The Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) and Serai Limited joined hands together to discuss Bangladesh’s Apparel Industry, global apparel demand landscape and technological penetration under the current context.
This issue came yesterday through a virtual webinar that was attended by members of BGMEA, HSBC customers, regulators, apparel buyers of various countries and officials from the host organizations, said a press release.
The Bangladesh apparel industry has a long history of resilience. The current state of mass disruption in global apparel presents an opportunity for the country to reinforce its position as a leading apparel exporter.
Bangladeshi manufacturers can embrace these changes, and move to new ways of working, in order to capture more business from buyers and market shifts. HSBC Serai and the BGMEA brought together industry leaders from across the apparel ecosystem (manufacturing, advisory consulting, finance and technology) to discuss how the demand landscape is changing, why Bangladesh is such a unique destination and how the industry can thrive in this new environment of change and disruption in global apparel.
The programme began with short speeches and discussion between Md Mahbub ur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Bangladesh, Dr Rubana Huq, President, BGMEA and Vivek Ramachandran, CEO, Serai Limited.
There were also presentations made by Kanaiya Parekh, Expert Partner in Retail, Performance Improvement, Customer Strategy and Marketing and Results Delivery practices, Bain and Company and Vivek Ramachandran from Serai Limited.
Md Mahbub ur Rahman said, “HSBC was founded with one key objective –to facilitate trade. Despite tech-driven improvements in most areas of business, international trade remains as complex today as it was more than 150 years ago. Responsible and sustainable supply chains are becoming increasingly important as consumers’ choices are coupled with both innovations and disclosure. The Serai platform is aiming to be an effective conduit for industry players to an open source platform with a shared approach. This will ultimately enable the apparel industry to reduce duplication and costs, re-build trusting relationships and make faster and better trade decisions.”
Dr Rubana Huq said, “Industry can only retain and better its position by restructuring its capabilities, adapting to the new consumerism, responding to needs of lean manufacturing, reduced lead time, and online engagement. Effective B2B is one of the most effective ways ahead”
Vivek Ramachandran said, “It is clear that the future of international trade lies in increased digitisation and the efficiency gains that all participants can draw from it. That’s why we’re building Serai – a data powered platform to help businesses build trusted relationships and grow their business”.
