CHARLOTTE, NC - A demonstration of how better use of data, much of it readily available to any knitter, can be used to help engineer fabric exactly to customer specifications while reducing operating costs and improving margins, recently brought representatives from such knitting operations as Sara Lee, VF Knitwear, National Textiles, Russell, Jockey and Nike, together with retailers and suppliers.

The event was sponsored by Jonathan Cope & Associates, Lake Oswego, Ore. The object was to learn more about what their customers are demanding and to explore processes available now that will help them to produce and deliver those products accurately, faster and more efficiently.

More than 20 major knitters from the Southeast gathered at the Hilton at University Place here last November for a one-day workshop on technology and methods available to build efficiency, quality and product consistency.

Innovation, quality and quick turnaround were among the considerations that retailers like Dayton Hudson and JC Penney cited as important for them in choosing manufacturing partners. Knitters-Stanly and United among them-reviewed new procedures that have enabled them to improve quality and manufacturing efficiency.

Attendees also learned about developments in knitting machinery from Vanguard Supreme aimed at reducing down time, which was cited as another avenue toward better operating margins.

Dayton Hudson will be seeking exciting new fabrics, largely of acrylic, in trend-right colors for its department stores and for Target, the company's upscale discount store chain, Anton Wilson, corporate director of quality control, said at the meeting. Wilson predicted that the fall of 1999 will show growth in acrylics at the expense of cotton. Adherence to quality standards will be crucial, he said.

Fabrics and garments, he noted, are expected to perform to specification while having few production defects and consistent color match.

"To sell Dayton Hudson you will need to know our brand specifications, be creative in meeting them, be consistent in the manufacturing process and deliver on time and complete," Wilson said.

Speed to retail has become such a concern that Dayton Hudson will make a concerted effort to develop domestic mill and finished garment manufacturing partners in 1999. "Quicker time to retail will be a trend next year," Wilson predicted. "It will allow us to adjust our selling floor faster and more often."

J.C. Penney will be placing a greater emphasis on product inspection in 1999, according to Richard Somers, quality sourcing evaluator for the national chain. In addition to having product pass muster at the company's merchandise testing center, the retailer's quality control program will include factory and mill inspections and evaluations, Somers said.

"The apparel industry does not look at defects as being important enough," Tim Schuh, director of apparel product integrity-Americas for Nike told the group. The industry seems satisfied with a 4% defect level and Nike accepts as much as 6.5%, Schuh said. But in the future, Nike, which specifies which mills its garment manufacturers can buy fabric from, will work toward a standard of zero defects and variation, according to Schuh.

Nike is working on developing a quality versus cost formula that will give higher quality vendors an advantage. The company is increasingly realizing that there are hidden costs in buying only from the cheapest supplier. "It's hard to measure the cost of customer dissatisfaction, image and returns to your business," according to Schuh. "But were going to apply a margin multiple to lower quality vendors." U.S manufacturers, Schuh said, rank near the top in the world in quality.

According to Jim Knapton, president of Jonathan Cope Associates, knitters can reduce the amount of variation in their products by constantly comparing their processes with the needs and specifications of their customers. "We're in business to service the customer," Knapton said. "Deliver the right product on time and at the lowest cost, and the profits will come."

Delta Apparel has used the Knitted Fabric Engineer (KFE), a software system available through Jonathan Cope, to build fabric consistently each time, cutting waste dramatically in the process, according to Matt Kolb, plant process improvement manager, and Darry Scott, knitting process improvement manager, at Delta. Kolb and Scott demonstrated how ESA (Error Sourcing Analysis) organizes the manufacturing process, from identifying the correct yarn count, course length, finished courses and wales per inch to selecting the optimum machine and guiding the operator through setup.

Delta, which manufactures in Maine in a facility with 141 knitting machines, has developed three new products using KFE, according to Kolb and Scott. The company has realized sizeable dollar savings by developing samples faster, cutting down on irregulars and optimizing machinery, they said.

Stanly Knitting has used KFE together with Error Sourcing Analysis, another software program from Cope that identifies the people within the manufacturing staff who can perform a particular task the best.

In 1996, Stanly made a commitment to sharing process improvement data with all levels of management and manufacturing teams in order to make quality an organizational habit. Dubbed the Management by Knowing program, it sought to organize the operation according to the logical progression of product through the plant, according to Dick Smith, vice-president of operations at Stanly.

Investigative teams were formed to determine what data to collect and how it should be displayed on the company's databases. "After many revisions and alterations, the result turned out to be fourteen separate databases which covered our entire operation," Smith said.

The databases were all networked, giving all operations access to information gathered by any of the databases. The benefits, in time saved and information shared, has far outweighed the cost of networking, Smith said. Databases cover knitting inspection processes, fabric dyeing and finishing, garment manufacturing, in process sewing, and finished garment audits.

Todd Diggs, regional sales manager for Vanguard Supreme, Monroe, N.C., reviewed new technology in circular knitting machines and accessories. The 4SJ4/HA, a four-track, single jersey machine has a speed factor 1500. The super high speed machine is designed to give knitters more production capability in less space, and to save energy and labor costs, according to Diggs.

Diggs also discussed the Filter Flow 2000, an attachment that prevents accumulation of lint and debris in needles thereby improving needle and sinker life while requiring less oil and maintenance.

According to Diggs, the Filter Flow ends the need to flush the machine, preventing oil spots, oil lines and graphite lines. Fabric waste is said to be reduced dramatically.