Business to Business: Textile Industry

1. Business to Business: Textile Industry By Ravinath, Srinivasan, Wu, Zhou

2. Sellers Wholesalers www.wallace-textiles.com www.unitedfabrics.com Raw products http://www.xsyarn.com/ http://texprocil.com Manufacturers (dye, fiber, cotton..etc) http://www.filatex.com/ http://www.cortyvis.com/ End products Manufactures http://www.ydii.com/ http://www.brody.co.uk/ Buyers Retailers www.macy’s.com www.llbean.com End-product manufactures http://www.ydii.com/ http://www.brody.co.uk/ End-users http://www.macy’s.com http://www.sears.com Participants of the B2B Textile

3. MAJOR PLAYERS Sellers Buyers Raw Products Retailers End Products Manufacturers Wholesalers Manufacturers Manufacturers End Users

4. Objectives of the B2B Sites • Most of the sites are exclusively for members to reach better tailored information with very rough information to non-members • Also serves as a direct channel to consumers for specific end products • Manufacturer seeking distribution channels primarily through wholesale • Try to increase visibility among the distributor and consumer community • Offer product description with different degree of details • Provide one place to find all information about price and compare prices easily • Eliminating paper work to improve efficiency and reduce transaction cost • Automated processes in a traditionally conservative industry

5. Challenges • The manufacturers’ sites are generally rudimentary • Become more efficient in attracting new customers • Pay less attention to cycles and seasons and provide more promotional mechanisms • Most of the sites can be reached only through search engines, less opportunities to attend Trade shows/ Fairs and hence more publicity • Make the site more public and well-known/renowned • How to offer differentiated benefits for premium customers • Improve the details and specifics about the products • Possibly automate regular shipping contracts

6. Good points Most sites provide detailed information about the products Detailed information about the manufacturer, location, strength in industry to create confidence among buyers Provide owner’s information and contact address to improve personal relationship Order forms are very user-friendly, customers don’t need to go through pages and waste times as do B2C customers Rooms for improvement Simplicity of page layout without any advanced features Plain outlay Text blocks Color and images design are not professional and represent no company image of differentiation features Too less information to non-members and might exclude prospect customers Strength and Weakness of Current Website Design

7. Example of simplicity: This is the main home page of a knitwear manufacture to attract buying agent Example of vulgar design This is the page of a wholesaler listing addresses of domestic distributors

8. A Good Portal Example • www.textileWeb serves as the hub for all kinds of companies that has anything and everything to do with textiles. The site is also very good, user-friendly and attracts huge site-traffic.

9. A Good Wholesale Example • www.llbean.com is an industry intermediary that both reaches the customers and conduct B2B to get the products in whole-sale through the web. The sites are well-designed and information-rich

10. Textile B2B Operation Model • Raw material providers • Manufacture of wool: www.wool.net.au • Sellers of polyester, nylon, goom, etc. • www.filatex.com • Initial design and fabric components • Wholesalers for fabrics • www.fabricclub.com • Sellers of cotton fabric designs • www.hoffmanfabrics.com • Manufactures of textile • www.unitedfabrics.com • Intermediary distributors: www.textileweb.com • Wholesalers and end users: www.llbean.com

11. Wool Manufacturer Wholesalers of vinyle, leather, fabrics www.wool.net.au Seller of polyester, nylon, etc www.unifiedfabrics.com www.filatax.com Sellers of silk, leather, Manufacturers/Importers www.ydii.com Retail Shops www.llbean.com www.kaufmanns.com Textile B2B Operation Chart Sellers of end products www.wallace-textiles.com Wholesalers for fabrics/design www.webindia.com/gga www.fabricclub.com Seller of cotton/design fabrics www.hoffmanfabrics.com Intermediary hubs End-users www.textileweb.com

12. Textile Industry Leaders • Shaw Industries • Mohawk Industries • Springs Industries • Burlington Industries • WestPoint Stevens • Unifi • Interface

13. Player Dominance • Incorporating technology that strengthens their strategic position • “We have excellent global resources and growing ability to provide consumer-ready products as well as fabrics. In addition, we are placing strong strategic emphasis on new applications of advanced technology.” • George W. Henderson, III, CEO of Burlington Industries • Establish global presence in order to expand customer base • Create complete product ownership by being the manufacturer, distributor, and seller

14. Reasons for Player Dominance • Establish partnerships with major commercial dealers and retailers to increase market coverage • Mergers and Acquisition of competitors • “In addition to the Shaw/Queen merger, there was further consolidation in the floor covering industry.  Additional mergers and acquisitions involving approximately $2 billion in revenue occurred within our industry during 1998.  These acquisitions represent a rapid acceleration in the consolidation process.” • www.shawinc.com, CEO • By strategically positioning itself in the market • “The Company is vertically integrated and is the nation's leading manufacturer and marketer of bed linens, towels, comforters and other accessories that are sold in retail outlets throughout the world.” • www.westpointstevens.com • Has created a brand name due to history of company • With over 186 years of experience, WestPoint Stevens is today the nation's largest producer of bed and bath fashions sold in retail outlets worldwide. • www.westpointstevens.com

15. Value-added in Textile Industry • Dedicated service • “We take Orders to make your brand” -- www.ydii.com • Products are of high quality and competitive price • “ Since 1946 we have been committed to satisfying our customers, 100%, with the highest quality fabrics, in the latest styles at competitive prices” -- www.hoffmanfabrics.com • Easy ordering for you, quick transportation from us • “… our friendly, well-trained customer service representatives are available between 8:A.M. and 8 P.M., Monday through Friday…no minimum quantity requirement for fabrics or vinyls…can ship lightning-fast…ship all orders within 24 hours of receipt.” -- www.unitedfabrics.com

16. Value-added in Textile Industry • Instant access to the latest information of textile industry • “WebIndia’s customers reap the benefits of a fast and reliable internet connection as well as less than 24 hour customer response time” -- www.webindia.com • “TextileWeb provides reliable, up-to-date information to encourage business activity among buyers and sellers in the global textile marketplace” --www.TextileWeb.com • Free membership to the web community • Active businesses with many big companies

17. Reasons for Value-added Service