Tunisian premium knitwear maker Tunicotex Group has boosted on-time delivery and expanded production capacity after rolling out Coats Digital’s FastReactPlan planning platform, underscoring how digitalisation is reshaping apparel manufacturing in North Africa.
Following the implementation of FastReactPlan, Tunicotex increased its on-time delivery performance to 85% from 75%, cut weekly planning time by 25% and unlocked around 40% additional production capacity, enabling it to take on more orders from global fashion brands. The company also reduced overtime, delays, and penalty costs by replacing fragmented, spreadsheet-based planning with a single, real-time planning system.
Headquartered in Soliman, Tunisia, Tunicotex is one of the country’s largest vertically integrated knitwear producers, supplying premium and luxury brands including Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Moncler, and Ralph Lauren. Founded in 1993, the group operates multiple knitting, sewing, washing, finishing, and embellishment units and produces up to 4.8 million garments annually.
Before adopting the digital planning solution, Tunicotex relied heavily on manual Excel files and email-based coordination across departments. That lack of real-time visibility led to unbalanced production lines, locked capacity, excess overtime of up to 10% and profit losses estimated at 5–10% due to inefficiencies, short shipments, and frequent use of air freight to meet deadlines.
Stuart McCready-Stocks, Sales Director, EMEA for Coats Digital, said, “Tunicotex is a beacon of manufacturing excellence in Tunisia, and we’re proud to have been chosen as their critical technology partner for their ongoing pursuit of digital innovation.”
FastReactPlan was implemented across all core and secondary operations, from knitting and sewing to washing, embroidery, ironing and packing. By connecting capacity, materials and work-in-progress data on a single visual platform, the system created what the company describes as a unified source of truth for planners and production teams.
FastReactPlan is a market-leading apparel production planning software that enables faster and more reliable order confirmation, while optimising production plans for delivery performance, speed and efficiency. The detailed Material Requirements Planning (MRP) functionality embedded in FastReactPlan, and integrated with Tunicotex’s ERP system, enables teams to dynamically calculate material supply and demand based on an accurate, up-to-date sewing plan.
Its highly visual, flexible drag-and-drop planning interface supports effective master planning across multiple factories, alongside fast, accurate scheduling of individual production lines and machines. Critical pre-production activities and material requirements are dynamically driven by the latest plan using a lean, just-in-time approach, helping manufacturers cut inventory levels and shorten lead times.
“Each department worked from different spreadsheets, which caused inaccurate forecasts, delays, and miscommunication,” said Haithem Bouajila, managing director of Tunicotex. “We struggled with planning conflicts and unnecessary overtime, which affected efficiency, profitability, and customer service.”
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Since the rollout, weekly planning time has decreased to approximately 30 hours from 40, while improved visibility has enabled Tunicotex to rebalance workloads and expand overall capacity by roughly 40% between 2024 and 2025. Bouajila said the company can now respond faster to customer changes and confidently accept higher and more diverse order volumes.
Mr. Haithem Bouajila stated, “FastReactPlan has completely transformed how our teams plan and communicate. We now enjoy accurate capacity visibility, faster decision-making, and smoother production flows. On-time delivery performance has improved significantly, overtime has decreased, and we can confidently take on more orders from our premium customers.”
With enhanced capacity stability and clearer planning boundaries, Tunicotex has also reinforced its culture of continuous improvement. Teams now follow a structured Plan–Do–Check–Act approach, supported by reliable WIP, MRP, and FRP reporting. Planners and production staff benefit from clearer targets and less firefighting, leading to higher morale.
Mr. Bouajila added, “The visibility FastReactPlan provides has allowed us to expand our capacity by approximately 40% over the past two years. This level of scalability would not have been achievable without the stability and control the solution delivers.”
The operational gains also support Tunicotex’s sustainability goals. Around 95% of its raw materials are certified to standards such as GOTS, GRS, and FSC. In 2025, the group commissioned a solar power plant, which is expected to reduce more than 650 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The company aims to run fully on renewable energy by 2026.
