The Image Label Systems Difference
Magazine Feature – May 2011
When Australasian apparel brand owners and retailers began sourcing from across Asia Pacific, they soon found a well known local label solutions provider had already started developing their own infrastructure across the region.
“We began establishing the foundations of our Asia/Pacific network over 20 years ago” says David Marshall, CEO of Image Label Systems. “We could see the inevitability of the changes to sourcing patterns, and we responded accordingly”. Marshall leads a business with facilities in China, Hong Kong, India, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, and he outlines the key behind their growth:
“A vital aspect for us is ownership of our own operations. The partnership model doesn’t work because it compromises both control and flexibility. When these are compromised, so too is the quality of the solution delivery, specifically brand consistency, supply reliability and cost optimisation.”
“For example, we own all of our variable data print bureaus. We don’t use subcontractors simply because if we compromise control, the integrity of our customers’ data is placed at risk, and we won’t accept that.”
Marshall says that by owning their own facilities, Image Label Systems has the advantage of paramount flexibility, which allows them to tailor solutions to individual customers needs.
“Our first contact with the customer is not about trying to sell anything; it’s about trying to understand their supply chain. That enables us to prepare a considered proposal as to how we can add value. It isn’t often we can’t streamline the supply chain process and remove both costs and delays.”
As the sourcing habits of Australian and New Zealand companies evolve, Image Label Systems continues to lay the groundwork to further expand its footprint throughout Asia and the Pacific.
“We are committed to being on the ground in the places where our customers want to do business, and we realise this means the ongoing expansion of our footprint as individual supply circumstances change.”
“There are a number of locations throughout South East Asia where we have done the groundwork to effect a start up.”
“Our past expansion has already demonstrated that we have the flexibility to grow our offering rapidly, and we look forward to embracing further growth” he adds.
And while e-commerce has long been part of Image Label Systems’ supply chain offering, in the days of offshore sourcing Marshall remains a firm believer in face to face contact.
“Ownership means having our own people on the ground in those places, and to us that is more important than an e-commerce system.”
“We deploy very good e-commerce tools; however managing distributed supply chains successfully requires a personal presence, more so when multiple languages, currencies and time zones are taken into account. Put simply, we deliver because we’re there.”