With 24 factories in Kolkata, India, 15-year old Amrit Exports is arguably the leading manufacturer of work wear clothing in the country.
The company produces more than 250,000 garments each month in fabrics that include cotton, polyester cotton, polyester, nylon, acrylic, wool, Kevlar, and antistatic.
Key to Amrit Exports’ rapid growth has been its ability to innovate ahead of competitors, says Mr. Anand Buchasia, Managing Director.
“We always try to be very innovative with new ideas and technology, whether that’s with new clothing designs, new ways to reduce manufacturing lead times, or solutions that improve collaboration with our buyers. This way of thinking keeps us always ahead of our competitors. We know we need to invest a lot and so that’s what we do.
“We don’t waste time. That’s why once we came to know of Optitex and learned about its product, we immediately decided that it is a better solution - and we went for it.” That product is Optitex 3D Suite, which he says helps the company both cut costs and get samples to customers faster and more conveniently.
“It is difficult for me to carry so many samples”, Mr. Anil Buchasia, Sales & Marketing Director says, “I prefer having all of them on my iPad and show them to customers virtually. I just carry one or two physical samples and swatches of samples, and show the virtual samples to customers. Offering that kind of convenience is what sets Amrit Exports apart.”
A Superior Client Experience
“Virtual sampling is a very important service that we offer,” Mr. Buchasia says. “If two companies make the same shirt, how much different can the price be? The difference in the price will be small. What makes the difference is the service. It’s the same with any product.”
With virtual sampling, Amrit Exports can offer clients a superior buying experience. “We can sit with the client in their office and have a phone call to our pattern master. He can make the needed changes on the virtual sample and immediately send it back by e-mail, and the 3D file can immediately be converted into a movie. It’s like having a showroom in the client’s office where the client can make changes to the garment on the spot.”
But before garments can be sampled, their patterns must be created - work that is performed by three pattern masters on Optitex 2D. Then, after the required files are graded, all files are moved to the 3D “virtual room” where two operators create on average three Optitex 3D files per day, including the animation for virtual sampling.
Mr. Buchasia says Optitex 3D is “far better” than the other solutions he evaluated. The other providers, he says, “did not have features like Optitex.” Customization of avatars and virtual draping in particular, are two standout features he cites. “Virtual draping is faster, easier to do and provides much better looking results than any other competing solution we tried”.
Virtual sampling is not only convenient; it saves time and money. Thanks to Optitex 3D Suite, Amrit Exports has cut product development time by 30%. Labor and materials costs for styles sampling have been reduced by about the same.
A Totally Different CAD Vendor
That same superior service Amrit Exports offers its own clients, Mr. Buchasia also expects from his suppliers. That’s another reason he chose Optitex. “Optitex is totally different from any other CAD vendor,” he says. And one key difference is its support infrastructure. “Optitex has support in Kolkata to assist us with everything — which our previous CAD software provider does not have. If you promise the service on the 30th and then on that date you do not answer my calls, it is not good service.”
The local Optitex representative, Mr. Anand Buchasia says, “provided tremendous support. He trained our CAD operators so that today they are sending files to the buyer independently, without assistance. They are so confident — I have never seen this much enthusiasm before!”
It’s by having capabilities like these that Amrit Exports stays ahead of its competitors, Mr. Anand Buchasia says. And the same is true for Optitex.
About Optitex
Optitex is the leading provider of 2D and 3D CAD/CAM, and Virtual Prototyping software solutions for the fashion, automotive, aeronautics, industrial fabrics and upholstery industries. Optitex presents these industries with easy to implement, open and innovative software systems for automating and optimizing their production manufacturing operations and virtual prototyping capabilities.