"To start with, you can learn how to let machines streamline your business."

My first experience applying computers to the apparel-decorating business—outside the accounting and art departments—was in 1991 when, as a rookie sales rep, I worked for a medium-sized screen printer in San Diego. Hey, we came to be considered something of a progressive company—back then—because we’d devised our own "internal-work-flow-management system." Of course—back then—we didn’t call it that. . .

In 1991 computers were beginning to appear in the apparel-decorating business, but they were still nowhere near the production department. And here we are, just a decade later, when virtually every shop has at least one computer dedicated to graphic art, in addition to clerical work. We’ve also got a super-competitive apparel-graphics market, wherein the ability to operate our companies in more efficient ways is coming to mean the difference between being competitive . . . and being out of business. It’s a fact that everything costs more, margins are thinner, competition is fierce in this new global economy. So‹whether you run a small, medium or large apparel-decorating operation—what can you do to be more competitive? How can you get an edge on that other guy halfway around the world? To start with, you can learn how to let machines streamline your business. Although you could do it, you wouldn’t consider decorating a T-shirt without a machine, be it manual or automatic, plain or fancy. Well, those same computers you already have around the plant can be the keys to reducing material costs, as well as the keys to increased worker productivity.

Nowadays, computers have become relatively inexpensive, and the systems that drive them are equally price-manageable. With computers, you can now build infrastructure for the part of your business that was previously too ethereal to be managed the way you would normally manage things such as your receivables or your purchase orders.

Computers now have the capacity to create such infrastructure in any size of business for, whether you are big or small, you must still make a product, make it correctly, make it economically and make it fast . . . or you’re gone.

Why create a digital environment?
What is your biggest complaint about your decorated-apparel customers? What are your customers’ biggest complaints about you? Maybe they don’t give you specific or even correct information about how they want a garment decorated? Maybe you get the information or the samples late, putting you behind schedule? Maybe you deliver late, the shirts printed with what was supposed to be the left-sleeve print on the left-chest? Who knows?

What we all do know is that, unfortunately, this happens even in the best shops. And regardless who is to blame, somebody eats the charge-back, and relationships between customer and decorator are strained. Overall, it’s just not a good thing. But it is also, too often, the rule.

So how can computers and project-data-manager—or PDM—software alleviate such problems? A computer can deliver accurate, mission-critical information to any user at any time anywhere in the world. It does not rely on FedEx, UPS or the USPS, and does not take from one to three days to arrive. Nor is it contingent on someone remembering what you told them over the telephone. A sticky-note falling off a sheet of paper will not alter it. It is right here, right now and an accurate—literally to the letter—technology. Imagine the decisions you can make with up-to-the-minute, live information—information sent by the person who actually created it. Sent directly to you, no misinformation, and no misunderstandings about what was said or not said. Communication improvements can only help avoid errors and miscues.

How about reducing annoying or unnecessary telephone calls and interruptions? How about giving everybody his or her instructions in writing rather than over the telephone, with a permanent history in an instantly retrievable location? Who couldn’t use such organizational improvement?