Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International

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Apparel manufacturing: a strategy for productivity improvement
Rajesh Bheda A.S. Narag M.L. Singla
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JFMM ACADEMIC PAPER

7,1
Apparel manufacturing:
a strategy for productivity
12
improvement
Rajesh Bheda
Garment Manufacturing Technology Department
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National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, India

A.S. Narag and M.L. Singla
Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
Keywords Apparel, Competitiveness, India, Manufacturing strategy, Productivity
Abstract The apparel industry is truly global in nature. Apparel manufacturing being labour
intensive has been migrating from the high wage developed world to developing countries.
However, the developing countries will need to have efficient manufacturing operations if they are
to retain their competitiveness in the apparel industry. This paper attempts to evaluate the
productivity levels achieved by Indian apparel manufacturers vis-aÁ-vis their counterparts from
the rest of the world; to ascertain factors associated with productivity performance; and to
recommend strategies for productivity improvement.

Introduction
In today's world, the textile and apparel industries make a significant contribution
to many national economies especially in the developing world. (Dicken, 1998;
Jones, 2002; Dickerson, 1995). An increasing number of countries, including India,
are exploiting this industry for reasons of economic growth (Dicken, 1998; Jones,
2002; Dickerson, 1995). The post multi-fibre arrangement era is likely to witness
growing competition mainly for the major consumption markets of North
America and Europe. Developing countries like India, which earn valuable foreign
exchange by exporting apparel, will be forced to open up their domestic market to
international players. The Indian apparel industry is likely to face stiff
competition in the quota-free world on both domestic as well as export market
fronts and it will need to improve its performance on quality, productivity, and
technology fronts. The major stumbling block for the Indian apparel industry in
becoming globally competitive seems to be the low productivity performance of
Indian manufacturers. This led to an in-depth examination of the potential for
productivity improvement in the Indian apparel industry after establishing the
best practices and factors associated with higher productivity levels.
Apparel productivity scenario
Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management As per the British Institute of Management Foundation (BIM, 1976), the term
Vol. 7 No. 1, 2003
pp. 12-22
productivity denotes the productiveness of the factors of production, labour
# MCB UP Limited
1361-2026
and capital, in the creation of wealth. Productivity is linked with
DOI 10.1108/13612020310464331 productiveness as well as efficiency and hence it is concerned with the
 utilisation of resources to produce a given output rather than simply the rate A strategy for
at which input generates output. As regards productivity indicators, productivity
physical measures like the ratio of output to labour inputs are suggested for
single or similar product industries. In an industry with multiple products of
improvement
close similarity, output is converted into an equivalent physical standard. In
multi-product and multi-service industries, productivity is also measured in
financial output terms. The ILO action manual Improving Working 13
Conditions and Productivity in the Garment Industry (Hiba, 1998) indicates
that at plant level partial measures are usually used to establish
productivity, as they are easy to understand and use. The studies reviewed in
this paper have used partial productivity measures, i.e. labour or machine
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productivity.
A report by Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA, 1998) established that the
countries with the highest productivity ratings like Germany, the USA, France,
and the UK are 250 per cent more productive when compared with the least
productive country. The report used the data available to KSA on productivity
levels achieved by apparel factories across the world. The NEDO report on
Attainable Production Targets (National Economic Development Office, 1969)
dealt with production targets for jacket, trouser, and shirt manufacturers. As
regards shirts, a 25-minute target was recommended for high style mix; 20
minutes for middle price segment; and less than 20 minutes for low price
segment. The study indicated estimated potential for productivity
improvement in the British apparel industry of 45 per cent in jackets, 65 per
cent in trousers, and 45 per cent in shirts. The WIRA study titled Potential for
Increasing Clothing Productivity within the EEC (WIRA, 1979) concluded that
on average an increase in garment productivity of 4.7 per cent per annum was
possible in the EEC at that time.
In Quality and Productivity: Cornerstones of Apparel Manufacturing
(AAMA, 1976), the American Apparel Manufacturers Association illustrated
productivity improvement potential estimated by consultant members of the
association in six standard garments between the year 1960 and 1975. These
garments were assumed to be produced with the most modern equipment and
construction techniques available in 1960 and 1975 respectively. As regards
shirts, the direct labour productivity was estimated at 3.76 shirts an hour for
the year 1960 and 5.50 shirts an hour for the year 1975. The fact that the
majority of studies were carried out in the 1960s and 1970s reflects the
changing research interests of the major institutions over time. In the 1980s
research concentrated more heavily on other issues, such as quick response,
team working, quality assurance, CAD/CAM and supply chain management.
The authors believe that notwithstanding the changes that have taken place
over the last three decades these studies remain useful inspirational bench
marks, particularly as there is no substantial evidence that these benchmarks
have been surpassed.
The study conducted by ICRIER in 1993 (Khanna, 1993) clearly establishes a
productivity gap between the garment industry in India and its neighbouring
 JFMM countries. The results indicate that in almost all the garment categories, Indian
7,1 garment manufacturers have the lowest productivity performance. As regards
gents shirts, it is 9.12 pieces/shift compared to 20.87 pieces/shift reported by
Hong Kong. Compared to the potential performance of 3.76 shirts per hour, as
indicated by AAMA experts for the USA manufacturers with the optimal
technology available in 1960, Indian performance is almost at a 30 per cent
14 level. This clearly establishes the need for measuring the current productivity
level achieved by the Indian apparel industry and also the need to establish the
factors affecting this performance.
Another study, Productivity Paradigms: An Appraisal of Select Apparel
Products in the Asian Region (Rajesh, 1997), aimed at measuring the
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productivity levels achieved by apparel manufacturers in India and other

Asian countries, namely Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong
Kong, China, and Thailand. It concentrated on shirt manufacturers in Asia. The
Indian sample registered an average machine productivity in sewing room of
9.99 shirts per eight-hour shift, whereas the rest of the Asian sample achieved
17.47 shirts per shift.
An analysis of these studies would establish that the factors affecting
productivity in the Indian apparel industry could include:
. level of technology;
. product style, price point, and production volume;
. training of workforce and management;
. motivation level of workforce and management;
. awareness of optimal productivity level;
. high rate of non-first quality production;
. labour turnover and absenteeism;
. production scale;
. lead time;
. industrial engineering; and
. labour relations.

The present study

The present study has been conducted with the primary aim of examining
productivity levels achieved by the Indian factories producing similar apparel
products and to highlight the cases of excellence in productivity in order to
impress upon the average Indian apparel manufacturer the potential for
productivity improvement. The study was limited to that part of the Indian
apparel manufacturing industry involved in producing woven tops
(shirts/blouses) only. The study attempts to compare practices followed by
international manufacturers. For adopting a reasonable basis for comparison,
the sample was restricted to manufacturers having an installed capacity of
more than 35 sewing machines.
 As the study covers only woven shirt and blouse manufacturers the A strategy for
results of the study may not be directly applicable to manufacturers of other productivity
apparel products. However, the present study assumes that the productivity improvement
performance may not change drastically across the product category and the
productivity improvement potential thus established may largely be
applicable to manufacturers of other apparel products also. The study did
not investigate the effect of fabric type in terms of fibre content, weave, 15
texture, finish, stability, etc. on productivity and it has also been assumed
that the fabric types used by the manufacturers do not have significant
impact on productivity performance of apparel manufacturers. The
performance reported by the respondents through the garment styles have
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been taken to be the average performance of the factory. The sample size in
such studies suffers due to manufacturers' perception of confidentiality
regarding the information on the style specification sheet or operational
breakdown of the styles. The experience of previous research studies using
interview schedules for the collection of extensive data on apparel
manufacturing indicates that only progressive manufacturers participate
and share such data. Therefore, it was decided to go in for ``judgement cum
quota'' sampling. As the study aimed to investigate the factors affecting
apparel productivity in Indian factories, the quota for the sample was
decided on the basis of the share of different regions in the country's apparel
exports. The sample was drawn from shirt and blouse manufacturers among
the 3,000 active garment exporters and 36 manufacturers of national and
regional brands of shirts in the domestic market. The sample design is
explained in Figure 1.
The development of research instrument was achieved by using the results
of previous research studies. An attempt was made to cover variables which
reportedly had had some impact on productivity in the apparel industry as
established in the previous studies. Interview schedules and results of previous
studies were used as a major guideline for developing the interview schedule
for the present study. This structured interview schedule was pre-tested before
finally administering the same.
Primary data were collected from the major apparel manufacturing centres
of India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai. From the selected
sampling frame 88 identified manufacturers were invited to participate in the
study, out of which 75 manufacturers responded positively. However, most of
these companies were very reluctant to share their productivity data. The
specification sheets were the most difficult to procure from these respondents.
The returned schedules were edited for completedness and accuracy. In 20
cases, additional information/clarification was sought from the manufacturers.
Based on this additional information, 62 interview schedules were finally
selected for analysis.
The interview schedules received and edited were suitably coded to
facilitate data entry. After completion of data entry and random check of all
interview schedules, the master data file was used for basic statistical
 JFMM
7,1

16
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Figure 1.
Sample design

analysis. General sewing data (GSD), a methods time measurement (MTM)

based system widely used for garment industry for developing time
standards, was utilised for developing a data bank of time standards. Using
this data bank, time standards for different garment styles and weights for
them were developed. These weights were used for calculating productivity
for a standard unit shirt.
The preliminary analysis involved measures of central tendency, frequency
distribution, and cross tabulations. Statistical software ``Statistica'' was used
for the purpose of analysis. Correlation and regression analysis was used to
 establish association between parametric independent variables and dependent A strategy for
variables. In the case of non-parametric independent variables, ANOVA was productivity
used. Appropriate tests like t-test and ``test for difference between proportions'' improvement
were used to evaluate the significance of the results.

Findings and analysis

Out of the total sample size of 62 factories, as many as 57 factories provided 17
actual productivity data. The remaining five respondents, however, did provide
most of the data excluding actual productivity figures. The estimated machine
productivity figures were available for these five factories and estimated
machine productivity had positive correlations with machine, operator, and
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labour productivity which were statistically significant but only moderately

strong with coefficients of 0.58, 0.58, and 0.41 respectively. It was decided to
predict productivity data, based on estimated productivity, using regression
analysis. Hence, after the estimation through regression, the productivity data
could be made available for all the 62 cases. The descriptive statistics for this
data are indicated in Table I.

Productivity paradigms and paragons

The study attempted to analyse the current paradigms in relation to
productivity in the Indian apparel industry. The data as discussed in the
findings, suggests that machine/operator productivity is 10.11 shirts per shift.
It must also be noted that the productivity level reported by NIFT study, based
on 1996 data, also had a very close figure of 9.99 shirts per shift for Indian
apparel manufacturers. This indicates that the current productivity paradigm
is about ten shirts per shift per machine/operator shift. As regards the
paradigm for improvement potential, the mean value reported by the
respondents was 36 per cent.
The study also revealed that the most efficient factory demonstrated that a
performance of over 95 per cent higher than the average industry performance
was possible. Hence, the paragon of productivity reported in the study was
19.79 shirts per machine/operator shift. As regards improvement potential, five
respondents reported 100 per cent and one respondent reported 110 per cent
improvement potential in productivity vis-aÁ-vis the mean improvement
potential of 36 per cent. The performance of the top performer (19.79 shirts) and
the maximum improvement potential reported clearly indicate that an average
Indian garment factory has about 100 per cent productivity improvement
potential.

Measure of productivity Valid (n) Mean Minimum Maximum Standard deviation Table I.
Descriptive statistics of
Machine 62 10.03 3.24 19.79 3.36 productivity variables
Labour 62 7.98 2.16 13.62 2.62 (n = 62)
 JFMM Factors associated with productivity
7,1 The analysis for identifying the factors associated with productivity had to rely
mainly on correlation in case of parametric variables and ANOVA in case of
non-parametric variables.
The results of simple linear correlation analysis are presented in Table II.
When data was processed using ANOVA, for the variables shown in
18 Table III, and the null hypothesis, i.e. ``there is no significant difference in the
population mean'', was rejected. In other words, the alternative hypothesis
``there was significant difference in the means of populations'' was accepted.
From these results, the following conclusions can be arrived at:
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. The productivity performance of Indian apparel industry has remained

stagnant over the years. The productivity findings of this study and the
findings of apparel productivity studies carried out in India over last
eight years, clearly establish the absence of any appreciable
improvement in productivity performance of apparel factories in India.
It has just gone up from 9.12 shirts in 1992 to 9.99 in 1996 and further to
10.03 shirts in 2000.
. The productivity performance of Indian apparel manufacturers is much
lower than the performance of neighbouring countries. The performance
of Indian apparel manufacturers is much lower than the performance of
their Asian counterparts. The NIFT study, based on 1996 data, indicated
an average productivity of 17.47 shirts per sewing machine per shift for
Asian apparel manufacturers. This indicates a more than 70 per cent
higher performance than the 10.03 shirts per machine shift reported by
Indian manufacturers in this study. This gap has a considerable impact
on the competitiveness of Indian apparel manufacturers.

Correlation coefficient with dependent variable machine

Independent variables productivity (valid n) significant at 0.05

Age ± 0.30 (54)

Rejection level ± 0.42 (49)
Table II. Work in process 0.37 (35)
Results of linear No. of sewing machines installed 0.32 (57)
correlation analysis Sewing technology index 0.30 (56)

Production location Payment system

Organisation type Presence of industrial engineering cell
Market orientation Rewarding creative suggestions
Major export destinations Training for supervisors/managers
Major product category Operator training
Table III. Education level of operators Induction training
Results of ANOVA test Production system Method of setting production standards
 . The productivity improvement potential for Indian apparel A strategy for
manufacturers is almost 100 per cent. The performance of the most productivity
productive factory of 19.79 shirts per machine/operator per shift clearly
establishes that Indian apparel manufacturers have the potential to
improvement
produce an almost 97 per cent higher performance than the current
mean performance. The productivity improvement potential quoted by
the respondents and the estimations done using general sewing data 19
also establish that a performance of 20.00 shirts per machine operator
day is possible at 75 per cent performance level. Hence, it is concluded
that an average apparel factory in India has an almost 100 per cent
productivity improvement potential.
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. Factors associated with high productivity. Analysis of the data has

brought out various factors associated with high productivity. From the
identified factors, some of these can be altered or controlled by the
management with relative ease to improve productivity and these are
termed as ``controllable factors'' as shown in Table IV. Other factors as
given in Table V, which may prove to be difficult to control, are termed
as ``uncontrollable factors''.
. Determined and concerted efforts on the part of management will be
necessary to bring in substantial productivity improvements. The mean of
the productivity improvement potential for the next two years reported
by the respondents was 36 per cent. Looking at the marginal
productivity improvement observed in the last eight years, such
improvement may not be forthcoming unless management decides to
draw up a comprehensive productivity improvement program and make
concerted efforts to bring in the required improvement. The
recommended framework for productivity improvement can be used to
draw up the productivity improvement plan. Management can also
develop an information system that provides vital inputs for the review
of productivity performance on a regular basis. It is suggested that the
critical success factors (CSF) approach developed at Sloan School of

Technology index Supervisor/manager training

Production system Operator training
Industrial engineering cell Induction training
Method of setting production standards Rewarding creative suggestions
Rejection level Payment system
Repair level (in-line) Revision of production standards Table IV.
Repair level (final inspection) WIP level Controllable factors

Production location Age of factory

Type of organisation Scale of operations
Market orientation Average order quantity
Export destination Average lead time Table V.
Major product category Education level of workers Uncontrollable factors
 JFMM Management (Rockhart, 1979) can be effectively used to install a
7,1 management information system to support the decision making
process by the CEO. This approach has been used for finding out the
CSF for productivity improvement in the Indian apparel industry. The
three CSF which emerged based on the findings of the study are
illustrated in Table VI.
20 . The installation of a productivity measurement system is a ``must'' for
productivity improvement. If the organisations are not in a position to
measure their productivity performance objectively then planning an
improvement program and implementing the same is not feasible. Based
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on the findings on business practices followed by the respondents and

appreciation of presence or absence of productivity measurement
mechanism, a proposed system has been developed as presented in
Figure 2.

Strategy for productivity improvement

Based on the study of factors showing association with productivity and the
suggestions by the respondents, the eight final recommendations for
productivity improvement are summed up as follows:
(1) Strengthen work measurement and methods improvement. Work study
and industrial engineering practices need to be strengthened in apparel
factories. The dependence on past time standards must give way to
scientific work measurement and methods improvement. Factories
could gradually move towards a fully developed industrial engineering
department.
(2) Initiate supervisor and manager training. A study of the factors
associated with productivity levels clearly establishes that the factory
management must adopt modern practices to achieve higher
productivity. This will be possible, only if the supervisory and
managerial teams are trained to bring in these changes. Companies
could use a blend of in-house training along with sponsoring staff to
attend programs at specialised institutions, so as to learn scientific
methods of line balancing, plant layout, work place engineering, etc.

Critical success factors Prime measures

1 Technology deployment and exploitation Technology index

Up-gradation needs
Table VI. Estimated vs actual productivity
CSF for apparel 2 Quality system Repair and rejection level
productivity Cost of quality
improvement and the 3 Technical capability of the workforce Skill matrix (labour)
prime measures Supervisory skill index
 A strategy for
productivity
improvement

21
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Figure 2.
Proposed productivity
measurement
system (PMS)

(3) Set up operator training cell. Results of the study have clearly
established that factories that had invested in operator training had
higher productivity. It is absolutely essential to start an in-house
operator training program for skill as well as work culture, so that the
operators are made aware of how to achieve world-class performance.
(4) Strengthen quality systems. The results of correlation analysis show
moderate negative correlation between rejection level and productivity.
The average repair and rejection levels reported by the respondents
were quite high. It is important that factories implement a quality
system for the total organisation. The aim should be to eliminate rejects
and to reduce repair levels substantially.
(5) Strategic technology up-grade. Technology level has shown significant
positive correlation with productivity. Factories need to use more
specialised machines in spreading, cutting, sewing, and finishing areas.
It is important that the factories draw up a strategic plan for technology
up-grading. As the funds for investment are expensive in India, every
new investment needs to result in substantial productivity gains.
(6) Introduce productivity measurement systems. After implementing the
above stated recommendations for productivity improvement, the
factory should be ready to implement productivity measurement and
comparison systems. This will help the factory to record, measure and
communicate performance at different levels as well as to provide data
for internal and external benchmarking.
(7) Strengthen production planning and scheduling. As the management
team is likely to be equipped with better techniques, operators are well
trained and productivity measurement systems are put in place, so that
 JFMM the factory can concentrate on strengthening production planning and
7,1 scheduling. The aim should be the maximum utilisation of productive
resources of the factory. The factories could also evaluate software
solutions available for this purpose.
(8) Introduce incentive scheme. The productivity gains will not be
sustainable if the workers and staff do not reap the benefits of higher
22 productivity. As the factories are likely to have already gained
substantially through implementation of the recommendations on
productivity improvement, it is the right time to draw up an incentive
plan for the workforce that encourages higher performance and rewards
it suitably.
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Conclusions
Apparel manufacturing is a global industry equally active in developed as well
as developing countries. However, the productivity performance of this
industry in different countries varies drastically. If the apparel industry in
developing countries like India is not able to improve its productivity
performance, the advantage of low labour costs may be nullified. The study has
concluded that the Indian apparel industry has an almost 100 per cent
productivity improvement potential. The factors associated with improved
productivity have also been established. The proposed productivity
measurement system and the strategy for productivity improvement can be
used by the Indian apparel manufacturing industry to draw an improvement
program for their factories.
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Hiba, J.C. (1998), Improving Working Conditions and Productivity in the Garment Industry, ILO,
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Jones, R.M. (2002), The Apparel Industry, Blackwell Science, Oxford.
Khanna, S.R. (1993), Challenges of Global Competition in the 1990s, Indian Council for Research
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