Customised lifestyle logistics solutions for end-to-end supply chain management

23 February 2022

Lifestyle logistics solutions - A little girl trying to choose a dress from the couple she is holding.

Jay Jay Textiles’ journey towards business expansion with lifestyle logistics solutions stitched to perfection.

An illustration showcasing varieties of cotton knitwear clothes manufactured by Jay Jay textiles for children.

The background

Established over 50 years ago, Jay Jay Textiles has a strong presence in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as a vertically integrated manufacturer of cotton knitwear for children’s apparel and home products. In the past few years, they have branched out to Ethiopia, starting with three factories in the Bole Lemi Industrial Park, Addis Ababa, catering to reputed brands and retailers in the US and EU.

The challenge

Jay Jay Textiles were facing several challenges that disrupted their operations and supply chains. There were gaps in communication and several uncoordinated handovers since they were working with multiple forwarding agents for their imports and exports.

There were also frequent delays and higher costs due to cargo rolling in the congested Salalah Port for two to three weeks on their import leg from Tuticorin. What further added to the existing delays was the cumbersome customs clearance processes.

Moreover, at the start of the fertiliser season in Ethiopia, truckers were diverted to transport fertilisers to progress the agricultural industry in the country. During this time, our customer struggled to secure truckers to transport their manufactured goods out of Ethiopia to Djibouti, for shipping to the US.

Cargo transportation - An illustration showcasing employees, containers and trucks carrying kids clothing.

The solution

Jay Jay Textiles’ expansion plans and existing challenges required a customised solution that addressed most of their issues. To solve their cargo-rolling challenge out of Tuticorin and Salalah, we offered the customer our Hot Box Connection solution. This assured equipment availability and vessel space allocation for their raw material imports into Ethiopia.

With 70 trucks, we were able to cater to Jay Jay’s entire inland transport requirement and ensure unhindered movement. Being their single point of contact for coordinating everything behind the scenes, we eliminated the risks of delays that occurred in the past while working with multiple providers.

A map denoting the origin, intermediate points and the destination of Jay Jay textiles’ cargo journey.

An illustration of the end customer with a market containing the children’s wear in the background.

The result

The logistics solutions made things fall into place for Jay Jay Textiles, helping them achieve their ultimate goal of expanding their operations while reducing cost inefficiencies.

Jay Jay Textiles is now working with 6 US fashion retailers as opposed to just 3 in 2019.

Until the end of last year, they operated out of 5 sheds/factories in the Addis Ababa Industrial Park in Bole Lemi. Currently, they have 7 factories to fulfil the growing demand from their buyers in the US.

Despite the significantly challenging impact of the pandemic on the apparel industry, Jay Jay Textiles’ volumes increased by 149% from 2019. Their 2021 half-year volumes are at 69% of 2020, indicating that their growth curve will continue till the end of this year.

Having a single logistics provider for inland services and customs clearance reduced their operational costs and time. This added visibility within their supply chain and minimised the delays associated with multiple handovers.

Working towards a more connected future

Currently, the Ethiopia team is working on making consolidation facilities operational in the country. This will help European and North American buyers with their purchase orders from Jay Jay Textiles and other apparel manufacturers in Ethiopia. The endeavour aims at spearheading a connected and simplified end-to-end supply chain solution for apparel manufacturers in Ethiopia.