Mustafa Polat, General Manager of Polat Tekstil, which operates in the field of children's wear in Gaziantep, answered Enfotek's questions. Emphasizing that they have been working with EDS for more than 10 years, Polat said, “EDS makes our job much easier”.
Hello, can we get to know you and Polat Tekstil?
Hello, I'm Mustafa Polat. I was born in Şanlıurfa. Polat Tekstil, founded by my father in 1996, produces children's clothing in Gaziantep. We have a capacity of around 50 workers and around 500-700 contract manufacturing workers. We make %95 of our production for the domestic market, indirectly or by ourselves, and %5 abroad. Previously, we were producing a wide range of men's and women's clothing. However, later on, we preferred to produce children's clothes between the ages of 2-16. We make %60 of our production for Istanbul and Bursa. We make sales at our sales points.
What kind of products does Polat Tekstil produce? What is the general situation of the market in Antep and what is the strategy of Polat Tekstil?
As I know, Enfotek's business partners are mostly companies that do not manufacture for their own brand, but outsource and export production. However, we, as Polat Tekstil, produce for our own brand, P&P. We sell our own collection to wholesalers in Turkey. As a result, this business production is a more difficult and risky business than the previously planned sales. Because while creating a brand, the design you have made must be correct. We need to sell goods to the right market at the right time, at the right price. So, we may be working with less capacity than exporting companies. However, we aim to increase this volume day by day with the knowledge of EDS and joint studies with Enfotek.
What are the pleasant sides of this industry?
If you sell a beautiful design to companies with the right costing and if you get positive feedbacks, this is a good output and gives you pleasure.
Why did Polat Tekstil prefer EDS and what is the contribution of EDS in your business processes?
Before I became the head of Polat Tekstil, so to say, our work was progressing irregularly (in black order). It was a system that was correct in the past but did not adapt to changing conditions. We could not increase the size of the company in this way. We tried package programs, but a general solution didn't work for us. We were not satisfied with the results we tried to get over Excel, either. One mistake was taking all. We did a research. We asked how big companies were doing this job and we came across EDS at a fair. Financially, we made a serious ERP investment in EDS for the conditions of our company at that time. Many companies did not understand what we were doing and told us we were taking risks. But today the result is very clear. Now they seem to have taken risks… When EDS started to be used in our company, I said as the general manager: “Everyone will get full profit from this program”. I stated that we would part ways with friends who resisted ERP…
With EDS, we had the opportunity to follow up all our business processes from the very beginning to the end through a system. From the sample stage to the delivery stage, follow-up from the same place enabled us to speak the same language within the company. A code describes the same product, the same business process for all of us. Since each department has knowledge of business processes, everyone warns each other and provides support in order to fix the problems and delays in the system. When I explain such features of EDS, which facilitates the way of managing all this work, to my other producer friends, they are surprised and gape with astonishment.
Would you recommend EDS to other companies?
Yes, I would. EDS has 25 years of experience. It has contributed to the growth of very big companies and has been a companion together. It has a filter function, a technology that filters the knowledge of many customers for the benefit of other companies. If you meet EDS when you are actually a smaller company, you are buying information rather than an ERP. You are not discovering anything again, you are buying the knowledge and experience held by the leading companies of this sector in a business process, in a crisis environment. There is no cash cover for this opportunity. If we want a company to stand up on solid foundations, it is necessary to carry out the works with the right production program. This program is EDS for us. We have a business partnership over 10 years. Hopefully, this partnership will continue for decades.
What would you say about Enfotek's consultancy services?
As our relationship with Enfotek developed over time, even the minor problems I was experiencing disappeared. If both companies know very well what they want, it is easier to reach the result. We had no problems about support. We currently have one or two requests from Enfotek Support Center (ESC). Because the two companies understand each other better now and act jointly in solving problems. Of course, the reason of this success is that Enfotek is growing its team day by day and has well-equipped personnel with the investment it makes in the business. The reason lies in the fact that Enfotek has further developed its own business processes compared to 10 years ago.
Finally, issues such as sustainability, efficiency, simplicity and environmental awareness are on the agenda in the world. There is a change. What is Polat Tekstil doing in this regard?
The world is going through a serious transformation regarding these issues. And in this process, while some people gain a lot by accomplishing some things, other companies fail to keep up with it. Companies that are open to innovation somehow survive. Companies that resist this change have to lose their human resources and market share. For instance; in the past, people preferred more flashy and eye-catching products, but nowadays, organic products and recycled products are in demand. Many companies want to get information about business processes and product information with technology. Nowadays, it is also important to know how to share. Trying to have everything can be the reason of failure. As Polat Tekstil, we are aware of all this transformation and we are trying to take our steps in accordance with the era.