India should sign more free trade agreements (FTAs) to gain a level-playing field in global textile and apparel export markets with competitors like Bangladesh, according to Vice President C P Radhakrishnan.

Addressing an Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC) awards event in New Delhi yesterday, Radhakrishnan said India earlier had a few competitors globally in garment exports, but now the list of such nations includes Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and several African countries.

India should sign more FTAs to gain a level-playing field in global textile and apparel export markets with competitors like Bangladesh, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan told an AEPC awards event in New Delhi yesterday.
He said India earlier had a few competitors globally in garment exports, but the situation has changed now.
The only constraint is the FTA with the US is “a little uncertain”, he noted.

“So FTA is a must… it is the greatest advantage they are having,” Radhakrishnan was quoted as saying by a news agency.

India aims at achieving a textile market size of $350 billion by 2030, with $100 billion in textile exports, he said, urging the apparel industry to actively explore new markets and adopt eco-friendly manufacturing practices, responsible sourcing and strategies to minimise waste.

The only constraint today is the FTA with the United States is “a little uncertain”, he noted, adding that it is only a matter of time.

Acknowledging several constraints on the Indian textile and apparel industry due to geopolitical situation, he expressed confidence that India’s textiles exports will double in the next three years.

India’s textiles and apparel exports stood at $37.75 billion in fiscal 2024-25.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

Coats Digital is delighted to announce that Suzhou Tianyuan Garments Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of high-quality sportswear and functional apparel for global brands such as Adidas, FILA, ANTA, and The North Face, has achieved remarkable productivity and cost management improvements following the implementation of Coats Digital’s award-winning method-time-cost optimisation solution, GSDCost.

Through the digitization of its production processes, Tianyuan has improved SMV calculation accuracy to 98%, shortened new product process analysis time from four days to one, and reduced sample garment development cycles by 25%.

Suzhou Tianyuan achieved 98 per cent SMV accuracy after adopting Coats Digital’s GSDCost.
Process analysis efficiency rose 60 per cent, cutting new product analysis time to one day and reducing sample development cycles by 25 per cent.
Cost estimation accuracy improved to 95 per cent, while on-time delivery reached 96 per cent and material waste fell by 2 per cent.

Founded in Suzhou, Tianyuan Garments employs over 5,000 people and produces more than 26 million garments annually, including sportswear, shirts, trousers, coats, down jackets, and technical outerwear. Certified under the ISO9001 Quality Management System and the BSCI Social Responsibility System, Tianyuan has been honoured with the Adidas Global Supplier Award for four consecutive years.

Before adopting GSDCost, Tianyuan’s standard minute value (SMV) calculations were largely based on engineers’ individual experience, resulting in variations of up to 30% across production lines. The lack of consistent data meant that process analysis for new products could take several days, often producing inaccurate results. The increasing need for faster turnarounds and more fragmented, complex orders highlighted the necessity for a more agile, scientific approach.

Hailan Chen, Industrial Engineering Director at Suzhou Tianyuan, said: “Before implementing GSDCost, SMV calculations relied heavily on engineers’ experience, resulting in variations of up to 30% across different production lines. New product process analysis consequently, took three to four days. As fast fashion and fragmented orders became more prevalent, traditional methods struggled to meet brands’ demands for a rapid response.”

Recognising rising industry costs and the need to strengthen competitiveness, Tianyuan began its digital transformation journey three years ago.

Mr. Tang, General Manager at Suzhou Tianyuan, said: “Amid rising costs and shifting production capacities across the global apparel manufacturing industry, we identified digital transformation as our strategic solution. Before implementing GSDCost, although we served as a contract manufacturer for well-known brands, our cost control methods were inefficient and manual, leading to a year-on-year decline in profit margins.”

The implementation of GSDCost played a pivotal role in achieving the company’s strategic goals of higher transparency, efficiency, and profitability. With GSDCost onboard, Tianyuan quickly established a unified digital process platform that standardised SMV calculations across all operations.

Hailan Chen added: “After adopting GSDCost, our SMV calculation accuracy has now improved to 98%, and new product process analysis time has been shortened to just one day—increasing the quotation efficiency by over 60%.”

For complex functional apparel orders, GSDCost’s intelligent matching feature enables Tianyuan to complete process breakdowns in just a few hours—a task that previously took days.

“The standardised operation library in GSDCost also helped us reduce sample garment development cycles by 25%, securing a critical competitive advantage in an increasingly demanding market,” explained Hailan Chen.

Mr. Tang added: “By digitizing the entire process from order placement to shipment, Tianyuan achieved three major breakthroughs. First, the accuracy of cost estimation improved from 75% to 95%, strengthening our negotiation power and enabling us to secure partnerships with premium clients such as Adidas. Second, we established a real-time production management system, increasing on-time delivery performance to 96% and reducing material waste by approximately 2%. GSDCost has become the core engine driving our transformation from manufacturing to smart manufacturing.”

GSDCost, Coats Digital’s method analysis and predetermined times solution, is widely acknowledged as the de facto international standard across the sewn products industry. It supports a more collaborative, transparent, and sustainable supply chain in which brands and manufacturers establish and optimise ‘International Standard Time Benchmarks’ using standard motion codes and predetermined times. This shared framework supports accurate cost prediction, fact-based negotiation, and a more efficient garment manufacturing process, while concurrently delivering on CSR commitments.

Boris Lu, Customer Success Manager at Coats Digital, said: “The success of the GSDCost project at Suzhou Tianyuan Garments demonstrates the profound value of digital transformation in apparel manufacturing. During the implementation process, we worked closely with the Tianyuan team to deeply integrate industry expertise with system functionalities, building a standardised database covering over 50,000 processes. This has enabled Tianyuan to make faster, more accurate production decisions, optimise processes across multiple lines, and strengthen both its competitiveness and operational resilience.”

Key Benefits and ROI for Suzhou Tianyuan

• 98% accuracy in SMV calculation
• 60% improvement in process analysis efficiency
• 25% reduction in sample development cycles
• 95% accuracy in cost estimation
• 96% on-time delivery performance
• 2% reduction in material waste

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (MS)