2011

ROLE OF
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS IN
STRATEGIC
BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT IN
RMG INDUSTRY
Management information system
INFORMATION SYSTEM

An information system is a set of interrelated elements or components that

collect (input), manipulate (process), and disseminate (output) data and
information and provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective

NEED FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS

• Any manufacturing unit employs four Ms that is, Men, Material, Machine,

& Money. To get organizational success, managers need to focus on

synchronizing all these factors and developing synergies within and
outside organization operations. With the increased competition,
companies are taking support of information systems to enhance its
supply chain management and using it as a competitive edge.
In short, many textile companies are leveraging the technological power
to adding value to their business.
Supply Chain Management includes: sourcing, procuring, converting,
and all the logistic activities.
• It seeks to increase the transaction speed by exchanging data in real-time,

reduce inventory, and increased sales volume by fulfilling customer

requirements more efficiently and effectively.
• In a free market economy, competition warrants that businesses need to

organize and structure organizations and execute processes well in time

with high precision keeping in mind low cost component.
• To avoid excess inventory, which is one of the most common problems

faced by managers which furthers results in long cycle-time, outdated

stock, poor sale, low rates, and reduction in order visibility and finally
leads to customer dissatisfaction?
ROLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• Information system are used for:

o Operational excellence by improving the efficiency of textile

production
o Reduced costs
o Enhanced decision making
o Competitive edge
o It necessitates managing every kind of information efficiently and at

much faster speed.

IMPACT OF INTERNET AND IT

⇒ Internet has provided a virtual trade platform for all apparel business
through E- commerce
⇒ E-Commerce provides customer with value. Vendors can offer a garment
range that attracts potential customers at competitive rates.
⇒ Its fast , reliable and user -friendly.
⇒ Encryption technology has made transactions over the net secure and safe.
⇒ Information Technology implementation in terms of central databases and
servers storing information from various retail stores and ware houses give real
time tracking of various product movement and control over them.
⇒ IT applications in various departments have led to reduction in manual jobs
and less of paper record work.

Dimensions of information systems

⇒ There are basically three components(dimensions) of a IS
o ORGANISATION
o MANAGEMENT
o TECHNOLOGY

ORGANISATION
⇒ A BASIC RMG firm is divided in to three parts namely senior, middle and
operational level management.
⇒ Senior management consist of the upper level management comprising of
the board of members, CEO,COO,CFO etc .
⇒ Middle level management consists of all the knowledge/professional
workers like Industrial Engineers, Production Manager etc, and are responsible
for the implementation and achievement of goals laid down by the senior
management.
⇒ Operational level management refers to the operator & supervisory level
jobs and shop floor management , who are responsible for the daily routine
production / target achievement .
Management
⇒ Management in the RMG industry is basically concentrated at the middle
level as the maximum effort to control production is made here.
⇒ Middle management is also responsible for development of new innovative
processes, techniques, styles etc that can help in enhancing the value and lower
costs.
⇒ Challenges faced by the firm of ay sort should be sorted by the
management to ensure effective solution.

Technology
⇒ Technology, basically put to practice is that of software and basic
computer along with central servers.
⇒ Various other technologies such as Intranet, Internet and Extranet are
used as communication backbones .
⇒ Data management technologies are required for governing the
organization of physical data .

Management issues

The following are the management issues relating to the usage of information
systems in the ready made garment industry :-
⇒ Frequent up gradation of software and hardware due to technological
obsolescence .
⇒ Data integrity and data security remains an issue of management concern
and focus .
⇒ Ensuring optimization of processes and costs
TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

A).Functional perspective:

i).Sales and marketing systems

• Sales and marketing systems are used for tracking the sale of products at
various retail outlets.
• These also help in determining customer buying trends and preferences .
ii).Manufacturing and production systems
• Deals with mainly with the production of goods.
• These help in planning and establishing production goals, acquisition of
materials, storage, scheduling of labour and materials.
•
iii).Finance and accounting systems
• The finance and accounting systems help in managing the assets of the
company and streamline its investments and liabilities .
• It is also responsible for the capitalization of the firm
iv).Human resource systems
 • Human resource systems are responsible for the record-keeping of data
pertaining to the employees of the firm.
• It helps in identifying potentially skilled employees.
• In the RMG industry, it’s vital to identify multi skilled personnel at the

operational management level so as to effectively utilize their potential.

B).Constituency perspective

i).Transaction processing system

• A transaction processing system collects, stores, modifies , and retrieves
the transactions of an organization.
• A transaction is an event that generates or modifies data that is eventually
stored in an information system.
• Transactions in RMG are multiple in nature ranging from external
(sourcing to retail) to inter- departmental and internal.
• Transactions in the industry are basically of order type and of bulk nature.

ii).Management information system and decision support system

• The MIS has more than one definition, some of which are given below.
1. The MIS is defined as a system which provides information support for
decision making in the organization.
2. The MIS is defined as a integrated system of man and machine for
providing the information to support the operations the management and
decision making function in the organization.
3. The MIS is defined as a computer based information system.
• The role of the MIS in an organization can be compared to the role of heart
in the body
 • iii).Knowledge management systems

Application of various information systems in a garment industry

• Storing and sharing of information: proper flow of information among
supply chain member is very crucial. Such flow of information can
influence the performance of overall supply chain operation. It includes
data about customers and their demand, inventory status, production and
promotion plan, shipment schedules, payment details, etc. Bar coding and
Electronic data interchange are the two information technology tools
which can facilitate information integration.
• Bar coding facilitates recording of detailed data by converting it to
electronic form and can be easily shared among member through EDI
system.
• EDI with its high efficiency is able to replace the traditional ways of
transmissions like telephone, mail and even fax. EDI enables managers to
analyze and apply it in their business decisions. It also helps in expediting
order cycle that reduces investment inventory. EDI based network Enables
Company to maintain quick response and closure relations with suppliers
and customers, who are geographically dispersed.
• A 3-D body scanner enables touch less measurement of the customer. This
digital measurement is converted into a 2-D pattern and transmitted
electronically to a manufacturing site located elsewhere in the world.
• Various software tools like MRP(Material Requirements Planning ),
MRPII(Material Requirements Planning system ), and APSS
(Advance Planning and Scheduling system) facilitate planning and
coordination between different functional areas within the organization
• A design intelligence service for collecting and disseminating the design
related needs of the complete fashion and textile industry of India has been
developed by TDD Department at NIFT.
The centre links with all international organization offering trend
information on internet. The information is gathered, analyzed, and
classified into categories like yarn development, grey fabric development,
synthetics, print patterns for menâ„¢s wear and women wear, suiting and
shirting, upholstery, carpets etc. the information is put up on site and can
be accessed by all users in their respective offices through internet.
• APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO MANAGE
THE TEXTILE QUALITY CONTROL DATA: Customers have become
less tolerant accepting and coping with defects, therefore managing the
quality if the products have a direct effect on the bottom line. After all,
rejections are expensive, not to mention goodwill to the customer. Defects
per unit of measure may be used as selection criteria for any textile item
to be used to satisfy a customer order. This requires managing the quality
and possibly the defect count or tested value of a parameter in a database to
be attached to the finished product record. Documentation of the quality
information may be of various forms. The ideal way is to have the
inspector directly capture the information on a terminal or other device that
can provide real time data. Other methods may involve recording the data
on a control sheet then entering the data into a computer system. This
process is often slow and chances of errors are there. In either case the
requirement to capture this information and make the data available
quickly is ever increasing.
• The textile industry also needs the data from every individual process of
every parameter in a compiled from to take prompt and correct decision. In
the earlier day these types of information were from control charts. Having
the ability to review current quality levels and be able to do something
about it before the next day can be a real benefit in terms of time and cost
• Computerization in the QC laboratory (NITRA has developed software
on Quality Test Data Management System.
• CAD/CAM APPLICATION IN GARMENT PRODUCTION:- CAD/CAM
(Computer Aided Designing and Computer Aided Manufacturing) which
would cut down the fabric wastage to a large extent.
The garment industry is one of the labor intensive industries in the country
and its potential growth rate is of a high order. An encouraging feature of
this industry is that it involves relatively low investment and provides huge
employment opportunities particularly for women. In garment
manufacturing, the primary pre-production operations are marker making,
spreading or laying, cutting and preparation of cut parts for sewing. Manual
methods of marker making are time-consuming, subject to errors and
inconsistencies thereby increasing the wastage and overall cost of the
garment. On the other hand, computerization greatly improves accuracy,
increases the efficiency and reduces the time required for making markers.
To enhance the overall productivity with reduced wastage in garment
manufacturing.
• Computerized Marker Making System SITRA FLEXIMARK- Marker
planning is an important activity because of its direct influence on material
costs, cutting accuracy and sewing efficiency. When the cutting room cuts
the fabric it spends about 50% of the companyâ„¢s turnover. Therefore,
any reduction in the amount of fabric using per garment leads to increased
profits for the company. At present the marker making is performed by trial
and error method without any precise measurement regarding the fabric
 utilization. The best marker plan is one, which is tightly packed for higher
efficiency without sacrificing the design objectives of the garment. With
this background in mind, SITRA has developed a cost-effective
computerized marker making system - SITRA FlexiMark “ for the
Indian garment industry particularly for the small and medium scale
manufacturers who cannot afford to invest huge amounts on imported
systems. This system mainly comprises interactive software to prepare a
marker plan with the aid of computer for better fabric utilization and faster
marker preparation
• Online Information Network of a
Process House
ENTERPRISE
RESOURCE
PLANNING
(ERP):-
Nearly 1.5
crore
households in
India depend
on the textile
industry,
which is
second only to
agriculture as a
means of
employment.
A new textile
policy has
been declared
in 2000. TUF
is also
available for
modernization.
In these
contexts, it is
very important
that focus of
the business is
very clear.
Nowadays, the
focus of
organization is
shifting from
being profit-
driven to
consumer-
driven, though
profit is very
much an
important
element. Of
the many
imperatives to
which
organization
much respond
to, none is
more difficult,
more perilous,
or more vital
than being
customer
focused across
multiple
business units.
Although
profit is the
main
requirement of
business, on
time or just in
time
fulfillment of
requirement of
customers who
are
geographically
positioned
anywhere in
the world is
also equally
important,
where

Relationships of systems
• All the information systems in coordination with each other .
• Systems of different functional levels exchange data among themselves to
serve the purpose of the business processes.
• Starting from the operational level, the data for all transactions are given
as input to the TSS,which in turn acts as a input for the MIS.
Marketing

Local/Export

Planning HRD and Payrolls

Purchases, Process and Production

House Maintenance

Stores

Dispatches

Financial Accounting

General Department-wise Communication in an industry