Consultant says fabric availability must be part of sourcing strategy
30/11/2012
Mr Weis has worked with the organisers of Texprocess and Techtextil, which will next place in Frankfurt in June 2013, to prepare a strategy briefing document on sourcing ahead of the events.
His assessment is that apparel manufacturers in eastern Europe are already operating at 90% capacity and cannot find any new workers. But he insists that labour management issues are far from the only consideration.
Against the background of rising wage costs in China, textile and garment industry buyers have already begun looking at alternatives in Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and Indonesia, and also at the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, where capacity is still available, the consultant has said. However, he is concerned by the lack of attention companies sometimes pay to making sure there is a reliable supply of power, communications and transport infrastructure in the locations they choose.
Even more obviously, he feels, they need to check to see if there is availability locally of an attractive enough range of fabrics and accessories. Manufacturers in Turkey can offer high quality and speed to market, but are not so well equipped to source the best fabrics from western Europe because of cost considerations, according to Mr Weis. He explained that in south-eastern Europe the range of fabrics is “very limited” and said the same is true for North Africa, and South and Central America. “However, if you are happy with a narrow selection of fabrics because this fits your range of products, you will find what you are looking for there,” he added.
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