Big companies/groups were obviously better placed to withstand the shocks of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns. In hindsight (even though the pandemic is still on), what were the things that some companies did right? How could it have been any different?
Recollects Aroon Hirdaramani, Director at the Hirdaramani Group, “March 2020 was a very trying time. The first thing our Group focused on was the safety of our workforce. The Sri Lankan government was very good in enforcing the lockdown(s) and keeping cases to a minimum during the first phase of the pandemic. We were fortunate to receive support from the government and the health services during that period.
“Some customers reacted quite drastically with order cancellations and pushbacks because almost all retail channels, closed down for a couple of months. In hindsight, if there were a mechanism—since this was unprecedented—where we could react to our supply chain a little quicker, it would have been better. At that moment, the supply chain was quite fragmented and there were some bottlenecks. We now have more transparency between our customers, ourselves, and our raw material suppliers. We can now react to sudden changes in demand and emergencies a lot quicker. That's definitely been one major learning.
“During that period we also had to reduce our capacity quickly (for a number for months), and change capacities to what products were selling, including masks and PPE. Now, there is a large uptick in demand, but there are still bottlenecks in the global supply chains. Another learning would be to have more flex capacity, and more nimbleness in our operations to react to changes in consumer demand.”
The first response of the MAS leadership, says a company representative, was “to safeguard our associates. The company took a ‘lives first, livelihoods second’ mantra. This was reflected in the support provided to local communities and the government, through the provision of medical equipment and supplies to national hospitals, medical infrastructure support as well as establishing COVID-19 Care Centres for employees and their families that were infected.”
The MAS representative continues: “MAS prides itself on being agile and flexible even in trying times. This was critical during the pandemic where we were quick to respond to the drastic changes taking place, managing the operational challenges and eventually capitalising on potential opportunities such as manufacturing PPE and products that were in demand, although outside of our conventional capabilities and scope. This agility is entirely due to our exceptional people and is a clear result of the drive and determination of our employees, and the effort they displayed in seeing the pandemic through.” MAS, the representative says, “made a conscious decision to always be transparent and provide information wherever possible to all stakeholders. This was vital in ensuring that our associates were confident, well-informed, and not susceptible to rumours or speculation. It also made them feel safe and willing to co-operate as they knew the company would always be open about the reality of what was taking place.”
What is clear is that everyone had to handle three things simultaneously: production, supply chain & logistics, and workers-payments. How did the Hirdaramani Group go about things?
“We have quite a simple structure within our Group. What was important was our relationship with our workforce. We made sure to keep salary payments going, to enable them to take care of themselves and their families even during the lockdown period. Our finance and operations teams handled all of that. Then, we had to deal with our customers, and all the huge changes in the order books,” remembers Hirdaramani. “Our front-end team and senior management worked with our customer base. We also had to work with our banks and suppliers. We had to make sure that we could keep our cashflow running, and also agree on payment plans with suppliers to balance their needs as well. So, in essence, we had a few departments working in unison to resolve these issues.”
In fact, Bolonne’s paper had outlined short, medium and long term strategies for industry. Some of those would have been already in play. How did those work out?
Bolonne says: “Short-term protocols immediately came into practice to ensure the survival of the industry. We thought those would be temporary. But the good side was that some are being implemented for the long run as well—remote working facilities, health & safety protocols, virtual processes, PPE manufacturing, securing liquidity position and supply chain issue analysis.”
When she was writing the paper, most apparel companies were operating on medium-term recovery strategies. “It's totally about how you can compete with cost per unit while maintaining high-quality standards in a sustainable manner. To achieve those objectives, organisations have to force themselves to follow these strategies. If they are unable to accept them and run in the medium term, it is hardly possible to ensure their survival in the long run.”
The worst is over, and Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is gearing up for the long haul.
