Download New Times Group Case Study

New Times Group Case Study: A Win-Win
for Brands, Retailers, Agents, & Suppliers
Global Sourcing Agent Connects Extended Supply Network to
Generate Visibility, Agility and Cost Savings
New Times Group Case Study: A Win-Win for Brands, Retailers, Agents, and Suppliers| 2
A Win-Win for Brands, Retailers, Agents, and Suppliers
Global supply chains have become increasingly complex. More companies are under pressure to get products to
market at the right price and at the right time. Seamless communication and collaboration are keys to better
performance.
New Times Group, one of the world’s largest apparel sourcing agents and supply chain managers, has adopted a
single collaboration platform to automate transactions and communicate with its partners in the extended supply
network to improve visibility. The result is a faster and leaner supply chain with increased efficiency and speed to
market.
Global Sourcing Network
New Times specializes in sweaters, cut and sewn knitwear, children’s wear and denim apparels. The company’s
clientele includes many leading brands in the United States, such as Walmart and Target, says David Pan, director
of logistics at New Times.
Major services provided by New Times cover quality assurance, which refers to the control and monitoring of
production to ensure specific requirements of individual clients are met. The company works with its
manufacturers and suppliers to ensure products are in compliance in multiple areas, including corporate social
responsibility, product safety, and trade and security. New Times also provides logistical support, arranges cargo
and handles documentation in compliance with overseas customs regulations.
“Although our headquarters is in Hong Kong, our business is global,” Pan notes. New Times operates 10 offices in
China. It also collaborates with manufacturers in many countries, including Taiwan, Cambodia, Philippines,
Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Jordan to support diverse production capabilities and maintain
consistent quality in products and services.
Complex Communication
Staying in touch with its business partners around the world was a highly complex and time-consuming task for
New Times as they diversified their production base and moved from a single-country operation to a multiplecountry operation. “We had a complex communication equation. Our customers made complicated packing
requirements and demanded quick responses to questions. The manual handling of documents created high
volumes of paperwork and involved frequent follow-ups to verify or retrieve information and coordinate activities.
There was always a lack of visibility in the processes on our side, as well as the buyers and the suppliers,” recalls
Pan.
Pan recalls a time when New Times spent a lot of time and resources on payment follow-ups with a major
international brand which worked with 30 factories in seven countries.
After orders were fulfilled, the brand’s factories sent New Times the paper documents. The company reviewed
them and then issued the inspection certification for proof of quality assurance. “A factory would typically courier
up to 40 pages of documents to the brand’s finance department. The brand approved the transactions before they
were passed to the Accounts Payable system,” he says.
Such processes created a heavy workload and delayed the payment process for the sourcing agent. “We deployed
up to five staff members to handle these documents. The factories had no visibility into documents when
The contents of this document are confidential and proprietary to GT Nexus, Inc.
New Times Group Case Study: A Win-Win for Brands, Retailers, Agents, and Suppliers| 3
couriered packages left their hands,” he adds. “If errors occurred, the analysis usually took several days. It involved
additional paper documents and emails between parties.”
Complicated Packing Requirements by Customers
To reduce costs, more customers have shifted their supply chain transactions from their warehouses in their home
countries to the overseas production bases. “Our customers now request multiple prepacks and have the barcode
labels and carton scanning completed on the factory floor instead of their warehouses,” Pan says.
“They also request accurate packing information and fast shipment details immediately after the freight departs,”
he continues.
To be competitive in today’s global supply chain, the factories, agents and brands need to be able to react to the
market and handle information in real time. It is important to have a collaboration platform that everyone can
access for accurate and consistent information and be in compliance with customers’ requirements.
Centralized Platform Enhances Visibility in the Chain
GT Nexus is a centralized platform that facilitates sophisticated PO collaboration enabling its users to fulfill
complicated packing and shipping requirements. All information entered in the PO is kept electronically on the
platform and can easily be prepopulated when preparing multiple prepacks. This function helps save time and
minimizes errors caused by manual rekeying. “All information from the PO is electronically forwarded to the backend system.” Pan explains. “This represents enormous benefit for production planning and production control. It
enables all of us to make quick responses to last minute changes.”
GT Nexus allows customers and brands to distribute their information upstream to the manufacturers directly
because all parties in the chain are connected. The GT Nexus system enables them to send complex supply chain
transaction requests to the factory floor, which used to take place at their warehouses. This makes just-in-time
planning possible, Pan adds. “The customers have more efficient information flow for product shipments and they
can plan their warehousing and distribution needs in a timelier manner.”
“We joined GT Nexus in 2009 and now over 90 percent of our customers transact on the GT Nexus platform. The
efficiency in the transaction process has improved significantly. We have achieved better control in the timing,
system control and system validation.”
-David Pan, director of logistics at New Times
With enhanced visibility on a multi-enterprise collaboration platform, the agent is now connected to the suppliers
and its customers. It enables the agent to monitor production statuses from the supplier and the factory’s shipping
arrangement, and then report relevant information to the customer and make last-minute changes.
“We are virtually next door to the factory. Since all information is shared, it enables us to react to changes in realtime,” Pan says. “Enhanced visibility of information helps us improve our services at both ends,” Pan says.
“We joined GT Nexus in 2009 and now over 90 percent of our customers transact on the GT Nexus Platform. The
efficiency in the transaction process has improved significantly. We have achieved better control in the timing,
system control and system validation,” he says. “Given this single platform structure with template documents and
system control, we can enhance consistency and accuracy in the information. Transactions are in full compliance
with customers’ expectations as well as trade compliance required by the customers.”
The contents of this document are confidential and proprietary to GT Nexus, Inc.
New Times Group Case Study: A Win-Win for Brands, Retailers, Agents, and Suppliers| 4
Better Working Capital Planning
Not only does the collaboration platform improve efficiency in transaction processes, but enhanced visibility into
payments enables factories to plan ahead with their working capital and ease cash flow, according to Pan.
With 90 percent of its customers and brands using GT Nexus, New Times has experienced better control and
efficiency in payment follow-up. Control and system validation have been enhanced, according to Pan. “As soon as
validation is completed, the transaction is approved with payment. The factories create documentation through GT
Nexus and the freight forwarder enters proof of delivery. The quality assurance department enters the statement
of review and issues the inspection certificate for the system to complete validation. When the system validates
these data, the transaction is already approved for payment.”
Given this visibility, factories know exactly when to expect payments. “They can thus plan ahead with their working
capital to finance the purchase of raw materials. GT Nexus provides agility and visibility to its users,” he says.
Global Connection Provides One Version of Truth
GT Nexus connects New Times, its vendors and customers around the world on the same platform so they can
share information and collaborate on transactions efficiently. “This advanced technology allows all the partners to
move information in a secure and trusted way,” reiterates Kurt Cavano of GT Nexus.
“When you get everything on the same platform, you have one version of the truth accessible to everyone. You
have a better shot of agility that enables you to work on things simultaneously. You can sell more stuff at the right
place and the right time and improve your margin and cash flow.”
The contents of this document are confidential and proprietary to GT Nexus, Inc.