TAL - Post Company Visit Report

Information about Site Visit

Name of Company	TAL Apparel Limited
Location of Company	Tsim Sha Tsui
Schedule	1. Video Showing 2. Garment Display 3. Introduction of Supply Chain Model 4. Q & A Session

 

TAL Apparel Limited (also called The Innofacturer) is a garment manufacturer headquartered in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1947 and now is one of the world’s largest apparel manufacturers in the production of innovative clothes that combine style, comfort and functionality. Its products include shirts, blouses, trousers, tailored suits and outerwear. TAL currently produces over 55 million pieces of apparel annually and supplies to markets in North America, Europe and Asia which 1 out of 6 dress shirts sold in the US was made by TAL.



After watching a video showing its history, vision and customer profile, TAL has prepared a garment display which impressed us a lot. Giving the chance to touch with its shirts and trousers, we could get a better understanding how TAL used those superior and innovative technologies to extend the longer product cycle than competitors. The followings are some distinguishing features to ensure the garments produced are in high quality and performance which match consumers’ life styles and needs:

 

 

Special Features

1. Wrinkle Free Technology (SofTAL Process)

• No need to iron
• Color retention after numerous washes

2. Innovative Nanotechnology (WOR-nano technology)

• Stain resistant

3. Moisture Wicking System (DriXpert)

• Keep the skin cool and dry

Later, a staff from supply chain department held a talk to give us more detailed information about TAL’s tailor-made supply chain solutions, for instance, we understood more about the differences between each level’s replenishment model (QR, CR, WH VMI, Store VMI) and how TAL provided these value-added service to form a collaborative partnership with its customers. Moreover, the talk showed the whole process of Made-to-measure (MTM) apparel offering and TAL has used a scorecard approach to measure its performance for continuous improvement.

The followings are descriptions of each level’s replenishment model:


Quick Response (QR)

In the QR program, customers will first prepare a sales projection and share with TAL and therefore TAL can start the material procurement. In this way, fabric can be already arrived before receiving the customer orders. Later, after receiving the order, TAL can start the production immediately and transit the garment to the warehouse in a faster way. This program can speed up responsive time and lower chance of stock-outs.

Continuous Replenishment (CR)

In the CR program, customers will do the demand forecast by themselves and then send the data to TAL. Then TAL will calculate the appropriate replenishment quantity by doing the material and capacity planning and design the quantity for each shipment. This model can align the demand and supply equilibrium and shorten the lead time.


Warehouse Vender Managed Inventory (WH VMI)

TAL does the demand creation and inventory replenishment for warehouse automatically based on the information of warehouse. TAL will monitor the inventory level and deliver the products to warehouse without consulting its customers.


Store Vender Managed Inventory (Store VMI)

TAL does the demand creation and fulfillment based on the point of sales information of customers’ stores. TAL will deliver the garments to the store directly without consulting its customers. The benefits of VMI program includes shorter replenishment cycle and reduced inventory cost.

Lastly, the Managing Director and other senior staff shared their valuable experiences to us. During the Q&A section, they told us more about TAL’s global strategic plan (e.g. target segment, development of IT system), company culture (e.g. local management and focus on staff), and policies to deal with emergency accidents and privacy problem. We quite appreciate they have the whole picture about global apparel industry and exert so much effort to develop innovative technologies and strategies to identify customers needs accurately and instantly.