100 top supply chain partners congregate in Sri Lanka to recognise performance and prepare for future
Inspired performances by supply chain partners in FY 2015-16 contributed to the best year to date for apparel powerhouse Brandix, which honoured its top vendors at a gala Vendor Summit in Sri Lanka last week.
The top 100 vendors from the 350 that account for Brandix’s annual raw material spend attended the summit, half of them from 14 overseas locations. Presenting these key suppliers with an insight into the dynamics that propel the industry and a glimpse into the future, Brandix forecast it would double sales in the next five years, through a concentration on speed, quality, innovation and price.
Brandix had 530 vendor partners on its supply chain when the Group hosted its last Vendor Summit in 2011. While its business grew by 63 per cent in the five years that followed, the number of vendors supplying raw materials reduced to 350, and could fall to 150 by 2020, the summit was told.
“Our industry is one of intense competition where the dynamics are highly emotional on the one hand, and quite rational on the other,” Brandix Group Chairman Priyan Fernando said in his keynote address titled ‘A journey to best-in-class.’ “Brandix recognises both elements, the emotional and the rational, in its effort to produce phenomenal products better, faster and cheaper,” he said emphasising the need for continuous improvement through a focus on processes, speed and comprehensive management of risks.
Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar cautioned that 2016 would be a ‘rough year’ given the headwinds that the retail industry is facing, but said the Group is confident it will ride the storm successfully and prevail with the support of its supply chain partners.
Presentations were also made by Ranga Ranmadugala, CEO of Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited – Essentials and Brandix Lanka Chief Financial Officer, Hasitha Premaratne among others who spoke on Speed, Agility and Inspired Solutions, as well as Brandix’s long range plan respectively.
Brandix recognised the contributions of its best supply chain partners at this event with awards in two groups, one for ‘speed partners’ and one for top vendors in 12 categories, covering suppliers of bra cups & padding; packaging; thread; packing trims; sewing trims; labels, tags & stickers; lace; embellishments; elastics; knitted synthetic fabric; woven fabric and knitted woven fabric. A total of 33 awards were presented, including 19 Speed Partner awards.
The top award of the night – presented to Brandix’s Vendor of the Year — was won by Pacific Textiles Ltd., while the award for the Best Stall at the Vendor Road Show that preceded the summit was won by Coats Thread Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
Ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in Brand Finance’s 2016 ranking of the country’s leading brands, Brandix is the pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and is a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe. Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice. The Group employs more than 48,000 people in its manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, at the Brandix India Apparel City in Andhra Pradesh and its large operation in Bangladesh.
Photo captions: Brandix Chairman Priyan Fernando (left) and Group CEO Ashroff Omar (right) present the Vendor of the Year award to Pacific Textiles, represented by the company’s General Manager Eric Lai
Overall award winners at the Brandix Vendor Summit with the Group’s Chairman Priyan Fernando and CEO Ashroff Omar