Production Management Becomes a Top Priority for Brands

Three Companies Share Their Take on Why

Shop floor control (SFC) technology is either in use or on the investment radar for 65 percent of apparel and consumer goods businesses, according to survey findings highlighted in the CGS 2022 Supply Chain Trends and Technology Annual Report. Why has production management become such a high priority?

“There is a focus on digitalization from design to the shop floor all the way through to the showroom and consumer,” said Paul Magel, president, Business Applications and Technology Outsourcing division, CGS. “People need visibility into where all of their goods are throughout the supply chain to  maneuver better and pivot in response to disruptions.”

Each business and leadership team has different drivers for wanting greater visibility to manufacturing activities, but there is also common ground for companies confronting similar pain points. Below we share additional survey findings and check-in with three businesses whose SFC experiences help put our survey data into real-world context.
 

Integrating Business Processes and Workflows

Business process integration is the most important requirement for 71 percent of businesses looking for SFC technology, according to our survey. Closely related, 66 percent of survey respondents said ERP integration is a priority in solution selection. BlueCherry SFC natively integrates with BlueCherry ERP and PLM, and it tightly integrates with other third-party solutions. It also seamlessly integrates with the GSDCost solution for production methods, time and cost benchmarks and standards.  

SFC in Action: A+ School Apparel, a leading school uniform manufacturer, is implementing the integrated BlueCherry^® Enterprise Suite, including BlueCherry Shop Floor Control, as its end-to-end ERP, SFC and optimization solution. “As we build back our domestic manufacturing capabilities, we intend to leverage the most modern technologies and equipment to increase efficiency, improve quality and ensure on-time, on-budget delivery,” said David Laing, vice president, Domestic Manufacturing, A+ School Apparel. The implementation, announced in February, will enable the company to digitize its plant floor operations, including real-time operator efficiency measurement and continuous feedback.
 

Supply Chain Visibility

A close second to business process integration, 68 percent of survey respondents cited supply chain visibility as a requirement having “some” or “great” impact on their SFC decision-making process.

SFC in Action: Clearer production visibility is essential to Canadian manufacturer Attraction as it meets growing demand for products made locally and sustainably. The casual apparel and promotional products manufacturer “needed a better grip” on its manufacturing, said co-owner Sebastien Jacques. By rolling out BlueCherry SFC, Attraction will have a real-time view into work-in-process (WIP), capacity and off-standard events. The technology also will help the company manage complexities of fluctuating order run quantities, which vary from a few dozen to thousands of units, and myriad style and decorating options.

With SFC, Attraction also empowers its production associates with greater visibility to their individual productivity and progress toward bonus incentives. In this way, SFC plays a key role in creating an “outstanding work environment” in line with the company’s core values, Jacques said.

SFC in Action: Supply chain visibility also is a top priority for Star Garment Group, a Sri Lanka-based full-service fashion apparel manufacturer. Since implementing BlueCherry SFC, Star has gained a real-time view to off-standard time, productivity, quality, machine downtime and other metrics. Before, Star’s team was aware of issues such as bottlenecks, but it was difficult to quantify them or spot them as quickly as they can now. “Now, we solve issues as they happen. When you make decisions quickly, obviously your productivity goes up,” said Star Managing Director Arumugampillai Sukumaran. Star also has real-time visibility to order status, by individual products or batches. Managers can see how much of an order has been cut, sewn, inspected, bagged or packed for shipment. Read more about Star’s SFC advantages in this case study.
 

Executive Dashboards and Advanced Analytics

According to our survey, executive dashboards and analytics capabilities are priorities for 67 percent of respondents in their SFC system evaluation. Businesses need SFC analytics to reveal key performance indicators to improve decision-making for both on-site factory leaders and off-site executives managing multiple plants. Advanced analytics also enable companies to do deep dives into their manufacturing data, exposing causes of problems, as well as opportunities, for greater efficiencies.

SFC in Action: A+ School Apparel will use BlueCherry SFC to provide accurate performance data to support engineering and continuous improvement efforts. The company, headquartered in Burlingame, Calif., has manufacturing and distribution centers throughout the United States. “We look forward to working with the CGS team to further modernize our back-end operations,” Laing said.

SFC in Action: Analytics and dashboards play a role at Star Garment, too. The company is resolving problems on the spot because leaders have a real-time view to issues and can make faster, better-informed decisions. Star also uses analytics to plan production runs. Additionally, supervisors can access SFC data on mobile tablets to balance manufacturing lines, drawing on system recommendations based on operator skill levels.

Would your business benefit from greater shop floor control and supply chain visibility? Download our Visibility Report, produced in partnership with Sourcing Journal, to learn why supply chain visibility has never been more crucial to fashion, footwear and consumer goods brands.