Leading sports apparel manufacturer, Vertical Knits SA de CV, has selected Coats Digital’s FastReactPlan solution to digitally transform its manual planning processes into a unified single view, so that the company can optimise production processes, significantly reduce waste, promptly accommodate unexpected style changes and rapidly respond to emerging new consumer trends.
Established in 2003, Vertical Knits, S.A. de C.V. is a vertically integrated apparel manufacturer specialising in full package for renowned global athletic and lifestyle brands, such as Nike, Converse, VF Corporation, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste and Fanatics.
With factories in Baca and Tizimin Yucatán, in Mexico, Vertical Knits employees over 3500 people in the region exporting to more than 21 countries. A Nike supplier, Vertical Knits has baked-in sustainability targets at every step of the production process to ensure the safest working conditions and highest environmental standards are met with regards to water waste and energy reduction. It is Fair Trade certified and has secured the Global Recycled Standard, Global Organic Textile Standard, and Better Cotton Standard. The company also works with Roadmap to Zero, the Higg Index, Social & Labor Convergence and the Global Reporting Initiative, among many others, to actively support sustainability and corporate social responsibility drives worldwide.
Jorge Eduardo Kuri, CEO Vertical Knits, commented: “Digitising our company is much more than simply implementing a software solution. We also needed robust industry expertise to support a successful implementation and provide exemplary staff training so that the technology delivers benefits from go-live. Coats Digital’s industry expertise is second to none. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with Coats Digital as it works with us on a long-term basis to re-engineer our supply chain processes.”
Prior to the FastReactPlan implementation, Vertical Knits found that disconnected, manual planning processes using separate Excel spreadsheets for each department resulted in complex, time-consuming and staff-heavy procedures that made impossible to have an accurate picture of the requirements on each manufacturing process. As a result, it was difficult for the company to cope with increased volumes on more segregated orders, effectively manage unplanned style changes, or flag potential production issues on a timely manner.
Ricardo Valenzuela, VP Operations, Vertical Knits, said: Some of our customers’ requirements are very specific, the depth of functionality of FastReactPlan makes possible to respond to these requirements just adjusting the configuration making possible to adjust the plan in real-time to factor in sudden changes. Coats Digital offers best-in-class planning tools designed specifically for the apparel industry, its unparalleled industry heritage and expertise makes Coats Digital the obvious choice as our core digital transformation partner.”
In addition to providing visibility of the planning operations across 2000 sewing operators, FastReactPlan will also manage product development and the detail planning of the screen print, the project will include Power BI dashboards that will provide management key performance indicators. The planning of the fabric mill will be incorporated on a second phase of the project.
Oscar Gonzalez, Coats Digital, LATAM, added: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Vertical Knits on its digital journey with the implementation of FastReactPlan. With the implementation of the solution, Vertical Knits will be able to coordinate the preproduction, manufacturing and raw materials with a single version of the truth eliminating laborious duplicate tasks.”
Coats Digital is the software business of Coats Group, the world’s leading industrial thread company and a trusted industry player. Part of Coats Digital’s Manufacturer Suite, FastReactPlan is a dynamic, highly visual production planning and control tool to optimise delivery, efficiency, and lead time. FastReactPlan brings together capacity, critical path, and materials into a single, integrated, dynamic planning system.
The highly visual and flexible ‘drag and drop’ approach to planning allows effective master planning across multiple factories, as well as the detailed and accurate scheduling of manufacturing lines/ machines. Critical pre-production activities (e.g., samples and approvals), and material requirements are dynamically driven in a LEAN pull system based on the latest plan, which supports the reduction of inventory and lead time.
FastReactPlan is typically interfaced with other business systems (e.g., ERP, PLM, inventory & shop floor). Sharing key data reduces data entry workload, improves accuracy and speeds up the planning process and response times. Developed specifically for fashion manufacturers of all sizes, FastReactPlan is quick to implement, configured to reflect industry best-practices and specific business requirements. It is proven to deliver significant and measurable improvements in speed, flexibility, and efficiency.
