Unees Bees

How many times have we heard this word Unees Bees?  one of the most used word in our industry since ages. I have been hearing this from past 20+ years. Am sure like me most of you would have also heard & experienced.

Unees Bees are two words in Hindi Language that literally translate to 19 (Unees) and 20 (Bees). The two words often used together to form a phrase meaning “a minor difference”. If there is a minor difference as defined above same is being accepted mostly by everyone without much objection.

As per my observation the word Unees Bees is not used when the difference is minor , would rather say it is used mostly when the difference is major which is beyond acceptable allowance. People always mention that it is very subjective. Several times have experienced that the phrase is used to have results in favour which is over & above acceptable allowance.

Short cuts

We all know what is meant by short cuts, in case of any non-approvals & rejections, try & do repair works by following some short cuts to get things within allowance only for minimal quantities so that they have a passed

1. Lab report for testing parameters ,
2. Shipment sample approval for sending shipment ,
3. Sign off garment for wash & hand feel related approval,
4. Sign off swatch for shade & as a backup spectrophotometer Delta E report for shade approval.

Which is enough to ship the merchandise. Replicating the same for entire bulk some of them won’t do who does not have a clear understanding on SHIP or SHIPMENT – which is important? as they are concerned about productivity loss, time lost & costs which is a temporary gain over the business continuity. Few Example

1) PH controlled revised washed sample there by getting a passed test report this time for the previous case where in the same got failed originally for PH.

2)Taking Special care only on PP & Top sample wrs to measurements & specs there by getting it approved for production go ahead & shipping goods which is not the true representation of bulk.

3) Making & submitting exclusively treated samples from laundry which is in line to original buyer requirement in terms wash level & hand feel whereas in bulk the same consistency is lacking.

4)Paying special attention to review & ensure only the FOB (First of bulk) is under approvable limit to the original approved shade whereas the actual bulk shades are having deviations from required.

Any of such short cuts followed might give a feel of immediate success not the real & long-term success.

Ship or Shipment- which is important?

It is important to ask the above questions amongst us & most of the time people concerned for the later (shipment) one not the prior one (ship), as they always look at the immediate loss rather than a long- term gain. It is majorly due to lack of awareness related to reviewing things in a broader perspective & approaching the same narrower thoughts. Here the word ship refers to the business & shipment refer to the order in hand to be serviced.

In the recent times we all know how many famous apparel brands & fashion retailers went bankrupt & closed their operations who were giants of this business once upon a time. One of the reasons for their non-existence could be either people belong to their company or their vendors would have followed shortcuts & compromised on the product quality by not having a right understanding on allowance & having a wrong understanding about Unees bees due to lack of knowledge or not realizing the impact of their decisions could create on by looking at immediate monetary loss not over the long term business gain.

People who do not have the right understanding of Unees Bees, their expectations are over & above allowance which causes real time challenges in businesses & vanish them out. It could be

1. testing related
2. measurement/spec related
3. wash/hand feels related
4. shade related etc.,

In all the above scenarios several times people take decisions/approvals or expect others to take calls & share approval of clearance for the goods without knowing the impact of such kind of decisions being made. 

Allowance

People involved in textile/apparel manufacturing sector know that it is practically impossible to get 100% perfect outcome, there is bound to be some deviation than what is required. For this reason, allowances have been given & accepted too. Allowances can defined as anything which is falling within a range that does not affect the final outcome. Allowance stands for “the amount of something that is permitted, especially within a set of regulations or for a specified purpose”.

Remedies to overcome

• Having a right understanding about UNEES BEES & ensure the outcomes are with in ALLOWANCE. 
• Working effectively towards TOC (theory of constraints), POC (proof of constraints) which helps to understand & overcome the constraints related to manufacturing.
• Make an adequate sample quantity to do adequate testing, washing, sample making & recipe to get the consistent bulk by doing several trials before bulk instead of following shortcuts.
• Doing a pilot quantity to understand the pros & cons of the manufacturing for every order before getting into the bulk manufacturing.
• Transparent & ethical business approach which enables your buyers to take commercial calls & support wherever possible to minimize your loss.
• Having right set of people who are well versed with the technical knowledge & having a clear understanding about the impact on their decision making.

To Conclude

It is practically impossible for anyone to do 100% inspection & audit to ensure all the required parameters are fine. Even if the QA team is carrying out the inspection at vendor premises they cannot go beyond certain % under normal circumstances. Now it is even more tedious to carry out the same. Companies can’t continue to invest in very large QA teams. Understanding the practicality & the above complexity be it international or domestic buyer they are trying to manage it with TRUST & COLLABORATION to create WIN-WIN.   

People who belongs to textile/apparel value chain running the business successfully now & who had lost their business continuity & market share without growth or become obsolete knows well the real meaning of ALLOWANCE, UNEES BEES, & SHORT CUTS.

UNEES BEES & SHORT CUTS can reap a short-term benefit SHIPMENT (order in hand), but it is the ultimate reason for the bigger piece to get sink which is SHIP (business). Any business can sail successfully only when the focus is more on the SHIP than a SHIPMENT when executing it righty with in ALLOWANCE, having a clear understanding of UNEES BEES & avoid following any SHORT CUTS.

Hope you all agree with me that SHIP is important than a SHIPMENT & it’s time to focus on the SHIP over the SHIPMENT.    

RELATED TOPICS:#Apparel,Ramesh Gunasekaran