, Wazir Advisors presented the success story of Brandix Apparel, a top Asian apparel company with a revenue of USD 750 Mn and manufacturing location across three countries. His presentation was focused on the impact that training programme have on the profitability of a manufacturing company. Mr. Prashant explained the “The People Agenda” of the company which focused on five main parameters; ensuring the right fit, going beyond training, exposure beyond borders, reward and recognition and filling a niche. The presentation laid special focus on the practices of company including recruitment, training, HR practices, pay structure and benefits for the workers. He further demonstrated the business maximization and business longevity that Brandix achieved as a result of the special efforts of training its people.
SESSION 2: DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATIONS
Session Chairman: Mr. Ranjiv Kapur, Triburg
Speakers:
- Mr. Venky Nagan, Asmara International- Driving Success Through Value Addition by All
- Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh- Bangladesh Roadmap for Apparel Industry
- Ms. Gowri Sinha, Krisin- Converting Business Plans to Effective Execution: The Leader’s Role
Mr. Venky Nagan initiated the session emphasizing that people are the company’s biggest asset as well as the biggest expense, which makes it a mandate to give a special focus on the people of the company. He then highlighted the expectations of buyers from a company and how Asmara has done value addition to their customer’s expectations to serve them better. He cited various examples of Asmara’s initiatives which included creating global sourcing platform, overseas design centers, quality engineering through technology, developing knowledge bank for buyers, preparing cross functional teams for better management and focusing on compliance and CSR. He also presented a mutli-country perspective of employees which helps them drive passion in their employees across different regions.
Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem started his presentation explaining the importance of RMG industry in Bangladesh and how the sector has evolved in the past. He further emphasized the initiatives taken by Bangladesh government for long term policies on growth of manufacturing sector and employment generation. Dr. Moazzem then outlined the Bangladesh’s target of achieving $50 Bn exports by 2021 by addressing strategic issues including products, processes, technologies, markets, human resources and foreign investments. He also stressed on the transition that the Bangladesh’s RMG industry is going through after the tragic incident of collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013. He elaborated the various initiatives taken by Government for a safe and improved working environment. He further emphasized the challenges that Bangladesh’s RMG need to be prepared of, which included Bangladesh’s graduation from the LDC category preferably by 2024, impact of operationalization of Brexit, emergence of new competing nations and need for product and market diversification. He concluded his presentation by mentioning the investment opportunities in the country and infrastructure related projects which are at different stages of implementation.
Ms. Gowri Sinha, highlighted the leader’s role in the journey of a company’s success. She emphasized that the standards of excellence come only when the leader’s individual habits help develop the team’s habits. She beautifully explained that what it takes to get excellence, the hurdles that come on the way and what the leaders should do to achieve that excellence. She concluded her presentation by mentioning some of the important habits that the leader and team should have to achieve excellence.
WORKSHOP 1 (PRODUCTION): DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATIONS
Session chairman: Mr. Akshay Sahni, Wear Well India Pvt. Ltd.
Speakers:
- Mr. Surender Jain, Wazir Advisors- Total Cost Management: The Mantra for Business Success
- Dr. Darlie Koshy, ATDC/Mr. Nimish Dave, The Idea Smith- Capacity Building through Training and Development
Mr. Surender Jain delivered a presentation on total cost management which explained how abnormal cost could be controlled, reduced and finally eliminated. He highlighted that several external costs like material, rentals, compliance cost can’t be reduced, but there are several internal costs which can be reduced like over time cost, quality cost due to rejections, cost due to over procurement of raw material etc. He explained that these costs can be reduced with interventions like process re-engineering, layout redesigning, training of mid-level management, supply chain improvisation etc.
Dr. Darlie Koshy, highlighted that the people and processes are an integral part to manage future from the present and the skills that would be essential for the future workforce. He presented an analysis of the apparel manufacturing SMEs in the NCR region on supervisory and managerial characteristics and emphasized on the need of reskilling and continuous learning. He stressed on the need of supervisory skills training in the garment industry explaining the benefits an enterprise could reap out of it. He summated his presentation by giving various instances which are a proof of disruptive technology and highlighted that the survival of organizations would depend on who can best manage its people.
Mr. Nimish Dave, explained the need of business diagnostics that is required for sustainable growth. He highlighted the need of maintaining a balance scorecard, which is a strategic planning and management system used to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization by monitoring performance against strategic goals. He emphasized on the need of undertaking business diagnostics as it evaluates the present state of the factory and identifies problem areas for achieving sustainable growth.
WORKSHOP 2 (MERCHANDISING): DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATIONS
Session chairman: Mr. Vikramjit Singh, Flori Creations
Speaker:
- Dr. Suruchi Mittar, Appster – Marketing Approach in Changing Global Landscape
Dr. Suruchi Mittar was started the workshop with their biggest dilemmas in the business or problems. She was integrated it with GROW Model and will map the dilemmas to way forward Value proposition and Marketing strategy. Customer buying behaviour/ how it is changing with technology, fast fashion, sustainability. Getting in to customer’s mind- understanding the requirements, supply chain, giving them choices. Discussing the most adaptive model for understanding the customer “SCARF”. Emotions and cognitions- working on the economic life cycles, era of insecurities and how to remove them. Mapping qualitative and quantitative data- Importance of Data Mining in the era of disruptive Markets. How competitor analysis is important- with respect to their USP, Strategies, Data. One exercise on creative thinking skill- to make them understand how we can think out of the box Impact of technology on Marketing–It can be technical textile, Smart garments, Integration of AR/ VR with ecommerce retail Or AI adaptability NFC clothing, impact on skills, impact on organisations.
WORKSHOP 2 (MERCHANDISING): DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATIONS
Session chairman: Mr. Sharad Duggal, Dimple Creations
Speakers:
- Ms. Shalini Sharma, ATDC/ Ms. Archana Puri, ATDC- Changing Focus from Production to Customer
The second workshop was conducted by Ms. Shalini Sharma and Ms. Archana Puri. The workshop focused on how the market is changing from product centricity to customer centricity. They highlighted that the key to capture the market entailed four major aspects; speed to market, value added product, innovation and customer centricity. The need for speed or fast fashion was very well explained by presenting the case study of ZARA and the ways to combat the decreasing lead times were also explained.
WORKSHOP 3 (HUMAN RELATIONS): DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATIONS
Session chairman: Mr. Amit Agrawal, Genus Apparels Ltd.
Speaker:
- Mr. Ashish Passi, Independent Consultant- People First: Approach for Business Growth
Mr. Ashish Passi started the session by engaging the audience in an activity where people were asked to relate themselves to a set of words which explained their behavior in a better manner. The activity focused on making the audience understand their characteristics and understand that how did it create an impact on the organization. Mr. Passi then stressed on the need of alignment of people’ vision with the business vision in order to achieve both business vision as well as have individual development.
WORKSHOP 3 (HUMAN RELATIONS): DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATIONS
Session chairman: Mr. Akshay Kapur, Radnik Exports
Speaker:
- Mr. Yogesh Gupta, G5 HR Management Pvt. Ltd- Breaking Inter-Departmental Firewalls
Mr. Yogesh Gupta explained that how a firewall is a gateway that restricts and controls the flow of traffic between networks, typically between an internal corporate network and in the manufacturing units in inter-departments. He further highlighted that achieving productivity is only possible if there is a right culmination of purpose, passion and persistence. He laid down eight key factors that were necessary for an efficient functioning of organization that included meaningful work, collaboration, fairness, autonomy, recognition, growth, connectedness with leader and connectedness with colleagues.
SUMMING UP SESSION
In the summing up session Mr. P.M. S Uppal, President OGTC presented welcome address. He was also highlighted conference which are of prime importance to the Industry and need for looking the problems with new and modern concepts.
M.K Mehra, Conference Advisor were presented Award citation in the conference.
- LEAN MANUFACTURING COMPETITIVENESS SCHEME UP-SCALED REVISED 2013. A Group of 7 OGTC Member units participated. OGTC is pleased to Award Appreciation Certified to Participating Units for successfully completion.
- Mission of OGTC is to improve competitiveness of Garment Exports Units. To achieve objectives Workshops/ Training were organized from grass root level to CEO level. During the year 2016-17 In House Training were organized by different members of OGTC. Under PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana) Training Center were setup and skill upgradation programme organized. Over 10000 Employees skill covered. To encourage units appreciation certificate are being awarded.
- Under CSR Initiative OGTC tried to train and provide employment to Divyang. Every year OGTC carried assessment of this important activity.
During the year 2016-17 units employed both male and female Divyang.
To motivate and appreciate certificated are being awarded.
- Cash award to three winners of the poster presentation.
Ms. Ambika Madaan
Ms. Nidhi Gupta
Nupur Sonee.
At the Awards Function following awards were given by Chief Guest & Guest of Honour to OGTC Member Companies & Poster Presentation.
- Participation under MSME Lean Scheme. (7 Companies)
- Employment and training of Differently Abled Persons (Divyang). (4 Companies)
- Participation in Skill Development Programme by running training centers. (6 Companies)
- There was also an all India Poster Competition based on Apparel Industry for Post-Graduation students. The best three posters were awarded cash prizes along with certificates. (Total 15 Poster Presentations)
Mr. Ashok G Rajani, Chairman, AEPC as a Chief Guest in OGTC Award function.
Mr. H.K L Magu, Vice Chairman, AEPC Guest of Honour
VOTE OF THANKS
Mr. R.C Kesar, OGTC thanked Wazir Advisors for helping OGTC. He also thanked Lady Irwin College for their participation and help in conducting the sessions. He appreciated and thanked all Speakers & Session Chairmen for their active participation and OGTC members in particular for their vision and efforts in making this conference a grand success.
Mr. R C Kesar while summing up he announced that the 14th International Conference on Apparel & Home Textiles 2018 will be held on 8th September, 2018 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.