Mission

Establish raw materials specifications for item identification and turn industry consensus into global standards with the involvement of buyers and sellers in the Apparel and Textiles Industry. The goal is to transform unstructured data into structured data format for raw materials and product specifications presentation and to enable enterprise systems integration for Business-to-Business communication with the aids of the best-of-breed technology.

Goal

To transform unstructured data into structured data format for raw materials and product specifications presentation and to enable enterprise systems integration for Business-to-Business communication with the aids of the best-of-breed technology.

Summary

The MSV was developed in the automobile industry and the practice was considerably enhanced by the Far East auto manufacturers, providing them with a competitive advantage.  We have found that there are a number of apparel companies that are utilizing commercially developed software to accurately and expeditiously communicate material requirement planning information to their global contracted manufacturing partners. Since there is no published research or white papers it is difficult to determine the extent to which MSV is being practiced, however, it is safe to assume that it is in the nascent stage. With the emphasis on speed to market, i.e. reducing from years to weeks, the time taken to get products from the fashion shows to the sales floor, MSV will become a requirement for doing business in the fashion industry.

Product Life Cycle Management in the apparel manufacturing process has changed significantly in recent years. There is now greater emphasis on global sourcing as well as an increased percentage of private label.

Fifty-one percent of VICS' members are in the general merchandise and apparel industry.  With a growing number of VICS member companies sourcing overseas, they will face numerous challenges in their off-shore supply chains.  At the same time, raw material suppliers overseas are spending an inordinate amount of time in manual processes trying to determine the exact specifications of their customer requirements.  VICS’ members are looking for a way to improve the global supply chain.

On August 29, 2005, Ms. Anna Lin, Chief Executive Officer of GS1 Hong Kong, met with VICS member companies to explain the supply chain issues from the overseas suppliers' perspective.  Ms. Lin believes that there is a strong business case for improving the apparel planning cycle, from product conception to production.  During that meeting there was open dialogue between retailers, manufacturers, solution providers and standards organizations.

As a result of that meeting, VICS and GS1 Hong Kong have launched a study group to examine the AppTex specifications developed by a consortium of suppliers in Hong Kong as well as determine if there is a business case to proceed with a Collaborative Product Development Committee under the VICS umbrella. 

Members of this study group are manufacturers, retailers, solution providers and representatives from the GS1 US and GS1 Hong Kong Standards organizations.  They meet on a monthly basis via conference call and are working on a proof of concept model.

For additional information about the Apparel & Textiles Express project, please visit http://www.apptexpress.org/.

Sub-Committees