Datatex has carved a niche for itself globally as a specialty software solution provider for the textile and apparel industry. Set up in 1987, the company offers multiple products for the industry across the supply chain segments such as spinning, knitting, weaving, processing and apparel manufacturing in multiple sub-verticals like denim, knits, worsted, non-woven, home textiles, etc.
Speaking exclusively to The Textile Magazine on the sidelines of ITMA Asia 2018 in Shanghai, Mr. Rahul Mahajan, Head – Sales & Marketing, Datatex India, listed down the distinct solutions offered by Datatex to the textile and apparel industry. These include:
- Web-based ERP to manage business transactions in sales, purchase, planning, production, warehousing, costing, plant maintenance, quality management, HR payroll and finance modules.
- Advanced capacity balancing and machine scheduling solutions for the typical planning needs of the industry.
- A special solution for fabric defect recording and cut optimization.
- A solution for shop floor data recording and machine interface for automatic data recording.
Asked about the reason for Datatex focusing on the textile industry in the first place, Mr. Rahul Mahajan said: “The company was formed specially to cater to the software needs of the textile and apparel industry by textile consultants and software experts. We understand the textile and apparel industry needs and that’s why we focus on the industry”.
Elaborating on the company’s global development team’s presence, Mr. Rahul Mahajan stated: “Datatex has a lab in Italy where now the ERP and planning solutions are developed and enhanced for all future releases. The consultants from all the offices of Datatex constantly engage in giving valuable customer feedbacks and latest industry requirements to the lab. Datatex also has a lab in Germany where the fabric inspection solution (CATS) and automation solutions (CAMS) are developed and released”.
When asked to list down a few key features of the solutions offered by Datatex, he pointed out: “The list is long, but we can list a few. The product codification and process nomenclature are completely aligned with organizational requirements in Datatex solutions. In the sales module Datatex offers capability of recording partial orders and produce it till a stage of production. The planning module can work with four unique planning methods coupled with infinite or finite capacity modelling. The production module has specific production recording methods for spinning, weaving, processing and garmenting operations, i.e., by hank, picks, batches, rolls, bundles, and so on. The production tracking is dynamic to see order-wise/customer-wise status across departments and work centers.”
Datatex has got customers spread across 42 countries. Its regional offices cater to specific countries. For e.g., the US office supports the north and south Americas, the European Office support the customers in Europe, the office in India supports the Middle East and APAC regions and the Israel office supports the rest of the world.
According to Mr. Rahul Mahajan, the Indian market has always been a core to Datatex’ operations and development. “We have customers across denim, knits, shirting, technical textiles and apparel manufacturing in India. Some of the largest implementations – with multiple locations and multiple vertical integrated organizations – have been successfully done in India,” he said.
The company had recently set up its own office in India, showing its level of commitment to the market. Citing the key reason behind setting up the office, he explained: “The India office has been set up to focus on India and the APAC region. We already have customers in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and China. The need and awareness of the software solutions have largely been with big players so far. With the changing times in the industry, we expect more and more textile organizations to get tech savvy and opt for world-class software for running the organization efficiently. The India office would reach to the customers quickly in all aspects of implementation and support”.
There are several global and domestic ERP solution providers who offer tailor-made solutions to the textile industry. Given this scenario, when queried as to why should someone consider Datatex, Mr. Rahul Mahajan observed: “That is true. Most of the solutions can be categorized into two types. The ones that are developed at the industry segment level. For example, spinning solutions, weaving / knitting solutions, apparel software, etc. These solutions have issues with respect to technological advancement, data management and security management. On the other hand, there are generic solutions which need to be customized for unique textile and apparel industry needs. Hence the implementation cycle is too long and very expensive due to efforts involved. Also maintaining these solutions is very costly due to technical support required at the organization level”.
Continuing further, he said: “Datatex is a solution that can be configured for any segment of the textile and apparel industry without customizing it. The solutions do not hinder the backward or forward integration of any textile organization as it can always be configured for new or extended functions of the organization. At Datatex we have all resources from textile and apparel industry as this is the only industry we work with. The knowledge and implementation experience of the consultants enables quicker and practical implementation”.
Mr. Rahul Mahajan highlighted another key advantage customers get with Datatex, i.e., the solutions are suitable for any type of manufacturing operations, be it standalone unit or a vertically integrated organization. “The best part is that after implementation if you expand the business you need not worry. The same software can be extended to new business areas,” he said, rounding off the interaction.
HP Cotton Textile Mills implements Datatex ERP
HP Cotton Textile Mills Ltd, one of India largest company producers and exporters of a wide spectrum of specialised threads including Crochet, Embroidery, Lace and Cotton Sewing Threads has kicked off implementation of Datatex ERP NOW.
During the kick off Mr. Raghav Kumar Agarwal, CEO expressed his confidence into Datatex IT Solution suit comprising NOW ERP, MQM along with BOARD for Business Intelligence.
He said “Being the first organization wide ERP implementation, the management has trusted Datatex – one of the most mature and time-tested IT solution. Modernization of the IT landscape is expected to improve efficiencies across all departments, specially planning where Datatex MQM the fine planning solution is being implemented. BOARD will be the BI tool for Management to track key performance parameters to ensure achievement of organizational goals”.
Datatex India would implement this comprehensive integrated suite of solutions by deploying team of consultants.