A few years after Pakistan-based manufacturer Interloop began its journey to broaden its product categories, it is undergoing a new transformation process.

When the company—which was previously solely a hosiery supplier—added denim and knitwear, it also built out teams to manage aspects such as product development, sales and marketing for each of these business units separately. But with most of its best customers buying across categories, it realized that integrating teams based on competency was a better approach to provide a seamless customer experience. Leading the process over the last six months along with human resources has been Feroze Ahmed, the company’s chief strategy and transformation officer who came to Interloop from the management consulting world.

“The sourcing organizations at our customer end want to have a seamless interface when it comes to managing their suppliers,” Ahmed told Sourcing Journal editor-in-chief Peter Sadera during a recent fireside chat.

Transformation is not new for Interloop’s teams, as Ahmed noted that the company is constantly working to improve. Depite familiarity with change, it is still difficult. “At our size, it’s kind of like changing an engine on a car that’s being driven on a highway,” he said.

Although there was some reticence internally at first, today teams are enthusiastic about the move. The strategy has enabled Interloop to leverage its staff’s talents where they are strongest, for instance choosing customer service-savvy employees to be clients’ points of contact. 

This integration has also made it simpler for customers to experiment with other categories while working with a familiar manufacturer. Since product development teams all work together, it also ensures a consistent brand look—whether it is socks or sporting attire.

Interloop has boosted its digital capabilities to better support customers in designing. Using tools like 3D also enables more simultaneous collaboration while shortening lead times. In another move to speed turnarounds, Interloop is building manufacturing facilities closer to its customers’ retail hubs so goods do not have to travel as far.

“The way that [the end consumer] buys apparel is changing quite rapidly,” said Ahmed. “Gone are the days where retailers and brands can afford very, very long lead times.”

Watch the video above to learn more about Interloop’s strategy to strengthen its cross-category operations.