Coats Digital’s FastReactPlan Delivers Dynamic Production Planning And Control For Thai Garment Manufacturer

PRESS ROOM

24 Feb

Written By Debbie Mckeegan

BANGKOK,THAILAND and LONDON, UK – February , 2023 – Coats Digital is delighted to announce that following the implementation of Coats Digital’s FastReactPlan solution, award-winning, global manufacturer of outerwear, sportswear and specialised protective equipment, VT Garment Co. Ltd., has realised an unprecedented 95% productivity improvement; increased its capacity plan accuracy by 92%; and doubled its On Time Delivery performance since its adoption of FastReactPlan.

The solution has also optimised overall planning time by 57%; reduced time spent loading orders by 67% and significantly reduced people hours spent recording plan variations from 4 hours to just 10 minutes.

Since implementation, the company has additionally eliminated unnecessary overtime staff hours altogether and boosted staff morale by simplifying the often challenging and stressful task of planning which had negatively impacted the whole business.

Founded in 1981, VT Garment is an award-winning global manufacturer of outerwear, sportswear and protective equipment, such as: ski jackets and pants, boardshorts, polyester padded jackets, woven jackets and pants, knitted jackets and bulletproof armour-plated materials.

Around 20 per cent of VT Garment’s electricity usage comes from solar energy and it has ISO 9001 certified facilities in Thailand and Myanmar which produce over 136,000 pieces per month.

The company boasts an annual turnover of 50 million USD and its customers include: Patagonia, Jack Wolfskin, Montbell, O’Neill and other big and small brands in the United States and Europe.

VT Garment supports a workforce of 2,000 and has one of the largest Original Equipment/Original Design Manufacturing (OEM/ODM) factories in the world with Fair Trade certification.

The company’s dedication to innovation, local sustainability, environmental protection, fair wages, and advanced digitisation has secured it a raft of other awards including: the Thailand Quality Award (Golden) and the Thailand Kaizen Award (Golden).

Prior to implementing FastReactPlan, VT Garment found that the lack of automation and real-time visibility in the production planning process not only meant there was limited information sharing between different departments, but also that manually produced capacity plans based on unreliable historical data, were time consuming and cumbersome to produce and not accurate enough to make informed production decisions from. As a result, VT Garment’s management and planning teams found that capacity was often over-booked or under-booked, causing late deliveries and unnecessary staff overtime costs.

Insufficient tools and resources for monitoring and optimising production efficiency, lengthy reporting times and limited information sharing and coordination between departments also meant that VT Garment was unable to respond to customer demands for quicker order confirmations, resulting in lost business and poor customer satisfaction levels. This led to increased pressure on staff, wasted resources and decreased profitability. An inability to make informed business decisions consequently not only negatively impacted overall company performance, but also its potential for growth.

Following the implementation of FastReactPlan, VT Garment now has the ability to view capacity plans from multiple perspectives, resulting in a comprehensive understanding of its production capabilities and limitations. The solution has enabled VT Garment to easily compare different plans and select the most optimal option based on factors such as cost, efficiency and delivery time. The automation of planning processes has also freed up time for staff to focus on other important tasks, such as improving customer satisfaction and supporting new innovations and business growth.