KDS Accessories – Beating competition with robust customer services and excellence in manufacturing

KDS Group is one of the leading multi-national apparel and textile conglomerates based out of Chittagong, which after having built a strong foundation with its apparel manufacturing business is a group with diverse interests from paper to steel. It is not just the products and a strong foundation, which has helped the company reach the pedestal that it is on today, but also because of robust service network, advanced manufacturing systems and standardized human resource management. Heading KDS Group’s accessories business, Debasis Daspal, CEO, KDS Accessories, discusses with Apparel Online the past, the present and the future of the company.

Moving on from 100% captive consumption to just consuming 10% of the total output of accessories for in-house garmenting operations, despite growing 15 times in terms of turnover in the last 20 years, is a commendable statement for any company and KDS Accessories has done it by branching out the business as a separate profit centre followed by expansions and innovations in the division, as an organizational re-structuring process facilitated by Ernst & Young (E&Y). This process brought to the company professionals like Debasis Daspal, with more than 22 years of experience in handling supply chains of various multinational companies in diverse product segments.

“Opportunities are still tremendous,” averred Debasis, who believes that KDS has achieved success because of its strategic management control in establishing standard practices in the company. Moving beyond the growth drivers of standardized quality and robust service, KDS offers a ‘one stop solution’ for 60% of all the trims and embellishments generally required in garments, from sewing thread to heat transfer labels to cartons for packaging and is continuously exploring the possibility of diversifying into other categories.

Handling competition in any business is critical for growth and Debasis believes that nominations assure certain business, but more than that it helps in achieving globally accepted standards. “Success of KDS Accessories is because of its strong hold in the market by working on its service points, which the company identified as a growth driver 7-8 years ago,” he added. To fulfil its promise to its clients and vendors, the company has developed an online order management system which gives the freedom to the garment manufacturers to avail any service online including payment.

The way the company has selected its products is finely intertwined with not only the evolution of its accessories business but also with the dynamic nature of the country’s apparel industry. It all started with manufacturing of corrugated cartons for packaging purposes and was sequentially followed by sewing threads, polybags, plastic hangers, tags and labels. “After exhausting the complete range of soft line packaging products, we would now be entering the segment of hard line packaging products, by setting up a facility for polyester button manufacturing in Dhaka, which would be commissioned by next year,” said Debasis.

“We are championing the cause of cost competitiveness in no matter what we manufacture,” shared Debasis. The company is smart in developing indigenous solutions and designs for keeping the costs under control, for accommodating the needs of the buyers more economically. One of the landmark initiatives of cost engineering was the conversion of 7 ply cartons to 3 ply cartons, which was the first in Bangladesh and which not only saves on huge costs but also made the entire packing supply chain leaner. “We made sure that our 3 ply cartons are stronger and more durable than the 7 ply cartons, due to which many brands like GAP, Nike, H&M, C&A, Levis and American Eagle made 3 ply cartons a part of their supply chain for the first time,” asserted Debasis, who further adds that KDS was manufacturing partner for barcode tags and labels for Avery Dennison, till the time they established their manufacturing facility in Bangladesh in 2004 and that was the turning point when the company established its own unit to produce similar products at a very reasonable price.

[bleft] Except a few generic items, most of the raw materials imported from China, Taiwan, Korea and all paper products come from European countries – Sweden, South Africa, Canada and North America.

Bangladesh exports garments worth US $ 20 to 21 billion in which trims and accessories account for US $ 1.2 to 1.5 billion and only 20% of the accessories are imported, a market of nearly US $ 1 billion is big enough market for any accessories manufacturer to tap. KDS has acquired a significant market share in every product segment. [/bleft]

Besides product diversification, eco-friendly accessories are the next big achievable produce for the company, both as a product and within the processes. “We are already into eco-friendly processes and we’ll be venturing into the products also but as of now we are analysing the buyers’ demands of eco-friendly products. It is going to get bigger after 4-5 years,” explained Debasis. The company’s eco-friendly processes can be assessed by the numerous certifications they have, like ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 along with OEKO-TEX. Moreover KDS was the first company to get these certifications simultaneously in Bangladesh.

Being among the handful of accessories manufacturers in the country, which are approved by Walmart, H&M and M&S and many others, the company has done the mapping of its entire manufacturing process and found the key areas required to be monitored consistently. With its superior testing facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories, equipped with all modern testing equipments, an end-to-end testing framework has been developed for capturing quality starting from raw material stage to work-in-process to finished goods, ensuring that the stringent requirement of buyers are met. The company is already into recycling hanger and polybags as they are made of unsaturated resins, which can be first given a shape and then melted easily. KDS Accessories with a market share as high as 30% in some trims category, looks at maintaining an annual growth of 20% through its various interventions. “We expect to maintain the lead through the new button manufacturing facility and bring in eco-friendly products to the market,” concluded Debasis.