UK textile manufacturer Vanners Silks has adopted a tech-first response to the rising cost of raw materials by harnessing the power of his companies’ data to drive efficiencies.
According to CEO Tro Manoukian, in the last two years, the company has seen the price of silk increase by 40%, which has had an impact on all aspects of the businesses.
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“The UK’s pending exit from the EU means we just don’t know what will happen with the price of raw materials and trade agreements in the coming years,” Manoukian says. “These factors, along with competition from overseas markets and increased regulatory compliance, mean I have to be able to demonstrate the efficiency of all my operations to my customers – they absolutely demand it – to support the prices they’re paying.”
CEO of three silk textile businesses that supply a range of premium fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren and Victoria Beckham, Manoukian says he is using company data to drive efficiencies for both his employees and customers.
He is using Panintelligence’s business intelligence dashboard to view data from around 12 different databases across his planning, procurement and operational divisions. This helps him to monitor the natural peaks and troughs that occur in the textile manufacturing sector due to fashion industry seasons and respond appropriately.
For example, the businesses can apply discounts for buyers where there are troughs and stop accepting orders in peak times, pushing clients into a more linear production stream. He can access the dashboard from anywhere from his smartphone, tablet or desktop, which means he can get a detailed, real and instant picture of business performance without being present in the office or with his various department heads.
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By GlobalDataManoukian says he has gained significant value from easy and real-time access to his own data on sales, stock and purchases, seeing where he can save time and money, and pass those savings onto customers.
“I don’t think our customers should pay for our misgivings. There is a misconception that technology means fewer jobs for people. This is simply not true. We have been able to embrace data analytics technology in a way that adds to the business and doesn’t compromise traditional staff roles.”
