Lean Supply Chain Management in Fashion and Textile Industry
By Rajkishore Nayak
Contents:
Traditional Fashion and Textile Supply Chain: Concept
to Consumer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Rajkishore Nayak, Majo George, and Irfan Ulhaq
Challenges in the Traditional Fashion and Textile Supply Chain . . . . . . . 31
Prabir Jana
Fundamental Concepts of Lean and Agile Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Mohammadreza Akbari, Kevin Nguyen, Kristof Van Houdt,
and Seng Kiat Kok
Lean Concept in Fashion and Textile Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Majo George, Lam Canh Nguyen, Hung Manh Nguyen,
and Mohammadreza Akbari
Standardized Work in Fashion Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Ashish Bhardwaj
5S and Its Implications in Fashion and Textile Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Irfan Ulhaq, Majo George, and Rajkishore Nayak
Kaizen Applications in Fashion and Textile Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Majo George, Vuong Nguyen Dang Tung, Le Phan Thanh Truc,
Nguyen Minh Ngoc, and Le Khac Yen Nhi
Kanban Applications in Fashion and Textile Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Majo George, Le Phan Thanh Truc, Vuong Nguyen Dang Tung,
Le Khac Yen Nhi, Nguyen Minh Ngoc, and Rajkishore Nayak
Other Lean Tools in Fashion and Textile Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Hiep Cong Pham, Irfan Ulhaq, Paul Yeow, and Mohammadreza Akbari
Digital Technologies for Lean Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Majo George, Le Khac Yen Nhi, Nguyen Minh Ngoc,
Vuong Nguyen Dang Tung, Le Phan Thanh Truc, and Rajkishore Nayak
Lean Manufacturing: Case Studies from Fashion and Textile
Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Majo George, Nguyen Minh Ngoc, Le Khac Yen Nhi,
Vuong Nguyen Dang Tung, Le Phan Thanh Truc, and Rajkishore Nayak
Benefits, Drawbacks, and Future Directions of Lean on the Fashion
and Textile Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Hung Manh Nguyen, Scott McDonald, Bill Au,
and Mohammadreza Akbari
Preface:
The concept of lean manufacturing was coined in Japanese manufacturing sector, Toyota Production System (TPS) mainly dealing with automotive components. The major focus of lean manufacturing was to eliminate wastes from the operation cycle. Wastes can be defined as the process or operation, which does not add value to the product and the consumer is not willing to pay. The objectives of lean manufacturing were to: (a) eliminate wastes (by avoiding waiting, overproduction, reducing inventory etc.) in the manufacturing process; (b) improve productivity and efficiency; (c) optimize the utilization of space and equipment; and (d) reduce lead time. Although, there have been some technological advancements that are applied in lean manufacturing, the fundamentals of lean manufacturing have remained the same.
In recent years, the manufacturing of fashion and textiles has completely been shifted to developing countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The developed countries, due to high labor and utility charges are focusing tomanufacture high value added clothing or technical textiles. The manufacturing of fashion and textiles is labor intensive in many developing countries despite of the technological developments and automation. Many of the fashion brands aim to buy the fashion and textile products at cheaper prices, which lead to stiff competition among the global manufactures. Further, the labor charges, raw materials prices are in continuous rise, which makes the manufacturers to face many challenges in manufacturing the garments in competitive prices. In the competitive global market, the fashion and textile manufactures should improve product quality, improve efficiency, and eliminate waste, which can be achieved by the implementation of lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is an integrative approach, which can be successful by the involvement of the whole organization as a team.
The fashion and textile industries are facing a huge competition due to globalization and challenges of sustainability. Fashion and textile industries are considered to be the second largest polluters after the oil sector to due generation of a large quantities of wastes, hence, the lean manufacturing concept can be utilized to reduce waste. As the global focus is changing towards achieving or producing more with limited resources, the resource-based fashion and textile manufacturing needs to be changed to a new manufacturing system. The new manufacturing system should focus on the waste reduction, energy saving, use of advanced technologies and information systems. These approaches can help the organizations to achieve excellence and provide competitive advantage, which can be achieved by the implementation of lean manufacturing. However, the transition towards a new manufacturing system requires the highest skillsets and excellent organizational leadership.
The concept of lean manufacturing is gaining increased popularity in many fashion and textile industries due its ability to manage the process and material wastes. The fundamental principle of lean manufacturing is based on continuously eliminating waste from the manufacturing processes. Implementation of lean manufacturing focuses on areas such as: increase productivity by reducing overproduction, waiting time, over processing, inventory, defects, unnecessary transportation, and unnecessary movement, which are considered the seven wastes in lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing reduces the cycle time, lead time, and changeover time, hence, improves productivity, efficiency and profitability. Lean can help to keep the manufacturing cost low in the rising labor and material price in the global fashion and textile manufacturing sector.
Various latest technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Automation are essential to achieve the objectives of lean manufacturing. Therefore, many organizations are replacing the traditional technologies with the advanced technologies to achieve the objectives. For example, several global retailers and manufacturers are adopting the RFID technology in their supply chain to realize the benefits, which includes accuracy of information, prevention of loss, product visibility, easy traceability, reduced labor cost and reduced lead time. Hence, RFID technology can be considered one of the leading technologies for successful operation of lean manufacturing. The use of other technologies has also been essential part of lean manufacturing as these technologies convert the lean manufacturing to digital lean, which improves the accuracy and speed in addition to timely availability of information.
This book will discuss the concepts of lean manufacturing, which have been widely used recently in the fashion and textile supply chain to eliminate waste, improve productivity and efficiency. Lean manufacturing tries to apply various fundamental tools such as Kaizen, Kanban, Jidoka, 5S and Six Sigma, to reduce various wastes for efficiency and productivity, which will be discussed in this book. In addition, the technological changes such as RFID, IoT and Industry 4.0 that are used in digital lean concepts will be also discussed in this book. The findings from the research on the use of digital technologies such as RFID that the author and some of the contributors performed inVietnamese fashion and textile sector,will be discussed in this book. The book consists of a total of 12 chapters, contributed by the subject experts from various universities and academic institutes. The brief outline of the chapters of the book has been given below.
“Traditional Fashion and Textile Supply Chain: Concept to Consumer” provides an introduction of the traditional processes used in fashion and textile supply chain. The process sequence and summary of each process has been discussed while converting raw materials from concept to consumer. Various causes of material and process waste generated in these processes (in general) are also being discussed. There has been a brief discussion on the history of lean manufacturing and its chronological developments. Further, the fundamental principles of lean manufacturing and various types of tools used in lean manufacturing has also been discussed. Various tools used in lean manufacturing are also discussed in this chapter. Finally, the advantages, disadvantages and future directions of lean manufacturing are covered in this chapter.
“Challenges in the Traditional Fashion and Textile Supply Chain” discusses various challenges of traditional manufacturing methods. Various strategic challenges such as buyer driven supply chain, high SKU proliferation, sustainability challenges and educational challenges are discussed. Various operational challenges such as lead time and sampling, limited use of technology, and limited use of technology have been discussed in this chapter. Some of the causes of low productivity and low efficiency from fashion and textile perspective has been included in this chapter.
“Fundamental Concepts of Lean and Agile Manufacturing” focusses on the evolution of lean manufacturing-definition, objectives, and principles of lean manufacturing. The goal of lean and agile manufacturing to satisfy customer demands, has been discussed in this chapter. This chapter focusses on the fundamentals of lean and agile manufacturing concepts, in addition to the objectives, and principles. There have been discussions on the history, chronological developments, applications in the manufacturing sector, especially fashion and textile industry, and benefits of lean and agile manufacturing. There have been discussions about the implementation of lean concepts in fashion and textile manufacturing as well as how it can help to improve the productivity and efficiency. Different wastes and their control through lean manufacturing. The chapter also discusses the differences between the two concepts: lean and agile manufacturing.
“Lean Concept in Fashion and Textile Manufacturing” covers the overviewof lean manufacturing. How the lean manufacturing was developed in the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Henry Ford Production System has been discussed in this chapter. Furthermore, a conceptual framework for lean concepts has been provided in this chapter. The development of lean for fashion and textile manufacturing has also been discussed in this chapter with a focus on the past works in lean manufacturing with the chronological developments. Various wastes in fashion manufacturing have been discussed with emphasis on their cause and elimination processes. Lean applications in garment manufacturing have been discussed in detail and a brief description has been given on the lean application in the textile industries. The lean application to achieve sustainability is also discussed in this chapter.
“Standardized Work in Fashion Industry” covers the processes such as time and motion study generally used in garment industries to establish standard time. The fundamental principles and the process of conducting time and motion study has been covered in this chapter. This chapter also discusses about the maximum utilization of machine, labor, cycle time, changeover time, work balancing, time measurement, tools and jigs for time management, economy of motion and time management. Various causes of idle time and bottle necking are also covered in this cheaper. “5S and Its Implications in Fashion and Textile Industry”, discusses the five pillars of 5S system (such as Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize & Sustain) in the context of fashion and textile lean manufacturing. The detailed processes for implementation of 5S technology such as observation & preparation, planning, implementing and assessment has also been discussed. Various phases and facilitating factors (such as human factors, management and leadership, staff compliance, collaborative tools) of 5S tool have been discussed. Enablers and barriers in the implementation of 5S are covered.
“Kaizen Applications in Fashion and Textile Industries” focuses on the fundamental concepts of Kaizen, in addition to the systematic developments, and application in fashion and textile industries. A brief history of Kaizen has also been included to discuss the chronological developments. Various phases of Kaizen implementation, starting from planning to execution stages, for businesses to be benefitted from waste reduction, increased productivity, and optimization of operation, are discussed in this chapter. Indeed, the application of Kaizen concept has been an effective solution for the fashion and textile industries with actual evidence from Bangladesh, Peru, and India, which are also discussed in the chapter. There have been discussions how Kaizen has resolved problems of fabric fault, maintained ergonomic standards and workers comfort to increase the productivity. Further, this chapter highlights its challenges faced for the implementation of Kaizen, advantages and disadvantages in the fashion and textile industry.
“Kanban Applications in Fashion and Textile Industries” provides a thorough explanation of the Kanban concept. Various Kanban methods as well as its implementation in the fashion and textile industries from different perspectives are covered in this chapter. Kanban system was derived from a Japanese notion, which means “visible sign”, originated with the efforts of the Toyota automotive company in applying the concept to the manufacturing process. Kanban has eventually become a popular methodology that is used widely used in the automobile industry as well as in other sectors such as fashion and textiles. It has been a successful tool in the Lean Manufacturing and Just-in-time concepts with the purpose of maximizing productivity and minimizing workplace waste, which has been discussed in this chapter. The use of various signals in the Kanban system help to make the workflow as agile and efficient as possible. There has been discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of Kanban system in the fashion and textile industries to obtain higher productivity and efficiency. This chapter also highlights some case studies focusing on the fashion brands and manufacturers using Kanban. How the implementation of Kanban tool in fashion and textile industries can help to increase the productivity, control inventory, ensure supplier and employee participation are also discussed in this chapter.
“Other Lean Tools in Fashion and Textile Manufacturing”, explains how lean manufacturing tools such as Muda, Six Sigma and statistical process control, and ergonomics can help in waste reduction, process efficiency and safety in fashion and textile industries. These tools focus on reducing the seven wastes as listed for lean manufacturing process to make the process more efficient. The four Muda techniques to perform waste identification which includes: building lean thinking and cultures, hybrid approach of combining multiple decision-making methods, integrating lean and green management, and value stream mapping to prioritize responses to wastes are discussed in this chapter. The use of statistical process control (SPC) in process control in fashion and textile manufacturing and enhance the future production predictability are elucidated. The use of Six Sigma as a process-based strategy with five stages (DMAIC) to eliminate defects inmanufacturing process are covered. Finally, the use of ergonomics to optimize human well-being and overall system performance, in lean manufacturing to improve quality and well-being of workers in fashion and textile industries also discussed.
“Digital Technologies for Lean Manufacturing” aims to offer thorough insights into the digital technologies that are designed to complement the operation of lean manufacturing. This chapter aims to highlight the digital technologies that are designed to complement the operation of lean manufacturing. Firstly, Industry 4.0 has been explained that helps to complement Lean Manufacturing to gain continuous improvement, better customer expectation and operational process. The results of combining digital technologies with lean manufacturing yield the concept of “Lean Industry 4.0”. Secondly, blockchain occurs as a disruptive innovation to resolve the problems of lack of an integrated lean management system across the supply chain network, which is also discussed. Thirdly, the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system is analyzed, and its ability to offer high levels of accurate, real-time information, decreased time-consuming activities and labor cost while increasing product visibility and operation speed is covered. Fourth, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are also discussed with the ability to deal with complexity, increase in productivity and efficiencywith the automatic system, and decrease production costs.
Finally, other non-common yet useful tools are mentioned to give a comprehensive view of the application of digital technologies on Lean Manufacturing, including automated guided vehicles (AGVs), virtual stimulation (VS), and cybersecurity. To consolidate our findings, two case studies are presented to give realistic viewpoints of digital technology adoption from two giant firms in the textile and apparel industry, namely Uniqlo and H&M. The findings of a survey based on Vietnam’s fashion and textile industries on the use of technology such as RFID is also included in this chapter.
“Lean Manufacturing: Case Studies from Fashion and Textile Industries” focuses on various case studies from global fashion and textile brands. This chapter highlights the causes relating to the failure and success of various global industries in the fashion and textile manufacturing sector. The earlier chapters have clearly mentioned that the implementation of various lean tools such as Kaizen, Muda, 5S and Kanban can help the traditional fashion and textile industries to improve their productivity and efficiency by reducing waste. This chapter will highlight the direct cases of how the implementation of lean manufacturing improves the productivity and efficiency of fashion and textile industries. Some case studies focusing on the failure of some of the industries fromAfrica and India due to not implementation of lean manufacturing tools has been discussed in the first section. The case studies focusing on the success of some of the fashion and textile industries by adopting lean manufacturing tools is discussed in the second section. Finally, the third and last section will focus on the future directions and conclusions of this chapter.
The book is a result of author’s intensive work in fashion and textiles, which took about a year to complete. Author and contributors collected the information from various peer-reviewed journals; trade magazines; websites of various companies including fashion and textiles; in addition to the information collected from various research organizations; and fashion distributor’s websites. Some of the chapters include the research findings from the project the author completed to know the recent status of technology in lean manufacturing. Author has tried to make this book informative by covering all the aspects of lean manufacturing applications in the fashion and textile supply chain. The book is written in simple language so that the people with minimal knowledge in the lean manufacturing can easily understand the subject matter. It is anticipated that the book with a range of scientific knowledge, fundamental principles and application ar will dissipate knowledge to the students, academicians, research communities and manufacturers working in the fashion and textiles.
The author extends his sincere thanks to all the experts who have helped to complete all the chapters successfully.His special thanks to the authors and publishers for providing approval to reuse the images, tables and other information in the book. The author is also thankful to Springer publication team for their support for making this book a reality. The author hopes this book will help the readers in the field of fashion and textiles in acquiring relevant information on lean manufacturing.
Dr. Rajkishore Nayak
Associate Professor
Fashion Merchandising, School of Communication and Design
RMIT University
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam