Coats Digital on Thursday, March 12, 2025, announced that Northshore Apparel Ghana Ltd, a pioneering sustainable apparel manufacturing start-up backed by the Ghanaian and German Governments, has selected the full suite of Coats Digital’s solutions – GSDCost, FastReactPlan and FastReactFabric – as the cornerstone of its digital infrastructure.
Purpose-built from the ground up, Northshore Apparel is establishing Northern Ghana’s first apparel manufacturing hub, transforming reclaimed land into a state-of-the-art, zero-waste facility designed to deliver ethical, efficient and globally competitive apparel production for mindful fashion brands.
The new facility will specialise in knitted and woven garments with a focus on T-shirts, polos, fleece hoodies, children’s wear, sportswear, underwear, leggings and trousers.
The project sits at the heart of an ambitious regeneration programme to address chronic unemployment in Northern Ghana, reduce internal migration to the south, and help stem unsafe and illegal migration routes to Europe by creating decent, dignified jobs at scale in one of the country’s most underserved regions.
Nurideen Mohammed, Co-Founder and CEO of Northshore Apparel Ghana Ltd, said: “From the beginning, our ambition was to build far more than a factory. We wanted to create a regenerative manufacturing ecosystem that delivers dignity, opportunity and long-term prosperity for Northern Ghana. To do that successfully, digitalisation had to be designed in from day one.
“We were looking for an integrated solution that would give us control over our most critical cost drivers — labour, fabric and delivery performance — while allowing us to operate proactively, not reactively. After reviewing several technology providers, our team unanimously chose Coats Digital because of its deep industry expertise and the strength of its integrated solutions.”
Northshore Apparel’s manufacturing campus will span more than 50 acres and has been designed to support over 2,000 trained employees at launch, with the potential to positively impact thousands of livelihoods across the wider community.
The facility will provide fair wages, free daily meals and on-site medical care, alongside a creche for nursing mothers, prayer rooms and safe changing facilities.
A dedicated training academy will upskill young people and women, while a zero-waste operating model will be delivered through anaerobic biodigesters that convert solid waste into energy, water recycling systems that enable irrigation, and on-site solar generation.
Located within the West African cotton belt, the facility has been designed to support shorter, more resilient supply chains while delivering the transparency, speed and responsiveness demanded by today’s global fashion brands.
By implementing GSDCost, FastReactPlan, and FastReactFabric as a unified digital ecosystem, Northshore Apparel will establish precise, scientific garment costing and fair labour standards using GSD™ international method-time standards.
The solutions will enable fast, accurate production planning and line balancing, even for short-run, last-minute or highly varied orders, while optimising fabric purchasing, utilisation and waste reduction across all styles and seasons.
The integrated platform will eliminate data silos, enable real-time cross-departmental decision-making, and support a shift from reactive operations to proactive, margin-controlled manufacturing, ensuring reliable on-time delivery while maintaining strong ethical and sustainability commitments.
Nurideen Mohammed added, “Investing in FastReactPlan, FastReactFabric, and GSDCost is a strategic decision for us. This combination directly supports our ability to control labour and fabric costs, plan efficiently, and deliver consistently on time. Just as importantly, it gives us the transparency and accuracy we need to ensure fair wages, build trust with our customers, and compete confidently in a fast-moving global market.”
Born on reclaimed land once used as a refuse dump, Northshore Apparel stands as a symbol of transformation, turning waste into worth and vulnerability into opportunity. Guided by its commitment to people, planet and shared prosperity, and supported by a fully integrated Coats Digital technology stack, the company is redefining what modern apparel manufacturing can be.
Kunal Kapur, Managing Director, Coats Digital, commented: “Northshore Apparel represents a bold new model for apparel manufacturing – one where technology, sustainability, and social impact are designed in from the very beginning.
“We are incredibly proud that Coats Digital’s full suite of solutions has been chosen as the digital backbone of this landmark project.
By deploying our suite of solutions as an integrated ecosystem, Northshore Apparel is setting itself up for long-term resilience, operational excellence, and ethical growth. This is a powerful example of how digitisation can enable not only more efficient supply chains, but also fairer work, reduced waste, and stronger partnerships between brands and manufacturers. We look forward to supporting Northshore Apparel as it brings this inspiring vision to life.”
Northshore Apparels is currently training 2,000 new employees to spearhead the launch of the new facility in January 2026. The company intends to hire a further 1,000 new employees by March 2026, and a further 7,000 local workers by the end of the year.
Diaa Hashem, Sales Manager at Coats Digital, said: “I’m proud to lead this partnership with Northshore Apparel and collaborate with a team that combines strategic vision, strong culture, and exceptional capabilities. By integrating GSDCost, FastReactPlan, and FastReactFabric, Northshore is creating a fully connected digital ecosystem that streamlines costing, time, fabric, and capacity management into one efficient process.
This transformation will establish world-class operational standards and position Northshore as one of the region’s leading factories in the coming years. Their commitment to digitalisation and process excellence will deliver real value—optimising resources, reducing costs, improving on-time delivery, and accelerating lead times for customers and global brands.”
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About Northshore Apparels
Northshore Apparel GH Limited is a sustainable clothing manufacturer located in Ghana that combines innovation, ethical standards, and environmentally friendly methods. By utilising renewable energy, implementing zero-waste processes, and ensuring fair labour practices, we produce high-quality garments for mindful brands while also benefiting local communities. Committed to transparency and meaningful practices, we create fashion that respects both individuals and the environment.
Our mission is to lead Africa’s apparel manufacturing revolution by proving that apparel manufacturing can be both ethically crafted and globally competitive—where sustainability and innovation drive every thread, every process, and every partnership.
Our gender-balanced board is responsible for overseeing the ESG commitments. It upholds the highest standards of ethical behaviour, integrity, and transparency across all areas of operation.
About Coats Digital
Coats Digital is the leading digital transformation partner for the fashion supply chain, powering sustainable processes and high-value insights through connected technologies.
We leverage deep industry and technology expertise to help brands and manufacturers optimise, connect, and accelerate business-critical processes from design and development to method-time-cost optimisation, production planning and control, fabric optimisation, and shop floor execution.
Used in over 3,000 factories globally, our unmatched end-to-end apparel, footwear, and textile software and SaaS solutions improve agility, speed to market, efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.
Coats Digital is the software business of Coats Group, the world’s leading industrial thread company and a trusted industry partner.
About GSDCost
GSDCost is the international standard for establishing and optimising accurate method-time-cost benchmarks for sustainable garment cost optimisation and manufacturing excellence. It supports a collaborative, transparent, and sustainable supply chain through the use of standard motion codes and predetermined times, facilitating accurate cost prediction, fact-based negotiation, and improved manufacturing efficiency—while helping brands and suppliers meet CSR goals.
In 2025, GSDCost has been recognised for exceptional contributions to the fashion industry, winning the Standout Platform/Technology/Tool Silver Award at the UK Digital Excellence Awards; the Innovation – Supply Chain and Environmental – Technology awards at the Just Style Excellence Awards; and the Software Innovation Award at the Global Digital Excellence Awards 2025.
About FastReactPlan
FastReactPlan is developed exclusively for the fashion, textile and apparel industry and can be configured in multiple ways to reflect industry best practice and specific business requirements.
FastReactPlan is the market-leading apparel production planning software solution, supporting a faster, more reliable order confirmation process and production plan, which is optimised for delivery, speed and efficiency.
The highly visual, flexible ‘drag and drop’ approach to planning allows effective master planning across multiple factories, as well as fast, detailed and accurate scheduling of manufacturing lines/machines. Critical pre-production activities and material requirements are dynamically driven by the latest plan on a LEAN ‘just in time’ basis, supporting the reduction of inventory and lead times.
About FastReactFabric
FastReactFabric combines Coats Digital’s previous industry-leading IntelloCut and IntelloBuy solutions into one single platform, providing a closed-loop, continuous 360-degree feedback ecosystem between buying and cutting operations, so that fashion manufacturers can accurately procure and utilise fabric effectively – reducing waste, boosting efficiency and significantly increasing their bottom line.
Editorial Contact
Laurena McKenna
PR & Communications Manager
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